Cohousing© Melbourne Website (draft 1.0)

Cohousing is an innovative approach to collaborative housing design, seeking to combine the privacy of your own dwelling and the advantages of some shared facilities and community living.

Successful cohousing project enables a group of about 15 to 25 households to participate in the creation of an intentionally designed neighbourhood. Having a home in a cohousing development can create a sanctuary-type feeling. A shared design can ensure a more congruent look.

Where does the idea come from?

McCamant and Durrett are an American couple with a background in architecture and environmental design. In 1988 they published a landmark book "Cohousing - A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves" in which they presented examples of Danish cohousing projects. Visiting both successful and less successful projects, they extracted key determinants of what works.

So, it cohousing like a commune?

No. In communes, members share philosophies, schooling of children and equity. McCamant and Durrett's research showed that the more prescriptive communities in Denmark did not work that well (see their book's page 63 for example). The cohousing context needs to add value to your home, rather than make it more difficult to sell. In cohousing neighbourhoods individuals own a 1, 2 or 3 bedroom unit with a normal kitchen and own backyard.

In a cohousing project, you will be joined by people with different professional backgrounds, with different household compositions. You do not need to vote the same way or like the same mode of transport. Your opinion on smoking or pets will not matter any more than it matters in relation to your current neighbours.

What you have in common is a desire to get a foot in the door in Melbourne's property market. To like the idea of having a smart design. The willingness to save money in return for doing a share of the project. A sceptical interest in pooling resources to achieve a better quality of housing.

However, this collaboration with potential neighbours is less daunting than it may seem. Whether you like it or not, you will have neighbours. You will have neighbourhood watch, corporate bodies, good neighbours, bad neighbours. You may use a laundromat or share a TV antenna. You may have enjoyed the idea of a pot-luck dinner. Many people in New York join a co-op, enabling for joint security & laundromat arrangements.

• Potential DIY cost-savings (sometimes known as sweat equity. Once a group is on agreement about the objectives of the cohousing project, key elements of the project can be achieved by members. Most people can learn to tile or paint. Who cannot plant a tree? You can still save thousands of dollars by "project managing" the construction. As long as you are consistent in applying the standardisation principle, you will find potential builders keen to bid competitively on a tender which involves the building of 25 units!

• Scope for input. Ever doodled designs on a napkin or intrigued by a house in a magazine? You will not be trying to undo a 1970's extension to a 1920's house. Whilst a cohousing project in Melbourne may require demolition or accommodation of an existing structure, you can avoid repiling, rewiring and replumbing. The scope is here to apply contemporary designs and technology.

• Likely stamp-duty savings. As with other off-the-plan purchases, stamp duty is calculated on the value of the property at time of sale. So, stamp duty will be based on the cost of your share of the land bought. If you were to purchase a unit once most of it has been built, you will no longer save on stamp duty.

• Potential access to a particular style of housing not commonly sold on the market. The objective of a developer is to make as much money as possible. Most developers will try to squeeze as many 1-bedroom units with as little storage space as possible into their designs. The objective of a cohousing group is to achieve as high a quality of life out of a design as attainable.

• Better use of land. In typical cohousing projects, cars are kept to the outside (or underneath), which allows for pedestrian spaces and communal greens. Commonly, private gardens are at the rear of dwellings. Less land allocated to roads means more land for space where it matters.

1. The classic book on cohousing is written by McCamant, K. and Durrett, C. (1988) "Cohousing - A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves" Ten Speed Press. The 1994 edition extends beyond the Danish models by including examples of American projects. (Some spare copies of the 1988 edition for sale for $25 if you call 9818 7494).

1. For a broad perspective on participation in housing design, read Colquhoun, I. and Fauset, P.G. (1991) " Housing Design - An International Perspective" Basford: London.

1. To get a taste of what good design can look like, Charles Woods and Malcolm Wells have written & drawn the extraordinary "Designing Your Natural House".

Cohousing Melbourne Contacts