The Co-Living Design Study developed by MVRDV in collaboration with HUB and Bridges Fund Management (2024) offers a comprehensive exploration of co-living as a response to urban housing shortages and environmental challenges. Emphasising shared spaces, communal life, and social spaciousness, the study introduces fifteen typologies designed to enhance community interaction, optimize spatial efficiency, and ensure architectural adaptability. These typologies are built on repetitive volumes to ease construction and reduce costs while allowing a variety of floorplans adaptable to diverse living configurations. Central to the co-living concept is the transformation of traditionally passive architectural elements—such as corridors—into active, multifunctional social zones that can host amenities like libraries, sports areas, or communal kitchens. This not only maximizes usable space but fosters informal encounters, reinforcing social bonds among residents. Furthermore, the study integrates the adaptive reuse of existing buildings, particularly underutilized offices and commercial structures, highlighting the environmental benefits of renovation over demolition, notably in terms of carbon footprint reduction. In doing so, it aligns housing innovation with sustainability imperatives. The study also ventures into speculative futures, envisioning self-sufficient vertical communities, 15-minute vertical cities, and biodiversity towers, suggesting that co-living can address both housing equity and climate resilience. Importantly, the report shifts the narrative from co-living as a niche alternative to a scalable model that redefines collective housing, prioritising inclusivity, efficiency, and social engagement in the face of accelerating urbanisation and environmental degradation. In essence, MVRDV’s study advocates for a proactive reimagining of urban life where architecture supports evolving socio-environmental dynamics through design that is social, sustainable, and spatially intelligent. MVRDV, HUB & Bridges Fund Management. (2024) ‘Co-Living Design Study’, MVRDV. Available at: https://mvrdv.com/news/4770/co-living-design-study-now-available-for-download
