Dutch experiment in co-creation in a collectively commissioned housing project

Only a small percentage of the new homes built in the Netherlands in the last decades have been built by private commissioning (11.2 % in 2012, www.statline.cbs.nl). The major players in the Dutch housing market are the commercial developers and the social housing corporations, the latter focuses mainly on the segment of tenants in the lower income category. This contrasts greatly with neighbouring countries like Belgium and Germany. The percentage of social housing is very low in Belgium; more than three quarters of the Flemish people own their own individual house and the development of large-scale housing projects is limited. In both Belgium and Germany, the role of the architect is strongly geared towards the practice of private commissions. It is also a statutory requirement for a client to hire an architect in both countries. This differs significantly to the situation in the Netherlands where the architect focuses mainly on the design of large-scale housing projects. The Dutch Government policy is currently geared towards the encouragement of private commissioning and wants to achieve a significant growth in the segment of Individual project development (IPD) and collectively commissioned housing development (CCHD). (30% of the new homes built in a year) A CCHD project is a building project with self-management: a group of several clients work together to acquire a (construction) site, hire an architect and select the contractor who executes the project. In most cas-es, the clients are also the future residents of the housing development. Developing a collective housing pro-ject means that shared parts such as the facade, foundation and community facilities are collectively designed in consultation with the group, while the individual clients still have much freedom of choice in the design of their own home. This has consequences for the professional role of Dutch architects and the way they react to the changing role of their clients. The design methodology and attitude of the architect in the design process in a CCHD project is very different to the traditional way in which a Dutch architect works. In addition to his design qualities, his organizational and social skills also become important in order to adequately deal with a collective group of 20 or 30 clients. This paper describes the process of developing a CHD project and a case study where an architect has experimented with the evolving design process and the (im)possibilities of co-creation in Collectively Commissioned Housing projects. Only a small percentage of the new homes built in the Netherlands in the last decades have been built by private commissioning (11.2 % in 2012, www.statline.cbs.nl). The major players in the Dutch housing market are the commercial developers and the social housing corporations, the latter focuses mainly on the segment of tenants in the lower income category. This contrasts greatly with neighbouring countries like Belgium and Germany. The percentage of social housing is very low in Belgium; more than three quarters of the Flemish people own their own individual house and the development of large-scale housing projects is limited. In both Belgium and Germany, the role of the architect is strongly geared towards the practice of private commissions. It is also a statutory requirement for a client to hire an architect in both countries. This differs significantly to the situation in the Netherlands where the architect focuses mainly on the design of large-scale housing projects. The Dutch Government policy is currently geared towards the encouragement of private commissioning and wants to achieve a significant growth in the segment of Individual project development (IPD) and collectively commissioned housing development (CCHD). (30% of the new homes built in a year) A CCHD project is a building project with self-management: a group of several clients work together to acquire a (construction) site, hire an architect and select the contractor who executes the project. In most cas-es, the clients are also the future residents of the housing development. Developing a collective housing pro-ject means that shared parts such as the facade, foundation and community facilities are collectively designed in consultation with the group, while the individual clients still have much freedom of choice in the design of their own home. This has consequences for the professional role of Dutch architects and the way they react to the changing role of their clients. The design methodology and attitude of the architect in the design process in a CCHD project is very different to the traditional way in which a Dutch architect works. In addition to his design qualities, his organizational and social skills also become important in order to adequately deal with a collective group of 20 or 30 clients. This paper describes the process of developing a CHD project and a case study where an architect has experimented with the evolving design process and the (in)possibilities of co-creation in Collectively Commissioned Housing projects