CO-LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
DAVIDSON PRIZE 2022 WINNER
A collaboration between Charles Holland Architects, Verity-Jane Keefe, Joseph Zeal-Henry (Sound Advice) and Quality of Life Foundation
“The birdsong and the light. The edge of town, of the Downs, of suburbia. Full of potential for simple housing that can be extended if they need, adapted but most importantly lived in.”
In the drive to make cities more liveable, the issue of rural housing has been under-addressed. New rural housing is reliant on a single, dominant model. Dependent on limited developable land and a monopoly by volume housebuilders, the result is the ubiquitous cul-desac of single-family units.
We urgently need to develop new models to respond to the key challenges of contemporary rural living and to address questions of governance, funding, delivery and design. The project responds to the brief for co-living and proposes a new rural housing typology. This model allows for shared spaces, flexible and adaptable house types and an approach based on mutual, cooperative governance.
“The birdsong and the light. The edge of town, of the Downs, of suburbia. Full of potential for simple housing that can be extended if they need, adapted but most importantly lived in.”
In the drive to make cities more liveable, the issue of rural housing has been under-addressed. New rural housing is reliant on a single, dominant model. Dependent on limited developable land and a monopoly by volume housebuilders, the result is the ubiquitous cul-desac of single-family units.
We urgently need to develop new models to respond to the key challenges of contemporary rural living and to address questions of governance, funding, delivery and design. The project responds to the brief for co-living and proposes a new rural housing typology. This model allows for shared spaces, flexible and adaptable house types and an approach based on mutual, cooperative governance.
