(Re)imagining home: Co-living for a shared future

Abstract

By 2030, 70% of the global population is expected to live in cities. Such rapid urbanization is finding many young adults to migrate to cities seeking education and employment, thus, requiring them to move away from their families and look for an affordable yet asset-light living arrangements in cities to match their increasingly mobile lifestyle. Given soaring living costs in megacities, shared or co-living spaces has seen a rising trend in India over the last decade. Besides being more flexible as compared to paying guest accommodation, co-living holds a promise of developing a sense of community, thus, addressing the growing concern of loneliness. How is this rising trend of co-living going to affect the idea of a home and the architecture of living spaces? Given that home is the mirror of self and individuals identify their lived spaces with distinctive cultural markers, how occupants from diverse cultural backgrounds reimagine home while sharing apartments? What shall be the guidelines for designing such shared spaces: shall the architect adhere to a neutral design order or embrace flexibility to enable a celebration of diversities? These are some of the questions which have been probed in this article by employing case-study method wherein a co-living community (‘Thrive’) has been studied by interviewing the designer and a sample of residents. Living spaces with a minimal yet vibrant design and a focus on hosting frequent cultural events, meetups, and workshops at shared spaces, such as the terrace, has helped them grow as an inclusive co-living community