South Whidbey RECORD
Tuesday, March 25, 1986
by Lorinda Eastlick
When Dean Petrich, a professional clown, started
building his dram home he created a fun-filled adventure that challenges
all concepts of traditional living spaces. When Petrich strarted
in 1978 he wante his house to be an energy efficient alternatives model
that produce no waste. He also wanted his home to be more than a
single-family residence, believing that to be such a waste. This
structure will be home to 11 people and a place for hundreds to come and
play.
The home is built with 50 fir poles anchored on
concrete forms to form three hexagons. When complete there will be
five hexagons with each area of the structure designated for a special
activity.
Petrich loves to play, so he built the water area
and toys first. A water slide to the entry to the underground water
area where a sauna, cold plunge, rockery shower, and childrens' bath tub
is located. Then you can enter the grotto and on into the secret
tunnel tucked under the earth. Above the water area at ground level
is a glass rood and green house. For garbage and refuse there is
a cumposting toilet called aClivus Multrum that does away with a
septic system.
The noisy hexagon is the entry area designed to
help you leave the world behind. When it's completed there will be
no rules and lots of toys, crafts, weights, and a puppet stage. "There's
even clay to throw at the walls," Petrich laughs, believing people need
an earea to get rid of frustrations.
The main hexagon, yet to be completed, will be th
ekichen and eating area. "This will be the main social area,"
Petrich said. He wants to build a table that pulls up to the ceiling,
leaving plenty of floor space for dancing. The kitchen will have
a Larry Dobson swdust burning stove that will heat the room, water, and
cook the food.
Another part of the house is a cozy hexagon built
with lots of different levels so everyone can find a cozy little nook to
curl up in. This will be the area for story telling and music playing
-- no shoes allowed.
Every area has plenty of windows to allow light
in and cut down on electricity, but the cozy hexagon has even more.
One entire wall will open, allowing the outside in. "I was so used
to living outside while building that I didn't want to lose that feeling
in the house," Petrich said.
He loves to find used materials for the house and
once found 120 doors from a building being torn down. "I was going
to build my entire house with doors so I could say I had a house out of
doors," Petrich mused. The doors ended up being used for the cement
forms. The foundation still has forms that say "dressing room" and
"elevator."
The quiet hexagon will be for reading and thinking
with several enclosed nooks for sleeping. In that area there will
be no taling or touching so people will not be disturbed, according to
Petrich. For real isolation there is a tower built above the roof
and just big enough for one person to sit quietly and view the mountains.
Everywhere there are skylights, thrmopane windows
with creative angles and shapes, and mirrors to reflect the light from
outside. The rood is flat with enough of an angle to collect rain
water. The roof also has a solar water heater. Water will also
come from a huge reservoir that was dug for that purpose.
Outside are gardens, stawberry patches and fruit
trees. For the young and young-at-heart there is a huge spiral concrete
pond for kida and a larger pond with slide for adults and big kids.
For more fun, a huge sandbox and rope swing have been built and an outdoor
theater will follow.
A major in English literature, Petrich had little
construction knowledge before he started this project. He hitch-hiked around
the country visiting communes and re-evaluating the building process.
"They didn't take anything for granted, but started
from scratch," Petrich said. "I realized I didn't have to follow
traditional building techniques."
Future plans include rammed-earth construction where
cement is rototilled with dirt. The dir is mashed in forms and the
moisture from the dirt makes the conrete set up. "Then presto --
you have a building out of dirt," Petrich said.
The first building you see is an "umbracone" build
from plywood bolted together then bent over a center pole like a tepee.
The sides were painted in bright colors by kids who created scenes like
dump trucks pouring out the ocean with sail boats drifting by.
The unbracone will be the main gathering place open
to the general public with an office and meeting room. Outside the
umbracone is a neighborhood recycling area with barrels for glass and cans.
The house will producs no waste, according to Petrich.
Everything will be composted or recycled. "Except plastic," Petrich
said. "I still have to take that to the dump."
The house will be shared as an area for seminars,
workshops, summer camps and birthday parties. This summer there will
be a number of summer camps to adults to pre-schoolers. June 2-6
will be a play day and open house follwed by a senior citizens day on June
24. Participants will go on nature walks, enjoy the hot tub and mostly
play.
From July through August there will be day camps
for toddlers and campout for high school and younger kids. Each age
group will have a week-long camp including activities in building for the
older kids and nature studies for the younger.
August 19-21 will be a camp for learning clowning
skills. August 11-15 will be an adult play camp.
When a clown like Petrich starts clowning around
with his dream home the result is hard to put into words. Unconventional
merriment comes close.
Go to DEAN PETRICH
Go to HUCKLEBERRY HILL
Go to Newspaper ARTICLES on
Dean Petrich
Go to HOME page