Co-living: It can be ideal

Co-living and co-working are not unusual terms anymore. Even before the pandemic, it boomed! As my graduate thesis for my Bachelor’s degree, I worked on this co-working and co-living project. It was 2016! I still remember one of my professors smirked and said, ‘I hope your dream come true.’ And yet it’s not exactly the same picture, but it is coming to the world.

A house with a backyard in the city; is my dream too much?

I wanted to live in a single-family house with a backyard where I can grow plants, enjoy sunset and barbeque, and live with a dog! However, this dream was too expensive because single-family houses with backyards in the city are either high price with unnecessarily big size or far away from the central area. What do I need to make my dream come true? I needed land. So, I came up with the concept of ‘reproducing lands’ so that people can use the elevated floor as land rather than a slab. Elevated lands play the role of a platform on which residents can put their small housing blocks.

I made a catalog that shows how the block can be designed with the price. It’s 2x2x2, so you can choose 8 blocks in total. Whether having more open areas or less is your choice. Housing blocks are originally designed for the young generation who mostly live by themselves or with 1~2 people. Therefore, this is a sort of co-living space. Residents are building their villages on every floor. Back in the day, we all know our neighbors and I missed that feeling. With this co-living platform, you can reignite the feeling.

When the pandemic hit the world, I thought about this project again. ‘Wow, if I were living in this building, I would be happy to be in quarantine!’ Having so much open space is the biggest advantage of this co-living platform’s concept. Who doesn’t want to see more green in the city? Especially we realized that going out and having sunshine is so much important to our quality of life through pandemics, right?

Co-working: still figuring it out

Once co-working was a hot trend, and the covid extinguished the fire. After years, we are getting back to a shared office, although some companies announced that they will not have a physical office for good. I have worked in co-working spaces; both in an open plan and in a divided room. In my personal opinion, it is not bad. Especially for small business owners, co-working space gives positive energy. Not only to reduce the rent but also to interact with others, a co-working office is an efficient idea and I’m rooting for it.

I put the concept of co-working into this co-living project simply because I was thinking about how I should use the middle space where having no sunlight. But I admit. It was too much. I focused on co-living more than co-working, and I am not sure about combining those two. Now that I think about it, middle parts can be used for shared amenities such as meeting rooms, lounges, fitness, and so on.

What are your thoughts on co-living space or co-working space?

Desing all by Yuhwa Jeong