Architecture and ageing: lessons learned from a cohousing project

Considering population ageing and a housing system in crisis, new residential responses for older people are being sought and claimed. To meet their needs for social contact, empowerment and mutual support, while considering affordability and sustainability, older people are increasingly considering cohousing options. However, to successfully develop a cohousing project, several factors, including the architectural design process, are decisive. Yet, few studies have focused on the design phases of such projects, especially when including an older users’ group. In this article, we therefore focus on a specific real-life case study (i.e., a Belgian cohousing project that supports ageing), in order to “open the black box of architectural work” and to understand both the design process and the design solution in that regard. During 10 months, we did meetings’ observations, stakeholders’ interviews and documents collection, throughout the early design phases. The results highlight the diversity of stakeholders involved and their impact; the architectural features addressed in the design and their interrelationships; the methods used for the project development; and the temporal factors that were associated. Finally, the study reveals the project’s multi-level complexity and points out dual poles that emerged during the design process.