Urban Setting/Context for Haus

The Setting of  NaturKunstHaus in Mansfield-
 If you start in the CENTER of the photo (downtown) and follow the squiggly street between the freeway (US 30) and the Straight street (Park Avenue West) to where this street, Fourth, makes its' FIRST bend to the right, and keep going STRAIGHT a block, this is where I live!

My Goals for NaturKunstHaus Mansfield, Writ much larger scale (10 acres)

http://artmeetsearth.org/2009brochureWEB.pdf

Elegant European Carport

Who knew a Carport could be THIS elegant, if not beautiful?!

Back side, from alleyway

House sits on 2/3 acres, which I've aleady mentally divided up (there is still remnants of a fence dividing front and back lawn. The NW corner will be the most formal, the Poetry Corner, where I imagine poetry readings/slams. The back 2/3 will be the informal area, the vegetable garden, the (existing) orchard, "The Woods", with sculpture throughout.

Youngstown, Oh. Guest Post

"You see, Youngstown, like most cities in Ohio, has been pulverized by suburban sprawl. With that suburban sprawl comes a more often than not irrational fear of the city. So much so, Rust Belt’s brew crew laments the cold reception nearby suburbs have given their humble operation. They simply refuse to come out and work with them, hiding behind their preconceptions of the city from the comfort of their big-box home. There’s no doubt Youngstown has its problems with crime and poverty. I don’t think I met anyone who has tried to hide that. But refusing to work with the urban core that made the suburbs successful in the first place is pretty damn criminal if you ask me. It’s heartless at the very least and a problem all Rust Belt cities are faced with. I can’t tell you how many times I personally have been told, “Hope you don’t get shot” for living in downtown Cleveland, an arguably safer area statistically than many suburbs. Hell, someone told me they hope I don’t get shot when I said I was going to Youngstown. The sooner Youngstown’s suburbs wise up and work with the city, the better for all parties involved."

-  Joe Baur,

http://www.urbanophile.com/2012/02/07/a-visit-to-youngstown-by-joe-baur/

First Principles

"Instead of laying down an arbitrary design for a region, it might be in order to find a plan that nature has already laid down...a regional design of streams and valleys that provide superb natural connectors, into the very heart of the urban area. Where continuity has been broken, the pieces should be reclaimed wherever it is at all possible."

 

~ William H. Whyte, The Last Landscape, 1968

NaturKust or Die Kunst der Natur?

What exactly IS NaturKunst Haus Mansfield? What does "NaturKunst" mean, or signify? These are questions I'll be exploring, both virtually and inside and outside this remarkable Space and Place.
For now, here are some suggestions, quickly gleaned from the Internet- Let me know what YOU think NaturKunst Haus Mansfield should or Could Unfold into...

Schönbrunn Palace , Wien

Thanks for finding and joining me here! I'm starting to develop my garden/landscape/house plans- I AM a planner, after all!- and am wondering if anyone has experience with Free or otherwise software, or a guidebook, to use as I get started?
My first projects, other than getting some Green Peppers planted, are 1) remove the grass along the outside of the property and replace with a nice groundcover 2) basic stone footpath around the house to Poetry Corner, Woodlands, and thru the Orchard up to the garden and Garden Cottage housing the community Toolshed and bicycle repair center.

Eventually, as resources permit, I'd replace the stepping stone pathway for a nice gravel walk like this (above).
Thoughts, comments?
Also will be developing a Five-Year plan, so any help on prioritizing projects would be appreciated!

Welcome to Donauschwab NaturKunst Haus Mansfield, OH!

Decided with the house and cats taking up a good deal of m Facebook postings, my Facebook friends may be tiring of these, so time to branch off in a way that will allow longer posts and hopefully more interaction from readers?

I'm dedicating this blog and my home and land to Theresia, Phillip and Victor Bender, my Oma, Opa and uncle, all of whom were tremendous influences, and I'm sure after their initial warnings, would be quite pleased with my home and my plans for it and this blog, as means to share with others.

Hope you stick around, check back in, more to come!