B2B - CSR - investors & project DEVELOPERs.
As an engaged developer or investor you aim for more than stacking bricks and profit. Striving to built design-quality, green and vibrant neighborhoods and a sustainable DNA. You’ll go the extra mile. Together we’ll explore how demographic, social and environmental transitions can be opportunities to keep evolving and innovating. So, even in the future, your company will still be a sustainable frontrunner: thriving, relevant, in short: existing.
New ways of living bring sustainability to a bigger market. Creating a bridge in between ‘wanting to’ and ‘being able to’.
How we would choose to live depends on life stages and family composition. Due to aging, family dilution and more singles there’s a need for compact, livable and affordable alternatives. This growing market segment of 65 to 70%, is often overlooked. As neither the detached villa or regular apartments are an answer to their budget or dream. Even dual-earners still prefer, so called, ‘rural qualities’. As in: a pleasant neighborhood, some peace and privacy, a view on greenery, a compact garden or spacious terras. But they hardly find alternatives for the uninspiring market respons: ‘the detached single family development’. While not offering a sufficient answer to their and our (global) challenges: affordability, social isolation, citizenship and land consumption. Pure ‘cohousing’ does sound a little to close, to much WE, to the average person. But it’s milder form, ‘collective housing’, with more freedom and privacy attracts a bigger market. As less maintenance, affordability, more connection and shared solutions for energy-efficiency appeals to the vast majority. One in two Belgians for e.g. would be open to a shared garden. Provided a well thought-out design, these new life-styles have the potential to unite rural qualities with a denser fabric. That’s why the LAB & STUDIO focusses on these essential design qualities. So ‘collective housing’ can be a viable alternative for ‘the detached single family development’. By the studio’s core needs-based approach and the bigger picture in mind, our sustainable transition can become a ticket to a more pleasant and sustainable life. Offering more time and space for life-quality, while benefiting our communities and planet.
“We want … a shrubbery, one that looks nice and not to expensive … ” - before the just and fair Knights say SI.If one truly understands their dream, densifying and greening our rural and urban fabric, can become a ticket to more life-quality.
Project types: new housing models, collective housing, shared living, designed for change and adaptability, cohousing, life-cycle-housing, casco-plus or DIY-housing … etc
I’ve been there, done that… NO you haven’t. OK, so what’s new?
It’s about more than planting blocks on a plot, but creating a neighborhood, a community with a clear shared story or vision. In cohousing one shares an additional ‘living-space’, called the common room. In its milder form, collective housing it’s moreover secondary functions; like an additional garden, playground, vegetable plot, DIY or BBQ shelter, grouped parking, shared bikes or electric cars, …etc. In these designs you’ll find subtle invitations to meet up. So the social aspect or innovation is key. You’ll recognize elements of ‘social design’. Design utilized to have a positive impact on behavior, in this case ‘social cohesion’ and citizenship. Yet, offering the same amount of freedom and privacy as regular developments, by a thoughtful lay-out and views, spacious terrases or a compact garden on top of a shared one.
The individual units are more compact, without compromising on ones need of ‘personal-space’. Responding to the sharing economy, creating budget for things more difficult to achieve alone. Referring to for e.g. energy efficiency, renewable energy, an additional garden with a playground or swimming pond. Greenery supporting biodiversity. With this approach a ‘sustainable transition’ creates opportunities to densify our built fabric, while creating greener, engaged communities and more life-quality. Giving these projects, its investors and developers a distinctive added value.
Some developers focus solely on profit, at a huge expense for communities, people and all aspects of government budgets. Actually draining governments and society. While giving engaged developers, the whole sector, a bad reputation. So this is another approach. Here the focus is more on human scaled density, biodiversity, mixed-use, sharing, participation and social innovation. According to Belgian and foreign experts transparency, timely and well informed participation are key elements for succes. In short: involving local stakeholders, civil society, neighborhoods and local authorities. Giving a better sense of local needs, local embedding and reciprocity. Or as I call it, Elinor Ostrom’s RECIpe-PRO-CITY. And it’s exactly this that creates goodwill, baring-capacity and ‘trust’ about your intentions with stakeholders. For this the STUDIO has a straightforward approach. Because while design-quality, glocality and participation are key, choice-overload, standstills and budget overruns are not. We listen, analyse, circle back and summarize. So, as creatives and building professionals we’re like translators, transforming the end-users and glocal core needs into creative- and ‘at our best’ unexpected solutions.