Punk Rock Thoreau

Most people think of home as four walls and a roof. For Andrew Faust and Adriana Magana, that myopic view is the problem. Permaculture educators and consultants, the two have dedicated their livelihoods—and their 14-acre property—to modeling a more expansive concept of home. They founded and designed their Center for Bioregional Living in Warwarsing, which is part residence and part classroom, to unapologetically challenge how we think about shelter and what it means to live well. “Permaculture design is systems design,” explains Magana of the ethos behind the evolving live/work project the couple began in 2011. “Everything is connected. Our goal is to broaden the lens of ‘home’ to better understand how systems interrelate, how this world works, and come up with new solutions.”

“We’ve never been focused on this place as solely our home,” says Faust of the 1,800-square-foot brick ranch flanked by rain tanks, a biodigester, and various natural workshops and sheds scattered across the former hay farm. “It’s always been a place where people can learn.” For Faust and Magana, home is what happens when you refuse to live small.