Amish community

7.2 Amish community values

7.2.USA-1-detail-a Highlights Relevant to Sustainable Design:

Build a community of trust.

Here are three examples of rosette hex details. The rosettes are painted two to three feet in diameter on the sides of barns in very vivid colors, and they are intended to deter or ward off evil spirits. These rosettes are one of multiple ways that the Amish build a community of trust where they look out for one another. Sustainability as a concept can go beyond the environment and resource conservation to include community sustainability. The close-knit Amish community has been able to sustain their values for multiple generations and use the resources at hand to maximize the yield from the land. Sustainability includes stewardship and an eye on future generations. From what I saw firsthand and learned about the Amish, they often pass down land from one generation to the next, so caring for their environment has a positive ripple effect for their families and their community.

7.1.USA-1-Horizontal-with-Figure

The figure outline in this image is for scale to illustrate the size of the fold-out field drawing. The descriptions of certain key elements and insights are included with the accompanying drawings in this section.

 

Author and illustrator: Charlie Szoradi is an architect, inventor, and the CEO of Independence LED Lighting. He writes about many other topics related to the Amish community through his extensive travels around the world.

If you have found this posting online, it is an excerpt from Mr. Szoradi’s book Learn from Looking that served as the inspiring seed content for this drawing share resource. For additional drawings and insights on Amish community values and farmhouse design, we hope that you enjoy exploring LearnfromLooking.com. You can search via general terms such as sustainability as well as narrower terms such as Amish community and rural architecture.

An afternoon drive to see the Amish community in Pennsylvania or Ohio is a powerful way to gain perspective on how we depend on technology. If you are a parent or grandparent of grade school children, you may enjoy reading more in the Learn from Looking book about ways to inspire children to take some time away from the ubiquitous screens that often dominate the hours of their days. Looking at the horse drawn buggies in the Amish community is just one of the many ways to take a look at life with a reduced dependency on technology.

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