The Beauty of Cohousing Communities
What is cohousing?
Cohousing is a type of intentional community where people live together in neighborhoods designed to facilitate community interaction while preserving personal privacy. Each household has a private home as well as access to shared community amenities and spaces. Residents manage their community, participate in communal activities, and regularly eat together, fostering a strong sense of mutual support.
Cohousing can be established in various settings, from existing houses with their fences removed, to dense apartment-style buildings, and can be inter-generational or tailored to specific groups such as older adults or communities with common interests.
These communities typically feature generous common spaces surrounded by private homes, often including a common house with a large kitchen and dining room, laundry, recreational areas, outdoor walkways, open spaces, and gardens. Residents use these spaces to play, cook, share tools, and work together, enhancing relationships and creating a vibrant social environment.
Cohousing helps to address the isolation many people experience today. Collaborative property management and governance foster a sense of care and respect for a shared community. At the heart of it all, cohousing is about a group of people making a choice. A choice to share space, resources, growth, and joy.
“Cohousing is a way of resolving the isolation many people experience today, recreating the neighbourly support of the past. This can happen anywhere, in your street or starting a new community using empty homes or building new.”
Why cohousing?
Image Credit: Grace Kim of Drivhuset Cohousing in Randers, DK. Designed by Niels Madsen
Living in cohousing offers an intentional lifestyle that appeals to many for its unique blend of social cohesion and independence. While cohousing comes with its fair share of challenges, especially in managing complex social dynamics, the rewards are innumerable.
Cohousing doesn’t fit into one neat bucket, and the benefits and elements that define a cohousing community vary widely. That being said, many communities embody:
Mutual support and help
Multi-generationality
Opportunities for social relationships and casual social encounters
Sharing of goods, services, resources, and life milestones
Gathering together in shared spaces
Image Credit: Grace Kim of Trudeslund Cohousing in Birkerød, DK. Designed by Tegnestuen Vandkunsten
Different people are drawn to cohousing for different reasons. For example, Chuck Maclane highlighted in his presentation at the 2019 Cohousing Conference, “What Makes Cohousing Work: The Residents or the Community?”, “younger folks value sociability and sharing, whereas older folks value support and sustainability.” However, everyone who values social connections is likely to benefit from living in cohousing.
Additionally, established cohousing communities are remarkably resilient. According to the 2017 cohousing survey from the Cohousing Research Network, most cohousing communities are able to cultivate what they need to thrive and to achieve their goals, and, when needed, they are capable of actively responding to challenges and bouncing back from setbacks.
The Cohousing Research Network also found that 70% of cohousing community members rate their physical health as better than others their age, and a remarkable 90% rate their mental health as good or very good.
In terms of living in cohousing as form of again in place, more than 80% of community members rated aging in cohousing as preferable to other typical living arrangements, including assisted living, nursing homes, retirement communities, and living alone.
“I am firmly convinced that I will live longer and happier as a result of being here.”
At its core, cohousing is about choosing to live in a way that emphasizes connection, shared resources, and mutual support. It’s a commitment to building a community that enriches the lives of its members and offers a model of sustainable, joyful living. For those interested in exploring this lifestyle, cohousing can be a transformative experience, providing a sense of belonging and purpose that is often missing in traditional housing arrangements.
Cohousing Design - Designing For Community
Image Credit: Cohousing UK - About Cohousing
When designing a cohousing community, there are certain elements that make a huge difference. Communities almost always have a common house that functions as a third place, inviting regular gatherings where everyone can come together. Homes in cohousing communities allow residents to have their own private space while gathering nodes and shared pathways strengthen relationships through day-to-day interactions.
Designing cohousing communities requires careful attention to the gradients of privacy to ensure a harmonious blend of communal and private spaces. It is often recommended that homes be designed with layers of privacy. For example, a section of a cohousing community might organize spaces as follows: common space, then a shared pathway, followed by a transitional “private” space like a porch or atrium, then inside of the unit, the kitchen, or another more "public” private space, with bedrooms being the most tucked away, and potentially a private outdoor space to give residents a range of choices based on their mood and personal preferences.
This design philosophy helps maintain personal boundaries while fostering community interaction. Additionally, homes can be smaller and more efficient when they don’t have to compensate for extra space covered by community amenities such as workshop/studio spaces, coworking areas, extra storage, and using the common house for hosting large events.
In terms of design trends, communities with fewer units tend to have higher levels of community meal participation and slightly more meeting participation, promoting a stronger sense of social connection. In addition to balancing the number of units, the thoughtful placement of buildings and common spaces is crucial, as it has a strong relationship with personal connections to the community and opportunities for social interactions. Such design considerations are essential not only for creating functional living environments but also for enhancing the mental health and overall well-being of the residents. (What Makes Cohousing Work: The Residents or the Community? Chuck Maclane)
Image Credit: Helen & Hard together with Indigo Vekst and Gaia Trondheim from Gaining by Sharing - Architecture Designed for Sharing
Design Spotlight: Vindmøllebakken
Image Credit: Helen & Hard
Location: Stavanger, Norway (Urban)
Architect: Helen & Hard
Number of Units: 40 co-living units, 4 townhouses and 8 apartments
Year Built: 2019
Vindmøllebakken, designed by Norwegian architecture firm Helen & Hard, is an innovative project that incorporates the "Gaining by Sharing" model, developed in collaboration with Indigo Vekst and Gaia Trondheim. The goal of the model is to “increase the social, environmental, economic and architectural qualities of a project through the creation of sustainable communities that are based around communal ways of living”.
In Vindmøllebakken, the residents share 5,382 square feet of communal spaces and amenities. These areas include a central courtyard, communal kitchen, dining area, lounge, guest rooms, library, greenhouse, and workshop, fostering a vibrant community atmosphere. The design of Vindmøllebakken promotes both social interaction and personal privacy. The units are arranged around a central core of communal spaces, with a sequence of rooms designed to create visual connections and provide flexibility in engagement. The community is constructed with sustainable materials, primarily wood, including spruce timber and hemp insulation.
Residents of Vindmøllebakken actively participated in the planning and development phases, influencing the layout of their individual units and suggesting activities for the common areas. This collaborative process not only tailored the community to the residents' needs but also fostered early social bonds, essential for the cohousing model. “Residents continue to take part in self-organized groups that manage the shared facilities and tasks, like cooking, gardening, car-sharing and even curating art for the communal spaces.” (Kimberley Mok at Treehugger)
Vindmøllebakken exemplifies how alternative housing models can address the isolation of traditional housing, creating resilient communities that enhance the quality of life. By integrating sustainable practices and encouraging strong community bonds, Vindmøllebakken sets a new standard for urban living.
Design Spotlight: Jystrup Savvaerket
Image Credit: Tegnestuen Vandkunsten Sourced from Grace Kim’s Cohousing Common House Design
Location: Jystrup, Denmark (Rural)
Architect: Tegnestuen Vandkunsten
Number of Units: 21
Year Built: 1984
Commissioned by a private group of owners, this project aimed to maximize the sense of community and shared living possible in a rural environment. Built on the site of a former sawmill, the development embraces shared communal space and energy efficiency. “[Jystrup Savværket] feels like one big house with 21 private residential units, a ‘single organism’ with 40% communal space, where private and communal areas can shrink and grow as needed.” (Tegnestuen Vandkunsten)
A defining feature of the community is the large glass roof that covers an interior “street”, forming a significant part of the communal space. The covered street is an essential design feature that serves as a third place and gathering node for residents. It also functions as a transitional space between the units and more public areas. This street, adorned with trees and flower beds, provides a warm atmosphere for hospitality and community activities, including communal meals and play, even in inclement weather. The design reflects Vandkunsten's commitment to community and democratic living, ensuring that the residents live in close dialogue and cooperation.
Cohousing By Location Type
Urban Cohousing Communities
Urban cohousing communities offer a unique blend of communal living and city convenience, integrating the social and environmental benefits of cohousing with the vibrancy of urban life. These communities are designed to foster strong social connections and mutual support among residents while taking advantage of the amenities and infrastructure of a city environment. Urban cohousing often features compact, efficient private units clustered around shared spaces such as courtyards, communal kitchens, and rooftop gardens, promoting interaction and sustainability. By reducing the need for individual resources and encouraging shared activities, urban cohousing provides a resilient, socially rich alternative to traditional city living, addressing the isolation often experienced in urban settings.
“Urban cohousers tend to be within walking distance of restaurants and grocery stores. They often have some of the smallest cohousing units, which if anything encourages them to make more use of their common areas and interact with each other even more.”
Suburban Cohousing Communities
Suburban cohousing communities strike a balance between walkability and space. These communities are often located in areas that provide easy access to necessary amenities like groceries, restaurants, and parks while still offering a quieter, more spacious environment. The design of suburban cohousing typically includes a mix of private homes with shared walls and generous communal spaces such as gardens, playgrounds, and the common house. Residents benefit from more space than urban communities, with larger lots allowing for gardening and outdoor activities, while still being efficient and compact enough to fit into a typical neighborhood.
Rural Cohousing Communities
Rural cohousing communities offer a unique lifestyle that emphasizes a close connection with nature. These communities are typically situated on generous sites, providing ample space for extensive gardens, farming, and outdoor activities. The design of rural cohousing often includes larger shared spaces and communal facilities that support sustainable living practices, such as renewable energy systems and cooperative farming. Residents of rural cohousing benefit from a strong sense of community, with opportunities for meaningful interactions and mutual support that can be otherwise hard to find when living far from urban centers.
“Many rural communities grow much of their own food on organic farms, which they work together. They may also work with a professional farmer to run a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.”
Additional Cohousing Resources
Schemata Workshop’s Cohousing Patterns Blog Post Series
My Cohousing Page
Read about some of the cohousing and multifamily projects I’ve worked on ->
Cohousing-Related Blog Posts
As the American dining room disappears from new residential construction, we are faced with a question, can our need for connection outweigh years of societal and economic shifts to preserve space for gathering?