Marion's Ledge is a holistic effort that seeks to create its vision of a charged, active and engaged community through its entire being – this begins with the building approached as not merely an edifice within which to be sheltered or a certain amount of square footage to be occupied, but an expression and example of how we conduct our activity within that building. The building itself, like its inhabitants, will seek and accept a high challenge to its being - that of “doing things right”. The building is not just a means, but part of the expression of Marion's Ledge.

It is from this challenge to “do things right” that Marion’s accepts its responsibility to design the building to be superbly “green” and “sustainable”. Though these words may be putting the goal somewhat simplistically, I believe they currently convey well enough the spirit and intent of the undertaking.
Beyond meeting this basic responsibility, we’ll also do so in a way that not only derives comfort and economy for us in our life in the building, meets our community responsibility to execute our business in a way that does not harm our environment or waste, but that also demonstrates and educates how the building accomplishes this goal (somewhat like a giant see-inside model or an exhibit at the HMNS that not only shows how it is done but illustrates results) so that the larger community can more easily see what can be done in their own projects.

While Marion’s Ledge is conceived as including a spacious Commons, a greater space on the same visible level for an adjoining Venue/Workspace (actual physical levels may be creatively played with but it’s important that this entire space be visibly and physically accessible and inviting), an International Hostel directly above that, and specific plans for the roof as an extension of the activity of the Commons – were we to create a multistory building with space beyond those needs (greater than the 2+roof plan), then space would be available to lease for other businesses and organizations. This may be an attractive option that could greatly increase Marion’s financial viability.

Should Marion’s be capable of housing other businesses or organizations, then it is partly because Marion's Ledge is a vision that looks to compliment other endeavors, and is easily complimented by other endeavors. We will benefit from these endeavors in the commerce and input that they’ll bring, and the organizations behind the activities will benefit by providing their guests a vibrant and inspiring environment as they enter their time there.

The vision of the Commons is to bring in as great a variety of people and activity as possible and to have that activity visible and accessible in an open style, not to isolate one activity from another as most buildings do. Therefore the building will be designed so that as much activity as possible happens within, and adjacent to, the Commons and all major access and egress to the various other areas of the building (to the Hostel and the Roof and any other floors or areas that may exist) will be through the Commons.

Marion's Ledge is a vision, not just a project that needs square footage. We unfortunately won't have the luxury of just renting a floor in a building that does not fully express this vision.
This makes our fundraising all the more challenging but it also makes our mission all the more compelling.

I realize now that when I first conceived of Marion's Ledge by asking "where do I want to spend my time and who do I want to spend it with?" - that the place and people I envisioned were intended to be an antidote to "boredom". Timothy Ferris points out in The 4-Hour Workweek, and no doubt others before him, that "the opposite of happiness is boredom."
To the degree that a charged, active and engaged community is a goal in Marion's Ledge, it-is-so only because we hold it as true that such a community is an antidote/remedy/panacea to boredom.
Boredom has no foothold when we are challenged and where there is variety. It is by addressing these two issues that Marion's Ledge seeks to provide that relief to boredom.
1) The building itself should answer a challenge to be superbly green (responsible) and imaginatively creative. In expressing an excellent answer to that challenge, the physical environment will testify that we can meet challenges in a wonderful way.
2) Our staff will be friendly, engaged & will bring their own challenges and discoveries to share with our guests.
3) Our guests should never feel they know just what they'll find at Marion's Ledge. They may have explored the building and visited many times, but by bringing in traveling guests as well as the community (to meet, work and present), they will find an ever changing landscape of activity and engagement.
This landscape will in its unpredictable nature offer variety, and hopefully that variety will in turn offer rich opportunities for engagement, and that engagement will present challenges.
Though these efforts we hope to make Marion's Ledge a uniquely stimulating and vibrant place to be.

I also must apologize for the lack of activity on this blog and with Marion's Ledge in general. School keeps getting in the way of my life.

The one major thing that I have done is to start the first active Marion's Ledge affiliated program - Marion's Cultural Field Trips. When Hank and I started dreaming about Marion's Ledge and the philosophy behind it (Hank started that way before I came into the picture), one aspect that mattered to us was engagement and discovery. We wanted to create a place that helped people become engaged both within our walls and out. This philosophy is also important in our own lives and we were regularly making a point to try new activities and experience things we have never experienced (and would not have save for our conscious choice to seek them out).

The idea occurred to me to formalize this and actually create a group which goes out to experience things together which we normally would not have experienced.

We set up a Google group for people to join Marion's Cultural Field Trips and get announcements. Currently, it is just our friends, but we are hoping to soon get more organized and to advertise it better. If we do, we will need to have more regular activities and meeting places. We are currently meeting at one of our houses and the schedule is irregular

Some of the events we have had so far included:

• Bat Watching
• Interfaith Tours
• University of Houston Walking Tour
• Baha'i Devotional Service
• Lights in the Heights
• UH Tailgate Party
• Solar Homes Tour
  

If you are interested in joining us for our field trips, check out our Google group.

I first feel I need to apologize - to you but also to Hailey and myself. Life keeps interrupting life and we've gotten overtaken by other day-to-day matters and haven't been paying proper attention to Marion's Ledge. There may only be a few of you keeping an eye on this but we need to keep up this blog as much for the project and ourselves as for you.
That being said I do have something at the moment that I want to share.
Hailey recently called me to tell me of an idea that I think is as emblematic of what we're trying to do as any single element we've come up with.

We were again discussing the cups we plan on using and the discount (in an effort to discourage unnecessary trash and waste in our disposable society) we'll give if someone brings their own cup whether it's to-go or to-stay. We decided that we'd also have some reusable to-go cups/mugs that people can buy for $2 or something.
We thought we'd price it as: (Price = Price as posted on the menu board)
• Customer brings their own (or bought from us) cup then cost is Price-10%
• Customer uses Marion's ceramic cup then cost is Price
• Customer wants coffee to go in disposable cup then cost is Price+10%

By the time we hung-up I kinda liked that pricing scheme. Then Hailey called back after a little while and had a brilliant idea. Honestly, I was tempted not to post this because I'd love to be the first ones (as far as I know) to do it this way - it's just too good of an idea to be stingy with though so if someone else does it first then more power to them.

Her idea was to have those reusable cups not just for sale, but for rent or sale.
In the "Rent-a-cup" plan, the rental price will be the same as the sale price & we will 'buy back' the rented cup at full price when (or if) it's returned. These cups will be marked (perhaps a recycle emblem or something) and will be kept in the reuse/rental pool. If someone intends to buy a cup they can be given a fresh new one without fear that it's one that has been rented out.
As I thought about all the situations in which this might be used I realized that this may eliminate the need for disposable cups at all!

This is just an example of why Hailey is so great to work with on this project. We seem to be very much on the same page and she comes up with some of the best ideas and insights!
Thanks for checking us out and we hope to have updates for you much more often :)

Hank and I recently took a trip to San Antonio as the first official Marion's Ledge Work Retreat. Before the trip, I compiled a workbook with sessions that covered all of the things that we needed to work on, including identity statements, marketing, and initial advertising. We also discussed related activities and funding.

The whole trip was a really good success. We stayed in a hostel near Sam Houston Military Base in a house that used to be owned by a general that was built around the turn of the 20th century. I just loved the character of the place. There is just something to staying in a building that you know is incredibly solid. That house will be there for a long time save something like a fire or a tornado.

We spent our time at various coffeehouses near downtown. One in particular that we enjoyed was called Cafe Latino, where we met the owner. He offered us a good quote: "You can do anything. All you need is money." We understand that very well. :-) He also was very knowledgeable about coffee and may be a very good resource to tap.

We also stopped by and worked at Ruta Maya Riverwalk. The Austin Ruta Maya is one of the few coffeehouses that seem to share a spirit with Marion's Ledge, so stopping by the San Antonio version was a must. This made us think about how the same vision can be expressed in different locations. What actually created the atmosphere of Ruta Maya?

All in all, I learned the power of sitting in a coffeehouse for 3 hours with an agenda to go through. Each extended session led to many new ideas and inspirations.

Here are some ideas/highlights of our work:
• further identity statements, including values
• looking at a for-profit model for Marion's Ledge
• possible actions to take to further our mission for our building
• initial advertising efforts

We also added a new quote to join our two main quotes: "Some men see things as they are and say 'why?' I dream things that never were and say 'Why not?' " -- Robert Francis Kennedy

When Hank and I were first discussing the ideas behind Marion's Ledge, he told me that one of the sources of inspiration was an early childhood school classroom, especially a Montessori classroom, because of how the space is specifically designed for the enrichment of the students.

Well, this got me curious, so I went the Half-Priced Books and bought myself a book on Montessori education, specifically in the elementary level. The book was Montessori Today by Paula Polk Lillard, and in it she discusses fascets of the Montessori style of teaching of children ages 6-12. Hank was right about Marion's Ledge applying many of the same concepts geared towards adults. I can also see from this book why he believes this is important. I'll explain why in this blog entry.

On Montessori Education

One of the most important aspects of the elementary Montessori education is the classroom which is filled with what is called "Materials". Each Material that is placed in the classroom has a unique purpose and a unique place and is specifically made to give the children a hands on way to learn a concept. Another thing that these Materials are used for is to spark interest in the students to learn more. The kids in the Montessori classroom pursue studies based on their own questions. The teacher is there as a resource and a guide in the ways to find the information that they desire. The teacher is also there to make sure that the child doesn't miss something.

Unlike normal elementary classes, the teacher in Montessori classes don't lecture to the whole class, and they don't make the kids stay quite for large portions of the day. Instead, they will have discussions with small groups of students at a time and they teach the students to respect others by keeping their voices at a reasonable level and picking up after themselves. Conversation between students and collaborative work are encouraged.

Another very unique aspect of the Montessori education is the concept of "going out." This is where students get to leave the classroom and school in order to pursue a certain line of research. For example, if a group of students are studying ancient life, they can organize a trip to the local natural history museum. The materials in the classroom are limited on purpose to encourage the students to go out into society to find the answers that they are looking for. The students must organize these trips on their own, and, unlike a regular school field trip, the whole class doesn't go and the students who do go have a specific goal in mind. The teacher, as part of the materials of the classroom, keeps an up to date reference of the resources that the town offers so that the students can learn about different opportunities to learn.

What an awesome way to learn!! If/when I have kids, they are so totally going to a Montessori school!!!

On Marion's Ledge...

Ok, back on topic. So, how does all this relate to Marion's Ledge? Well, many of the features you see in the Montessori way translates very well into a place like Marion's Ledge even though Marion's Ledge is designed for adults. One of the ways is how methodically the classroom is designed. It is not made to be pretty, it is made so that everything serves a purpose, everything has a goal. Likewise, we are designing Marion's Ledge not for the aesthetics, but for the social interactions and engagement that can happen in such a designed space. For example, instead of small tables that only seat a couple people, we will probably have larger tables. That way people that don't know each other can sit at the same table without feeling like their space is invaded, but by sitting at the same table, there is more possibility for interaction. Now granted, we are not going as far as having "Materials" like in the Montessori classroom where every item is suppose to have a specific goal, but we are designing Marion's Ledge in ways that increase the opportunity for interaction and engagement with others and the place.

Also, Like such a Montessori classroom, Marion's Ledge not only wants to engage people that come in, but also to act as a resource that sends people out. We want to keep people up to date on things happening around Houston that they may not have heard about. We also want to have a resource book about Houston available to our guests. Along with the resource book, we want to have a bulletin board where posts can be made about things happening around Houston, thereby giving people the resources to engage in our city.

We will be keeping the ideas that form the Montessori classroom and educational experience in mind as we continue to design Marion's Ledge. We believe that this is a good place of inspiration for what we are planning to create, helping us add to the spirit and mission of Marion's Ledge.