Collaborative Housing and Transformations of the Existing Building Stock

This paper discusses the socio-ecological transformation of the existing building stock through collaborative housing. In the face of climate change and urban transformations towards climate adaptation and climate mitigation and the German “Bauwende” (“building and construction reset”) the conversion of existing buildings to collaborative, often mixed-use, housing models, is crucial, yet there is little research in this area. In our ongoing interdisciplinary research “Collaborative Transformation of the Existing Building Stock” (“BegeFa”) we are analyzing the re-use of various building typologies (office buildings, cloisters, etc) originating from different periods of time with collaborative housing. The project includes a systematic survey of existing projects in Germany in both metropolitan and rural areas. Research methods include literature and data research as well as explorative interviews with residents and expert interviews and a final participatory workshop. We will especially focus on identifying criteria regarding building typologies and adaptation potentials, as well as how collaborative models of housing and working support daily life.