Design and Codesign:
Collective housing development can offer the opportunity to design and build custom homes. The following headings break down some of the potential opportunities created by this custom design process:
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Collective housing enables the residents of a home to also be the developers, clients, and financiers. One of the benefits of this is the ability for occupants to engage in the design process of their own homes. The savings from avoiding a developer can be used to contract an architect or designer, who will be able to provide a better and more functional house design than off-the-shelf housing. Custom design & build also allows for greater efficiency around shared facilities, as they can be incorporated from the very beginning. See also: Collective Custom Build
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The extent of bespoke and shared design components within the housing design is a key question to resolve. Standard or prefabricated housing or housing components may be appropriate in some contexts and these may be more affordable. Repetition for example of housing units, or bathroom layouts and fittings, is more affordable than too much diversity.
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By being involved at every stage of the process of housing development, a community can control what is built. Superfluous elements, such as excess car facilities or separated gardens, can be avoided while additional communal facilities can be integrated from the get-go. There may also be additional design costs and time components associated with codesign to accommodate the extent of community processes it is based on.
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Not every family or individual needs to duplicate the same facilities. Collective housing allows low-use or high-cost facilities to be shared between multiple households, allowing for reduced costs or improved quality. This also provides improved operational efficiency, as there is less wasted space and fewer wasted resources. Typical examples of shared spaces include group gathering and hospitality spaces, workshops or craft spaces, carports, or guest suites.
