Designing Buildings - User contributions [en]

User:TOWN

2016-04-21T17:15:02Z

Cambridge K1:

K1 is an embryonic cohousing community in Orchard Park, Cambridge.

Approximately 40 householders are coming together to shape our own homes and community with the support of dedicated professionals. This is the first of a kind: as far as we know, there has never been a council/developer/cohousing partnership like this before in the UK – find out [http://www.cambridge-k1.co.uk/home/faq/ here] what makes it unique.

Cohousing means that the community is central to the design of both the site as a whole and the individual homes. We will have a common house where we can share meals, get our post, watch films, have parties or just get together and chat. We’ll have communal gardens where there will be space for children to run, food to be grown, games to be played, gardeners to get creative and lounging in the sun.

Cambridge City Council, in collaboration with our group, has chosen TOWNhus to build our community for us. TOWNhus is a joint venture between UK developer [http://www.wearetown.co.uk TOWN] and Swedish house builder [http://www.trivselhus.co.uk Trivselhus], which builds us warm, comfortable and sustainable homes using a tried and tested, highly efficient timber panel system. Read the [https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzp3hdknehx5r4o/K1%20press%20release%2020%20July%202015.pdf?dl=0 press release] about their winning bid, view the stunning design [http://www.cambridge-k1.co.uk/design-boards-from-townhus/ here], or [https://www.dropbox.com/s/z6793xp2cy9f3gp/Stage%202_A1%20boards_compliant_FINAL_HI.pdf?dl=0 download] the detailed design as a PDF.

The houses will be customisable, meaning that we can choose not only our fixtures and fittings but whether or not we want internal walls, and how many rooms we want on each floor! We’re beginning this process right now and we’re hoping that everyone will be moved in by mid-2017, so this really is an exciting time for us.

User:Cambridge K1

2016-04-21T17:11:39Z

Cambridge K1:

Cohousing and related terms

2016-03-24T10:49:41Z

Cambridge K1:

[[File:Cohousing4.jpg|link=File:Cohousing4.jpg]]

Cohousing is a way of living that has been established in several countries around the world for many years. Created and run by their residents, cohousing developments are intentional communities where people not only know their neighbours but actively manage their neighbourhood alongside them.

Small enough that everyone can be familiar with each other, but large enough not to force them to be, cohousing communities are built around a shared desire for a sense of belonging, neighbourliness and mutual support that many people feel is missing from modern life and contemporary housing developments.

In cohousing communities, just as in conventional neighbourhoods, residents own or rent their own private homes. But everyone also benefits from extra shared facilities and spaces that allow members to do things together. Shared outdoor spaces provide opportunities to grow food, play and be close to nature, and a shared Common House provides additional indoor space for residents to meet, eat and socialise together. Car parking tends to be kept to a minimum and located at the periphery, allowing the central spaces close to homes to be used for other things.

[[File:Cohousing2.jpg|link=File:Cohousing2.jpg]]

Living in a cohousing community brings a few extra responsibilities – residents are encouraged to be actively involved in running the place – but many more benefits. This way of living is part of mainstream housing development in many European countries and has a growing presence in the US. In the UK there are several completed purpose-built cohousing schemes – and many more in the planning or delivery stages.

The [http://cohousing.org.uk UK Cohousing Network] is the principal resource for cohousing groups in the UK and its website lists dozens of active cohousing groups across the country. While many are open to all and actively seek a generational mix, some may be exclusively for older people. Some are new build; others conversions of existing property. All cohousing projects tend to have a strong focus on engendering more sustainable ways of living.

[[w/index.php?title=W/index.php%3Ftitle%3DWww.cambridge-k1.co.uk%26action%3Dedit%26redlink%3D1&action=edit&redlink=1|K1 Cambridge]] is one of a growing number of cohousing schemes being realised in the UK.

[[w/index.php?title=W/index.php%3Ftitle%3DWww.wearetown.co.uk%26action%3Dedit%26redlink%3D1&action=edit&redlink=1|TOWN]] partnered with Swedish housing manufacturer [[w/index.php?title=W/index.php%3Ftitle%3DWww.trivselhus.se%26action%3Dedit%26redlink%3D1&action=edit&redlink=1|Trivselhus]] under the moniker TOWNhus, was chosen as the enabling developer to deliver the K1 project alongside Cambridge Cohousing Limited (CCL).

TOWN’s job is to plan, design and deliver a 42-home cohousing scheme for CCL’s membership, which comprises a wide mix of households including couples with young children and older people downsizing. Located in Orchard Park, on the northern edge of Cambridge, the scheme is attracting both local people and others moving from much further afield.

A detailed planning application for the scheme was submitted at the end of 2015, which was the result of many months of collaboration between TOWNhus, [[w/index.php?title=W/index.php%3Ftitle%3DWww.molearchitects.co.uk%26action%3Dedit%26redlink%3D1&action=edit&redlink=1|Mole Architects]] and CCL. TOWN worked closely with members on every aspect of the scheme, including the masterplan, design of the dwellings, energy strategy and landscape plan.

The local planning authority, South Cambridgeshire District Council, is interested in the scheme not least because it is one of 11 custom build vanguard authorities selected by government to pioneer this sort of development. Planning permission is anticipated in April 2016.

[[File:Cohousing3.jpg|link=File:Cohousing3.jpg]]

The K1 scheme comprises a series of terraces together with a purpose-build apartment block, laid out around a large central shared garden. The centrally-located Common House will provide a large dining area, catering kitchen, laundry and a range of ancillary spaces and facilities for the group to use.

Homes range from 47 m2 one-bedroom flats to 128 m2 five-bedroom houses. TOWN’s custom build system has allowed residents to select their basic house type and configure the interior from a menu of floorplan options, allowing a high degree of customisation and a wide variety of dwelling sizes from a single system. Residents also have the opportunity to choose their external brickwork from a preselected palette of bricks.

Built with Trivselhus’s Climate Shield system, a closed-panel timber construction system manufactured in Sweden, the scheme will offer residents very low running costs and close-to-Passivhaus energy performance standards.

With construction expected to commence later in 2016, K1 residents hope to be moving in in 2017.

This article was written by TOWN, March 2016

--[[User:Cambridge_K1|Cambridge K1]]

= Find out more =

=== Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki ===

* Affordable housing.
* Community energy network.
* Densification.
* Ecobuild 2016 - What makes good housing?
* Edge Debate 71 - Can decentralisation solve the housing crisis?
* Garden cities.
* Housing associations.
* New model for Britain's high streets.
* Private rented sector.
* Public space.
* Shared equity / Partnership mortgage.
* Shared ownership.
* Social housing.
* The compact sustainable city.
* Urban design.
* What is a mortgage?

=== External references ===

* [http://cohousing.org.uk Cohousing.org.uk]
* [[w/index.php?title=W/index.php%3Ftitle%3DWww.cambridge-k1.co.uk%26action%3Dedit%26redlink%3D1&action=edit&redlink=1|Cambridge-K1]]

[[Category:Organisations]] [[Category:Projects_and_case_studies]] [[Category:Theory]] [[Category:Property_development]] [[Category:Public_procedures]]