Shaping the enclosed recreational space of cohousing – results of pilot studies

Changes in consumer behaviour have led to the phenomenon of certain social groups closing off and the emergence of private spaces where community members spend their leisure time and pursue their recreational behaviour. The main objective of this article is to identify possible solutions for the design of an enclosed recreational space. It considers cohousing, defined as a bottom-up, non-institutional residential model in which a sustainable causality-community model of social perception applies. The author poses the question: what are the possible solutions for shaping the closed space of cohousing? The method used was that of a desk-based data analysis, which included publications, reports and studies on the problem addressed. The websites of individual cohousing communities were also an important source. The spatial scope of the research included the countries where cohousing is most popular (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands). Entities characterised by different architectural forms were used for empirical illustration. Based on the results of the research, possible solutions for the design of a closed cohousing recreational space were identified, allowing recreational activities to be undertaken with selected and/or all members of the community. The research additionally showed, that the characteristics of the place (the architectural form of cohousing) do not necessarily imply restrictions on the enclosed common spaces. Their design is mainly influenced by the users themselves, their needs, but also the recreational activity skills they will be able to share with other users. Appropriate criteria for the selection of residents that determine a certain type of cohousing are therefore of importance. This article only emphasises the problem of closed recreational spaces; in the author’s opinion, it can serve as a kind of introduction to the debate and in-depth research on this issue, also with regard to the negative consequences resulting from the closedness of the spaces in question.