Places
22
Castle and Community: The new model for the spaces we live in
Harry Harris, founder at SUSD London, talks about the shift in living environments from individualistic to more communal
THE SPACES many of us are choosing to live in are changing. While the reasons for this are open to debate – from the preference among millennials and Gen Y for a subscription economy lifestyle, where experience means more than ownership, the increase in single-parent families and an ageing population, to the cost of housing, ease of travel, loneliness, and technology. There is no doubt that we are steadily recognising the potential of housing typologies to create a sense of belonging. Time was when our homes were thought to be our castles with the implication that the drawbridge was well and truly up most of the time. Today, new accommodation models are fi nding ways to bring it down, opening the castle to community, with the physical as well as mental benefi ts this is shown to bring. These models include co-living, such as The Collective Canary Wharf which is aimed at young City professionals, The Curtain in Shoreditch – a members club, hotel, co-working hub and live events space curated to appeal to local media and design folk – and, on a smaller scale, developments where, for example, church land has been redeveloped into new family housing in conjunction with the refurbishment of the church itself. In my experience, all these models are becoming
increasingly successful in delivering communities which incubate new ideas, share experiences and make collaborative decisions, helping people to feel part of something that matters. Loyalty to anything tends to come from participation. My company has been involved in all three of these innovative typologies as developer, architect, or advisor. The Collective has taken co-living to new levels and we worked as a development partner
with their project in Canary Wharf. With 705 studio rooms, it is the largest co-living space in the world – and while the rooms are compact, the social spaces are more expansive and better equipped than you would fi nd in most hotels, including an Olympic-size rooftop swimming pool, large screening room, co-working space, bar, restaurant and communal kitchens. Somewhat at the other end of the scale, we have worked with London church groups to redevelop their buildings to meet the needs of non-profi t organisations and local arts and wellness groups while also creating new housing. The latest example is St Margaret’s United Reform Church in North London, where we just completed three premium family houses next to the beautiful arts and crafts church which is being adapted to offer a variety of event spaces alongside its worship area. The concern I have about some of the new options is that they risk tribal ageism, which may be fun for a while but is experientially limiting. But I am excited that the advantages of intergenerational communities, so often overlooked, are slowly being translated into new models for living such as studios for fi rst-time buyers combined with family-sized as well as smaller apartments adapted for elderly living with gardens and communal indoor spaces. Meanwhile, experiments in converting part of a retirement home into a nursery school with organised interaction between the generations have proved enormously valuable to both age groups. So often, it seems we do well to borrow from the past in creating for the future.
susd.co.uk
Image credit: Adrian Houston
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