It's February 2019. Coliving is hype and trendy, yet we haven't seen the WeWork of coliving yet - mostly because coliving in its current form is a new and barely explored industry.
Some pioneers have dared to shine light on the phoneme in which people choose Housing as a Service freely its experiential, financial and communal benefit. They questioned the status quo, imagined the future, researched the present and help us understand where we are and can be heading.
We compiled a list of must-read studies, publications, magazines, and insightful surveys that dig deeper into the coliving movement. And while we let you discover them, let's also give a big thank you to all contributors who foster this movement (most of them driven by passion).
The designer duo Anton & Irene collaborated with Space10 to create an interactive survey of more than 20 questions around coliving demand. The collected data of more than 7000 participants from 147 countries helps you understand preferences of coliving residents - among others, people's main fears, interior design preferences, desired number of residents, and opinions on community values. And to top that, One Shared House produced a 10 minutes documentary of the project.
The non-profit organisation Co-liv did a fantastic job at gathering and portraying more than 60 coliving spaces around the globe. They included coliving space descriptions, capacities, locations, and added pictures and founder interviews to understand the current coliving trend. This is a must-have resource to get an overview of existing coliving spaces.
As an initiative being led by the research laboratory arm (Re:bond) of Bond Society, a French architecture firm, the HOMY study researched common denominators and trends amongst more than 30 coliving spaces worldwide. You can buy the book (in French) or find a summary here.
Outside, one of the largest coliving spaces, interviewed 119 of their members about remote work. The study explains more in-depth the types of location independent workers, their background and characteristics, and touches upon general trends. Very insightful to understand their customers.
The Community Facilitation Handbook is a holistic framework for community building. This publication is a great example of the empowering resources that radical collaboration can generate for the colliving industry, supporting coliving communities to fully leverage community building and community facilitation. Co-authored by Gui Perdrix from Art of Co andNaima Ritter Figueres & Matt Lesniak from Conscious Coliving. 70+ pages with input from 16 expert contributors from different corners of the world.
This is a pure masterpiece. In this second edition of IMAGINE, Space10 and Urgent.Agency take you onto a 100-page journey and explore both the coliving movement in depth as well as how design can be used to enhance coliving. Beyond that, they also touch upon new business models, question how to build community, and deliver massive insights all around the coliving phenomena.
In this collection of high quality essays, RSA asked thought leaders and practitioners to explore the potential of alternative housing models such as co-living to help meet the challenges of today, with a particular focus on cities and urban areas. Reports major cover topics such as coliving in its historical context, coliving's place in society, life enhancing design and housing equity models.
Purehouse Labs interviewed major coliving thought leaders and created a guide portraying current coliving business models, how design and technology are integrated into coliving, ins-and-outs of shared living communications, and the role of urban planning. This research paper is a must-read for any coliving enthusiast.
JLL, a world leader in real estate services, created a report highlighting the importance of non-student housing. Also called "Purpose built shared living space" (PBSL) the group emphasises on the importance of offering accommodation once students graduate and enter the professional market.
This Master thesis applies design thinking and collaborative exploration methods to produce case studies for two contrasting co-living developments in London. In-depth reporting, analysis, and interviews shows the role design can play in contemporary research, positive change, and sustainable development.
An in-depth analysis of the legal and political situation, burdens of entry and current initiatives for co-living in French public housing. Created in cooperation with F. Lauprêtre and Impact Logement Conseil, it explores possibilities and limitations for social coliving projects.
Any Key Resource You'd Add?
Let me know by leaving a comment below or tagging me on Twitter @colivingdiaries with your personal favourite.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I'm Gui, a coliving operator, facilitator, and industry builder with one mission: to make coliving the best experience one can have.
I founded Art of Co, a global resource platform and consultancy to create transformative coliving spaces, wrote the 📘 Art of Coliving book , and am the director of Co-Liv, the global association of coliving professionals. Come engage with other passionate coliving builders in my 👉 Telegram community or join the 👉 Coliving Cocktail newsletter, where I send out recaps of everything that happens within the coliving world!
PS: Need help to create state-of-the-art coliving experiences? Write me an email here or contact me on LinkedIn 💥
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