One neighbourhood to rule them all

[angel011]

One neighbourhood to rule them all. That's the dream of the creative masterminds behind The Shire, an imaginative new housing development in Bend, Ore., inspired by the architecture, spirit and places in The Lord of the Rings.

In addition to borrowing its name from the J.R.R. Tolkein novels -- The Shire is the mythical home of protagonist Frodo Baggins -- the subdivision recalls the trilogy through such features as faux thatched roofs, medieval signage, fireplaces with Rohan carvings, an irrigation canal dubbed Brandywine Brook and maintenance sheds built into the hillside to look like hobbit holes.

Although the first units don't go on sale until winter, with prices ranging from about $646,700 to $948,000 Cdn, reservations have already been accepted from people anxious to secure a piece of Middle Earth.

"It's a community that comes more from the heart than the head," says developer Ron Meyers, alias Lord of the Shire. "When I'm looking at this environment, I want to feel warm and fuzzy. I want to feel like I'm home and that I'm in some place special."

The development's Web site (www.bendshire.com) reads more like a manifesto than a residential sales pitch, extending an invitation to share in "creativity, artistic expression, cultural activities, rituals and celebrations."

The lay of the land is described in loving detail, from its curving cobblestone pathways and garden features to towering pines and twisted juniper. And an excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring reveals The Shire's literary origins, a topic Meyers admits he's unable to discuss with any authority.

"I've never read The Lord of the Rings," he says, explaining that his knowledge of the books is based solely on the movies they inspired.

Last week, The Shire saw 6,000 people visit its Bend sales office in just six days. Paul Kewene-Hite, a friend and business associate of Meyers, was among them.

"People really respond to this place," says Kewene-Hite, a Harvard-educated Tolkein fan who's contemplating moving to The Shire with his family.

"It takes you back to a time of more peaceful innocence ... it's about loving where you live and wanting to be part of a community and knowing your neighbours."

Ernest Mathijs, a noted Tolkein expert and professor at the University of British Columbia, suggests The Shire takes the retro-inspired building trend that's been sweeping Canadian real estate to the next level.

"What's being sold is not just a house or a development or a neighbourhood," says Mathijs."(It's) the promise that the kind of people who will come and live there will get along with each other ... it's a bit of a Utopian ideal."

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=8fc5e17d-fe23-450b-bdff-ae36f3842419&k=43414

[Loengrin]

Možda bi mi se i svidelo da nikada nisam čitala Tolkina, jer sam se nekako nadala većoj sličnosti sa hobitskim rupama (onim bogatijim), a manje stilu kuća iz Brija.

Ali hajde da krenem kao da nisam čitala knjige ili gledala film.

Prvo što mi je palo na pamet su automobili koji bi se veoma loše uklopili u to okruženje, ali posle pomislih, da valjda zato postoje garaže, a i nisam očekivala konje & stuff, te sam onda celu stvar prihvatila kao "tako treba".

Drugo što mi je zasmetalo je svaštarenje:
- kompletna neopredeljenost vezana za oblike prozora, vrata i ukrasa ...itd.
- cela ideja nastala kao hibrid alpsko, irskog stila postavljen u sred mediteranske bašte (s pokušajima upliva fantazije)
- uklapanje visokokvaltetnog materijala sa očigledno krajnje jeftinim
- nefunkcionalnost životnog prostora - neke stare kuće imaju više šarma i pružaju više mogućnosti vlasniku da eventualno jednog dana nešto i dopuni/izmeni

Možda i jeste hrabro i lukavo od tvoraca da izađu na tržište sa ovakvim projektom i najverovatnije će se u Oregonu a i šire naći tona zainteresovanih (u nedostatku pravih ruralnih sela ili stila), ali izjava da će tu svi morati da se slažu i idu kod istog lobotomiste, pardon psihologa, nateraće njihovu decu da jednog dana vrišteći pobegnu odatle (već viđeno).