The nurturing city

Abstract

Increasing ground prices are displacing the middle class families from Amsterdam. The available housing is either too expensive or simply unfit for families. They are therefore forced by the circumstances to move to the suburbs, away from their job, family and friends in the city. In the process, the city loses valuable middle class workers and the social cohesion that families ensure. We need solutions to this lack of affordable urban housing that is suitable for families. This project explores one alternative form of housing that has the potential to meet that challenge: co-housing. The key in this kind of housing is the externalization of those functions that don’t necessarily need to take place in the private realm. In that way, co-housing provides with private units that share common spaces, usually a large kitchen and dining room, as well as playing spaces for children. This brings down the housing costs and suits the needs of the urban middle class families. The project therefore answers the question: How to provide affordable and suitable housing for middle class urban families in a high-density urban context? The solution involves the use of stacked co-housing communities.