Events

The Architectural Institute of British Columbia is pleased to partner with the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia to host a free public lecture on cohousing. Danish architect Jan Gudmand-Høyer and Californian architect Charles Durrett, two pioneers of the cohousing movement, will speak on the development of cohousing as well as future approaches and applications. Their talk will be preceded by a brief Canadian Cohousing Network presentation on the state of cohousing in Canada. It takes place on Monday, June 29, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Theatre 301, 1400 Johnston Street (Granville Island), Vancouver. At 5:00 p.m., prior to the event, there will be a reception with light refreshments. Author Charles Durrett will be on hand to sign copies of his new book, Senior Cohousing. Seating is limited, so r.s.v.p. early to communications@aibc.ca with "cohousing" in the subject line.

Cohousing describes intentional communities that combine both the autonomy of private dwellings with the benefits of shared resources and community living. Developed in Denmark in the 1960s, it was introduced to North America 20 years ago.

Thirty-seven years after the first cohousing community – or bofælleskab as it is known in Danish – there are now hundreds of such communities in northern Europe, and over 100 both built and in the planning stages in the US.

Cohousing Movement pioneers and architects Jan Gudmand-Høyer and Charles Durrett reflect on the development of cohousing as an architectural and social model, and suggest future directions, approaches, and applications.

Jan Gudmand-Høyer

Danish architect Jan Gudmand-Høyer is one of the original founders of the Cohousing Movement in Denmark, and is an internationally recognized architect of numerous cohousing communities. His article The Missing Link between Utopia and the Dated One-Family House established him as influential in the original thoughts and ideas behind the cohousing movement in the 1960s. He drew inspiration from his architectural studies at Harvard and interaction with experimental U.S. communities of the era. A keynote speaker at this year’s Cohousing Conference in Seattle, his talk is a rare opportunity to hear how co-housing emerged and where it is now in Denmark.

Charles Durrett

Californian architects Charles Durrett, with his wife Kathryn McCamant, introduced the concept of cohousing to the U.S. with their book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. They coined the word "cohousing" for which they are credited in the Oxford English Dictionary. Charles is author of Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Independent Living-The Handbook, published by New Society Publishers in BC.

Charles has designed or consulted in the design of over fifty cohousing communities in the United States, and has consulted on many more around the world. His work has been featured in Time Magazine, The New York Times, Architecture, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and a wide variety of other publications.

He and his wife have received numerous awards for their work, including the recent World Habitat Award presented by the United Nations; the Mixed Use/Mixed Income Development Award, presented jointly by the American Insititute of Architects and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and the National Home Builders Association Award for energy, efficiency and smart growth