Spatial Hierarchy- Cohousing Patterns

Spatial hierarchy is exhibited when physical changes in architecture, paving, or landscaping help differentiate and provide a hierarchy of adjacent spaces. The tables outside each residence within the public street at Drivhuset did not exhibit any spatial hierarchy but residents tried to achieve a defined space through landscaping. However, at Leerbjerg Lod, spatial hierarchy was each achieved at the transition from public path to each individual unit entry. And at both Ådalen 1 and 2 an implied hierarchy was achieved by recessing the unit entries. However, no evidence of spatial hierarchy was exhibited within the Common Houses visited. The employment of this pattern in conjunction with alcoves could lead to the dining room becoming a highly functional, all-purpose, 24/7 space. This pattern evolved out of the the single-purpose nature of the Common House dining room. Common Houses are heavily used around the meal times, but this primary function prohibits daily use of the dining area since other uses would deter set up/clean up of tables.

The majority of the Common Houses tried to create a sense of intimacy through seating areas, but they were contained within the main volume and lacked any architectural differentiation between the supposedly intimate space and the greater room. Ascending 2-3 steps and passing between a cased opening would help reduce the scale and create an alcove worthy of use.

Common Areas at the Heart - Cohousing Patterns

This pattern can be seen at two scales within a cohousing community - the larger scale of site planning as well as the smaller scale of Common House design. As described in the patterns of Activity Node, Local Town Hall, and Central Location, the Common House is at the center of the community and should allow people to naturally pass through or by it during the course of the day.

In the context of space planning for the Common House, the dining room should serve as the common area at the heart. The room should be located such “that people naturally pass through it on their way into and out of the house”. It should be along a common path which people use every day but located to one side so residents are not forced to stop. If they want, they can stop to see what’s happening; and if they desire, they can come right in and settle down. Incorporating the pattern of Alcoves will increase the likelihood of residents to stop because there will be a wider diversity of informal and unprogrammed activities that might occur in the dining room throughout the course of the day.

Circlulation through Common House at Savvaerket

Circulation occurs through Savvaerket Common House

Location facilitates easy drop in at Kæphøj Common House (top of stairs)

Casual seating outside Common House

The Common House - The Heart of a Cohousing Community

Design matters. In the design of cohousing, intention also matters. What sets cohousing apart from other types of conventional housing models - whether it is single family neighborhood, condominiums, or apartments - is that in cohousing, there is a physical space that is the heart of the community, and that space is the Common House. It is the stage in which community life (and intention) plays itself out.

While most common houses have the same programmatic elements - a dining room, kitchen, kids play room, and laundry, I would argue that they are not all created equal. The success of a Common House results from the careful juxtaposition of the above programmatic spaces and how they relate to each other. And the intentionality behind the design of each room also lends to the success. After having visited over 80 cohousing communities in the past 8 years my measure of a successful common house is how often its rooms are used by the community. During my visits to cohousing communities I have seen some rooms that were seemingly well designed, but were reported by residents to have received little usage due to poor acoustics, lack of visual connection, uncomfortable furniture, poor lighting, etc.

I have also seen rooms that were clearly designed as a "multi-purpose" space - and therefore, it serves no single purpose well. I acknowledge that space is often a premium in cohousing (either due to physical constraints or budget) and that the Common House needs to support a diversity of programmatic uses – large events, community dinners, canning of summer harvest, a musical combo. I would argue that a well-designed Common House will contain rooms that are well suited for the uses programmed for a given space while still allowing future flexibility for how that space might be adapted for another use.

How is this achieved? Through careful application of patterns - as enumerated by Christopher Alexander in his seminal book A Pattern Language. In 2006, I used Alexander's book as the basis of codifying the essential elements of Common House Design and created some additional patterns that I felt were important to better accommodate the intentionality of cohousing communities as I had observed in Denmark. It was apparent that the Danes had been more concerned about the specific uses of each space and not so much on each space needing to satisfy a litany of multi-purposes. And thus, their Common Houses had an air of hygge that is less frequently found in the Common Houses I have experienced in North America.

Designing the Cohousing Common House is the title of the book I wrote to document my findings of Danish Common Houses. The book includes, in addition to my own, Alexander’s patterns. My book has been requested by architects designing their first cohousing community, students researching cohousing, and residents who are planning for the design of their common house - these requests have come from across the US, as well as from Poland, Australia, Belgium, and England.  It is available for purchase by contacting Schemata Workshop.

In addition to the book, and if you are interested in learning more, I would encourage you to attend my workshop on Common House Design at the National Cohousing Conference in Oakland, CA. 1-5pm on June 15, 2012.

Daybreak Cohousing gets its first art!

[caption id="attachment_3664" align="aligncenter" width="687" caption="Daybreak's mural"][/caption] When we designed Daybreak Cohousing, the residents wanted to incorporate some art on the buildings.  However, as the project progressed, there was neither time or budget to create the pieces prior to move in so it was decided to wait until the residents moved in.  The railing system was designed to allow for replacement of wire mesh with art panels.  A concrete wall at the terrace stood ready to receive a mural or artwork.  Blocking was placed at key points on the building facades to receive large hanging pieces – these were structurally reinforced and fully flashed to integrate with the exterior siding. [Then] Daybreak resident and graphic artist Maura Jess conceived and designed the mural inspired by two pottery pieces created by fellow Daybreak resident and ceramic artist Scot Cameron-Bell. Scot later joined the project and transferred the design outline to the wall and the two artists then worked closely with other residents to paint the image over a 2-week period, Scot applying the final artistic touches.. So, after almost 2 years the first piece has been installed!  Click here to see photos of the process, including the inspiration for the piece.