Designing Common Areas - Workshop

Most of our newly expanded Development Team, now comprising 15 members, gathered for a days workshop in December with local green architect Robin Hillier to explore the design considerations for 'Common Area' of our cohousing project.

Common areas are one of the key elements that make a cohousing project. They are the shared spaces and facilities that knit a community together, and facilitate togetherness. They are also the benefits that can be enjoyed beyond the nuclear dwelling that most of us live in.

What became clear on the day was how many things there are to think about, so we'll be working together through 2019 at a series of workshops to get clearer on what common areas we'd like included in our cohousing project, and what they might look and feel like.

Perhaps the most pressing consideration is to what degree we'd like to minimise the size and facilities of our private dwellings in order to maximise the size and facilities included in the common or shared areas. It's a philosophical position that will be interesting to understand the practical implications of. We'll be sure to communicate decisions we make along the way.