B2C - private project development - collective housing.
Are regular apartments or detached single-family developments not an answer to your budget or dream? Or is your house becoming to big? Would you like to built something new with friends or family, but compromising on privacy is a ‘no go’? Or does ‘together’ sound nicer, since your family looks differently? More compact, less maintenance or mortgage pressure, with more life-quality? Or would you like to take matters into your own hands? And create a place for yourself, your parents or a family member, with more connection and support, while investing wisely? Well than this is your cup of tea or coffee.
Plots or outdated buildings, located in or close to village- or city-centers, are a good opportunity to densify sustainably. In dialogue with local authorities, a group of private clients can decide to realize a housing project together. So more shoulders, can carry the load, together. It can create space for a little more luxury, or things that are more difficult to achieve alone; as in energy-performance, sustainable technology or e.g. a shared swimming pond. This way our ‘sustainable transition’ will create opportunities for better neighborhoods and life-styles. With neighbors of your choice, it is not just the return on investment, but above all: affordability and a more pleasant sustainable life-style that motivates you. Creating more engaged, supportive and safer neighborhoods. So the added value also lies in the social aspect. Your private garden or spacious terras offers peace and privacy. While some ‘small talk’ can be found for e.g. in a shared courtyard, garden or DIY-shed. In comparison to ‘cohousing’, ‘collective housing’ will offer you more freedom and privacy. As in this milder form of shared living, togetherness is an inclusive, welcoming invitation, not an obligation. What works for you, you’ll decide together. So the things you’d like to share or how much collectivity you’d like, is different for every group and project. Provided a fair and well thought-out design, these projects can have all the qualities or PROS of detached housing, without the CONS.
A feasible alternative, with less maintenance, a slower pace and more life-quality.
What will be shared? Well, you’ll share more than an entrance hall, a staircase or the parking lot. With collective housing it’s about secondary functions: like a garden on top of your smaller private garden or spacious terras, like for e.g. a carport with bike-shed, garden-shed, playing field, a co-working space, a staircase with a coffee-corner or launderette, a guest-room, a swimming-pond, a BBQ-shelter, orchard, vegetable garden, a chicken run, shared electric cars or bicycles, … etc. With cohousing you’ll share a extra living space too, called a ‘common house’ which mostly has an additional kitchen and sitting area.
Project types: Housing apart but building together, privately commissioned project development, collective housing, ‘friends’-living, shared living, life cycle or kangaroo-living, care-living, cohousing, artist-collectives, eco-neighborhoods … etc.
OK, sounds good … but how do we get started?
These projects differ from regular assignments because of their the preliminary stage, as in the feasibility study, group formation and workshops with experts.
After finding a suitable location, we explore what’s possible and feasible for the location. The input of the group, building experts and local authorities leads to an initial sketch. We’ll turn this into what’s called a ‘principal-planning-application’ in Flanders. A document that gives a bit more legal security. Offering some insights on your options on a certain plot, without the need to own or buy it, yet. When this goes well, we’re can take the next step.
The group will choose one or two spokespersons. And during the design-stage, there’re a fixed number of ‘one to ones’ with individual residents. Besides this each design-stage has it’s own workshop, debating the project, including a Q&A. Here we’ll review blindspots and improvements. So there’s lots of room for input. But dialogue can be very time consuming. And it’s precisely this that puts off some clients, too much hassle. Therefore the studio has a straightforward approach. As participation and design-quality are the intention, standstills, overchoice-stress and budget overruns, are not. So we’ll go for a needs-based approach. Meaning: your building-experts are your translators, translating the groups and context’s needs, into creative- and ‘at our best’ unexpected solutions.
For a structured approach and a clear point of contact, these projects are often realized by a general contractor. As in a casco-plus-approach, meaning: earthwork, landscaping, structural work, moisture and windproof, PLUS: plumbing, heating, ventilation, electricity, screed and plastering. For other aspects, like kitchens, sanitary appliances, floor finishes, interior doors and paintwork, some like to DIY. Others prefer finding contractors themselves for a group purchase. The diagram below gives you a brief overview.
For the price of an apartment, you can have the comfort of a detached home, but without the CONS. Together you get better value for money.
Aim of focus: efficiënte groepstrajecten en een wrijvingsarme totaalvisie (in het ontwerp gedeelde functies, de akte opbouw en het toekomstig onderhoud).
