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our blog
One Year Fully Charged: Silverdale Transit Center Turns One!
about 5 days ago
Blueprints for Success: Grace H. Kim's Top Tips for UW College of Built Environments Class of 2025
about a week ago
The Footnote: Post-Grad Advice for Graduate Architects
about a month ago
What does resilience look like at Schemata?
about 2 months ago
Welcome to the Team Kriti & Astrid
about 3 months ago
Spotlight: Local Organization That Are Advocating for Their Communities
about 4 months ago
Schemata’s Commitment: MLK Day of Service at Everest Park
about 5 months ago
Schemata Workshop's Vision for the Next 20 Years
about 6 months ago
The Origin Story of Schemata Workshop
about 7 months ago
Celebrating 20 Years of Schemata Workshop: Building Communities Through Design
about 8 months ago

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Trudeslund Cohousing in Birkerød, DK. Designed by Tegnestuen Vandkunsten

Trudeslund Cohousing in Birkerød, DK. Designed by Tegnestuen Vandkunsten

Communal Eating - Cohousing Pattern #9 [147]

August 12, 2019 in Cohousing, Cohousing Patterns, Community, Housing, Sustainability, Urban Design, Urban Living

Gathering over group meals is integral to forging resilient bonds within cohousing communities.

“…communal eating plays a vital roll in almost all human societies as a way of binding people together and increasing the extent to which they feel like members of a group.”

Communal eating is the key to establishing communitas within a cohousing community. The opportunity to eat together seemed to form closer bonds in communities which had regularly scheduled common meals. In addition, those communities that had rotating table assignments (monthly, quarterly or semiannually) seemed to form stronger bonds between residents which was evident from their conversations and interactions.

Since the act of eating together is clearly not about sustenance, pay attention to the environment in which dining occurs.

  Saettedamen Cohousing  in Hillerød, DK. Designed by Theo Bjerg og Palle Dyrebord

Saettedamen Cohousing in Hillerød, DK. Designed by Theo Bjerg og Palle Dyrebord

  Jernstoeberiet Cohousing  in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jan Gudmand Hoyer, Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen

Jernstoeberiet Cohousing in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jan Gudmand Hoyer, Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen

  Ibsgården   in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen

Ibsgården in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen

  Saettedamen Cohousing  in Hillerød, DK. Designed by Theo Bjerg og Palle Dyrebord   Jernstoeberiet Cohousing  in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jan Gudmand Hoyer, Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen   Ibsgården   in Roskilde, DK. Designed by Jes Edwards, Helge Christiansen

Please Note:

This series of blog posts is focused on explaining common design patterns in cohousing. Grace Kim, a founding principal and owner of Schemata Workshop, has identified patterns applicable to cohousing from "Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander and has added some of her own.

Grace's additional patterns pay particular attention to the Common House because its design requires special consideration. As the living room for the community, the Common House sets the initial impression for visitors about what cohousing is, what your community values might be, or the perceived benefits of living in community. Schemata Workshop has analyzed scores of common houses in Denmark and North America to discern what does and does not work. Following Alexander's concept of Pattern Language, Grace has thoroughly documented the necessary programmatic and design elements for a successful Common House.

To learn more about cohousing at Schemata, visit our cohousing page.

Tags: cohousing, Pattern Language, urbanism, community, cohousing patterns, Schemata cohousing, multifamily, multi generational
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