Copper Lane: London’s First Co-Housing Development

Copper Lane is London’s first co-housing project, located in the north-east district of Stoke Newington. Made up of six complexes, the project shows how architecture can respond to a new social need that has arisen after economic and social changes.

Co-housing serves groups of people who make the decision to come together and achieve things collectively that they would not have been able to do individually. In housing, this includes activities such as childcare, preparing meals, and gardening, sharing the things and spaces that make this possible. In a dense urban setting, chores such as doing the laundry, visiting the library, working spaces and gardens typically make much more sense if shared.

For families, co-housing can spread the life-admin load and improve quality of life. The question is whether this model can be more widely applicable and whether a new prototype for traditional housing can be provided. Consider how much the population of London is expected to rise in the next decade: the 2011 census recorded 8 million people living in 3,270,000 families, making an average family size of 2.5 people. In the next decade, one million more Londoners will need 400,000 new homes.

Co-housing projects like Copper Lane could provide an answer, bringing economic, environmental, and well-being benefits.

Six families in London’s Stoke Newington – a highly coveted area north of the city – decided to redevelop an abandoned area of 1,000 square metres, creating a complex that was not just a block of six apartments but a shared place of cohesion between the different families. After a series of meetings with numerous architecture firms, the families identified the English group Henley Halebrown Rorrison Architects as the one most in tune with their ideas and, along with the designers, drew up the principles on which to base the design of Copper Lane.

The built form is innovative and traditional at the same time, located in an internal courtyard surrounded by Victorian buildings. Sustainability was considered in the project, aiming to reduce the environmental impact of the building and the lives of the households within in. The energy performance of the building benefits from modern insulation, air tightness and heat recovery ventilation, creating future savings for the families. Hopefully enough to offset some of the construction costs, which totalled £1.8 million.

Natural ventilation was integrated, ensuring a comfortable and low-energy internal temperature. The general aesthetic has a strong Nordic vibe, complementary yet different to the typically English buildings that surround it, and with a clever ability to generate a feeling of peace amongst the frenzy of London.

Thermal solar panels are the sole renewable energy source used on-site. The energy requirements of the building and its construction were reduced through the recovery of demolition materials, the use of wood for the building’s structure, cladding, and fixtures, and the creation of partially green roofs.

The design strategy involved making the most of the outdoor space and developing a type of building which highlights and encourages ​​sharing. The gardens and all open spaces are shared, as is a large games room and the laundry room. The living spaces are private, making up six units of two or three floors with a kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and living room, each inhabited by a single family.

Each house has two entrance doors, one private on the ground floor and one on the upper floor, opening onto the common areas. The interiors of the houses are spacious and airy, designed in a simple manner with neutral colours. The building is covered in larch, referencing both the trees of the local neighbourhood and the northern European origins of the project.

The idea of co-housing was born in Denmark in the sixties, and is now practiced widely in the United States and Canada. Copper Lane, however, is the first time this has been attempted in London. The principle that underpins the concept is that sharing space supports friendships and promotes positive social relationships. The belief is that privacy and shared life are not mutually exclusive and can coexist successfully.

During the recent London Design Festival, Copper Lane opened its doors to visitors, inspiring many of those who visited it. Now a few years on from its conception, the principles that inspired the project have been reaffirmed and tested. More than forty families have already joined co-housing projects in England alone, and if this experiment in London confirms anything, it is that its nature is anything but utopian.

Images: Architettura Sostenibile.