Clusterwohnung
Part of the process of solving the affordable housing crisis is letting go of past housing expectations. To help shift our perspectives, let us introduce you to the Clusterwohnung, a German word for cluster apartment.
Clusterwohnungs are a form of hybrid apartment living. They are a combination of small private apartments (with individual bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchenettes) and shared communal spaces (kitchens, living rooms, and dining spaces). The idea behind the concept is to maximize the usage of spaces we spend less time in by making them, and their costs, shared.
But there’s more to this beyond affordability and full-sized living spaces, which are often compromised when trying to squish everything into a 500-square-foot apartment. Given the loneliness epidemic and mental health crisis, having a home with a built-in community is an interesting idea.
While Clusterwohnungs are gaining in popularity in many European countries, this concept represents a very radical shift in living for those of us who have spent most of our lives in single-family houses.
“Clusterwohnungen aren’t the answer to the housing question for everyone– but they seem to be an answer for an increasing number of households seeking community, privacy, and affordable housing where the housing market increasingly is unable to provide anything close to what they need. Perhaps we should think about incorporating some of these here…”
But the future is going to look very different from the past. Entertaining the unconceivable opens the door to the possible—and we need a lot more of that going forward.