Shared living has made a big come-back, and not limited to students only.

The benefits of co-living are described as the “3 E’s” – Environmental, Economic and Emotional”.

Urbanisation and the increasing number of singles and elderly will expand this life of communities into more shared living and more shared experiences.

Humans are naturally social. Yet, the modern way of life in industrialized countries is greatly reducing the quantity and quality of social relationships. Many people in these countries no longer live in extended families or even near each other. Instead, they often live on the other side of the country or even across the world from their relatives. Many also delay getting married and having children. Likewise, more and more people of all ages in developed countries are living alone, and loneliness is becoming increasingly common.

The last 3 decades have seen a rekindling of interest in shared living in entirely new ways as illustrated by the following websites

www.roommates4boomers.com which is a matching site for Women 50 & Older

www.coabode.org which is a single mothers house sharing website

www.solterraco-housing.com is a shared housing model primarily for independent seniors in Ontario.

Baba Yagas in Paris France is another example of a community of older artistic women

 

Even the British car maker MINI branched out into the living area by creating the MINI LIVING concept which was presented at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Italy this year.

The installation in Milan is a standalone apartment, but its creators see it as a small part of a micro-neighborhood of similar apartments, where neighbours are able to share their modules, making it an alternative to urban anonymity and encouraging interaction and a sense of community.

Sharing means more for everybody.

MINI LIVING turns “sharing” into an adventure in its own right. Occupants who make their individual living space and functions sharable with the wider community can quite literally “open up” to interaction and experiences that would not be possible in a conventional private space. “With the MINI LIVING installation, we’re looking to be part of a debate about future forms of shared living.

As a closed space, MINI LIVING provides its occupants with all the security of living in their own four walls. But since those walls are flexible, the installation blurs the normal boundaries between the private and the communal. However, as the overall motto of the MINI LIVING installation, “Do Disturb”, already implies, this concept has been designed specifically to encourage interaction and to provide an alternative to urban anonymity.

TO BE PART OF IT IS THE FUTURE.