Communal Housing Design Guidelines

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A book with 40 actionable lessons for designing more communal, affordable, and sustainable multifamily housing

In the face of a housing crisis, a climate emergency, and a loneliness epidemic, how can we create dwellings that foster financial, environmental, and social resilience? Over the last decade, architect Kyle Barker has sought answers to this urgent question. From a master’s thesis on sharing space in the suburban home to founding a mission-driven architecture practice, he has explored diverse housing models such as cohousing, pocket neighborhoods, and cluster apartments. In this book, the outcome of a trip to over 55 housing communities across 10 countries, he distills 40 key lessons for building more communal, affordable, and sustainable housing. Each lesson is illustrated with project photos demonstrating design solutions across the themes of circulation, economy, storage, flexibility, privacy, expression, and economy. This book is for anyone who dreams of better housing!