Community Spirit: The Neighbors Who Became Family
A collective-living project in Sweden offers the privacy of a home and the benefits of family life, including home-cooked dinners
Living in an apartment building surrounded by people doesn’t mean you have much in common with your neighbors — or that you even recognize them. But in these apartments in Malmö, in southern Sweden, the residents knew one another even before they moved in. And they hold the conviction that living communally, sharing tasks such as cleaning and cooking, is the way forward.
Cohousing may not be a new invention, but what’s special about Sofielunds Kollektivhus is that the building project was funded by the local council, and that the residents have their own self-contained flats and use the communal areas when and as they please.
Houzz went to explore this community and caught the building during a rare period of stillness.
Cohousing may not be a new invention, but what’s special about Sofielunds Kollektivhus is that the building project was funded by the local council, and that the residents have their own self-contained flats and use the communal areas when and as they please.
Houzz went to explore this community and caught the building during a rare period of stillness.
Before they moved in, the residents signed an agreement to clean the communal areas on a rotation and cook dinner in the giant dining room, pictured, that seats them all. The food team dishes out dinner three days a week, and there are plans to serve a more festive meal once a month.
It took time for the residents to get used to the industrial-size kitchen and to cook for so many — each meal is planned to satisfy up to 65 people. “Sometimes we make mistakes with the cooking. Sometimes there isn’t enough food,” Gustafsson says. “Nobody is a professional chef, so it’s important you have the right attitude to live like this. Sometimes someone complains, but that’s always balanced by those who are positive.”
It took time for the residents to get used to the industrial-size kitchen and to cook for so many — each meal is planned to satisfy up to 65 people. “Sometimes we make mistakes with the cooking. Sometimes there isn’t enough food,” Gustafsson says. “Nobody is a professional chef, so it’s important you have the right attitude to live like this. Sometimes someone complains, but that’s always balanced by those who are positive.”
Why did Gustafsson, pictured, choose to live this way? “I thought it seemed really cool. As I work full time, there was always so much hassle sorting out my social life. Here, that comes naturally — I meet people every time I step out of my flat.” But a political philosophy also forms the backbone of the commitment to live here. “For many of us, it is vital that the house should be socially, ecologically and economically sustainable.”
The 100 residents range in age from newborn to 75, and 20 are children. The architecture itself stimulates social life, with the stairways and passages between the apartments cutting through the outdoor space, and balconies for every apartment to encourage passers-by to stop and chat.
The residents are a mix of newcomers to communal life and those with plenty of experience, like Vera Rastenberger, pictured. “I’m a revolutionary rather than a veteran,” she says. “I was there during the famous occupation of the Mullvaden houses in Stockholm in 1977.” (This was an incident in which 300 people moved into a block of apartments to stop them from being demolished, and stayed almost a year.)
Rastenberger was a single mother and wanted her son to have company, so she chose to live in a commune — and kept on doing so for the next two decades.
Rastenberger was a single mother and wanted her son to have company, so she chose to live in a commune — and kept on doing so for the next two decades.
The best thing about this kind of home is that you’re never on your own, Rastenberger says. “Since I’m blind, it’s good to know there’s help at hand. I can cope just fine on my own, but the other day, I was pan-frying some food, and the fire alarm went off. I couldn’t shut it off, so I stepped out on the walkway and hollered for help until people came running. If I lived anywhere else, I would have had to call the fire brigade, which would have been unnecessary,” she says.
“Before I moved here, I lived in a beautiful house in Malmö, and everyone was so quiet and well-behaved. There were no children, and I was the only one making a lot of noise!” This is Rastenberger’s living room.
There are about 45 purpose-built communal houses in Sweden today, according to Ulrika Egerö, chair of Kollektivhus Nu, which promotes and supports collaborative housing and other alternative ways of living. “Denmark leads the progress in this kind of housing,” she says, “but Sweden comes in a good second place. There are also strong movements in Germany, Holland and the U.S.”
The first communal houses in Sweden were built in the 1930s, but they had external employees who came in to run the restaurant, do the washing and look after children. During the liberal 1970s, many chose to live in communes, which resulted in housing associations building specific homes that suited the lifestyle.
“It’s a movement that’s continually growing, though it flattened out for a while during the 1990s,” Egerö says. “But at the moment, we’re noticing a sharp increase in interest from the public again.”
The first communal houses in Sweden were built in the 1930s, but they had external employees who came in to run the restaurant, do the washing and look after children. During the liberal 1970s, many chose to live in communes, which resulted in housing associations building specific homes that suited the lifestyle.
“It’s a movement that’s continually growing, though it flattened out for a while during the 1990s,” Egerö says. “But at the moment, we’re noticing a sharp increase in interest from the public again.”
The residents have organized themselves into eight teams, including those who look after the maintenance of the building and the cooking rotation. Many meetings take place in communal rooms like this. Since the council, which owns the building, doesn’t have to pay a janitor to look after the property, the rent is somewhat reduced.
“Each flat saves a few hundred kronor [about $35 to $40] per month,” Gustafsson says. “We also look after sending out the bills for rent, pay the electricity bill and perform other administrative tasks. This makes a building like this attractive to the landlord, the council and the city of Malmö.”
“Each flat saves a few hundred kronor [about $35 to $40] per month,” Gustafsson says. “We also look after sending out the bills for rent, pay the electricity bill and perform other administrative tasks. This makes a building like this attractive to the landlord, the council and the city of Malmö.”
Next to the dining room is this reading nook, with a bookshelf stocked by a resident librarian. Everybody is welcome to come here and use the space, whether for homework, some solitary time or to chat with others.
The carpentry workshop has tools and workstations for repairing or making furniture.
The big loom sits close to the workshop. There is also a textiles group for those who knit and sew.
The film room has a projector and can be reserved or used on an impulse. When a children’s movie is scheduled, all the kids in the house congregate here, even sitting on cushions on the windowsills. Parents appreciate using the room to host birthday parties, and friends from school are also welcome.
“Everybody enjoys living here for different reasons,” Gustafsson says. “For single moms and dads, it’s great to sit down for a cooked meal three times a week, while the elderly never have to feel lonely.”
“Everybody enjoys living here for different reasons,” Gustafsson says. “For single moms and dads, it’s great to sit down for a cooked meal three times a week, while the elderly never have to feel lonely.”
The apartments are self-contained, with kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedrooms. They also have access to an outdoor space, such as a balcony or terrace. This kitchen is in Gustafsson’s apartment.
Gustafsson lives in one of the bigger flats, which she shares with four friends.
Has there ever been an instance when a resident hasn’t done the work he or she signed up to do upon moving in? “We have rules and regulations about what happens if somebody falls ill or pregnant, for example,” Gustafsson says. “And during our monthly house meetings, we try to talk through any difficulties that arise. It’s much better to get it out in the open. We’ve noticed it’s much easier to misunderstand one another via email, where people mistakenly read between the lines, so we’re working on that. The debate can get quite heated, but board members keep trying to solve tricky situations, so everybody’s satisfied.”
Has there ever been an instance when a resident hasn’t done the work he or she signed up to do upon moving in? “We have rules and regulations about what happens if somebody falls ill or pregnant, for example,” Gustafsson says. “And during our monthly house meetings, we try to talk through any difficulties that arise. It’s much better to get it out in the open. We’ve noticed it’s much easier to misunderstand one another via email, where people mistakenly read between the lines, so we’re working on that. The debate can get quite heated, but board members keep trying to solve tricky situations, so everybody’s satisfied.”
If the required tasks are regularly left undone, the erring party would be asked to leave, though this has never happened. “Well, we do have a contract,” Gustafsson says, “and if it’s not fulfilled, we could end it.”
So are there no downsides to living this way? “It’s like living with an extension of the family, which can be tricky if you’re not used to such intimacy,” Gustafsson says. “But just like with family, it’s the hardest parts that also happen to be the best.”
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So are there no downsides to living this way? “It’s like living with an extension of the family, which can be tricky if you’re not used to such intimacy,” Gustafsson says. “But just like with family, it’s the hardest parts that also happen to be the best.”
More
Togetherness Take 2: Is a Cohousing Community for You?
Community Building Just About Anyone Can Do
Hilda Gustafsson, chair of the residents association, explains how the project came about. “The association was founded in 2009, and the members were automatically placed in a queue for a home in the building-to-be. The architects, Kanozi, drew up plans together with us in the residents association, and the whole concept caught the attention of local building company MKB, which is owned by the city of Malmö.”