World traveler envisions a new kind of retirement community | Daily ...

Home > Development, Sustainability > World traveler envisions a new kind of retirement community

I met Sayward Ayre, a vivacious, white-haired world traveler, at a natural building seminar earlier this month. She was one of dozens of enthusiastic builders who gathered in a dark, church basement?to?hear?Bruce King, founder of the Ecological Building Network, engineer,?and all-around alternative building guru, lead a lively, technical seminar.

Sayward Ayre

But Ayre stood out in the crowd. Her eyes lit up as she told me about her hopes of building a retirement community with structures?made out of cob, which is a?mixture of natural materials including earth, clay and sand. And now she?s looking to find other people to help plan the project.

After visiting family and friends in assisted-living facilities in New Hampshire, Florida, Maine and Portland,?Ayre started developing plans to build a retirement community that would break sharply from the norm.

?They all seem so square, so formal ? so traditional,? she said. ?It doesn?t really make me feel good about being there; it?s more like you?ve gone off to a civilized place to die.?

Ayre, who used to work in the Washington State Energy Office, now envisions building a retirement community that showcases natural building methods, water-recycling and all sorts of alternative energy production.

But first she?s looking to create a planning board or group to figure out how to approach the project. She?s gotten some responses already but is looking for more,?email her at: ?sayward.a@gmail.com

Development, Sustainability

marianas trench camille grammer camille grammer us supreme court breaking dawn part 2 trailer mississippi state chris carpenter