Ecoherence | In search for alternative ways of living

05 Jul In search for alternative ways of living

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The reality of living in a city for many people is tough. Residents barely know their neighbours. Contact is often limited to a simple ‘hello’. Home is inside, limited to the four walls of a house or apartment. People feel awkward asking a neighbour for help – to borrow a tool or some eggs to avoid a trip to the supermarket. If children want to play with friends, parents have to organize play dates a week in advance.

In many cities, the streets are not safe enough to let a 10-year-old walk on their own to school. Kids are not playing on the streets anymore – instead, they’re stuck at home playing with electronics. And it’s not the fault of the children – cities provide few low-cost alternatives for children to meet, play and be creative.

We are expected to be self-sufficient. Asking for help is awkward, offering help feels suspicious.

The construction industry is now following an extensive pursuit of sustainability-focused on energy management and aiming to reduce the negative impact of construction and building operations on the environment. Yet for all this newfound and welcome environmental consciousness, there is precious little focus on supporting sustainable lifestyles, helping people live in ways that respect and support the environment.

Is modern city living environmentally sustainable when people are frequently isolated from each other, confined by the walls of apartments and houses with few shared residential or public spaces? Each household accumulating all the necessary ‘stuff’ needed in every living unit? Every patch of lawn with its own lawnmower? Cooking separate meals for 1-4 people from ingredients packed in tiny plastic boxes? The modern city lifestyle is energy and resource-intensive and deeply time-consuming. Waste is inevitably multiplied with no environmental economies of scale.

Are the spaces we live in designed for social interaction and a sharing, caring culture? Are architects, designers, planners, and property developers accountable and responsible for human isolation?

The majority of apartment buildings have no shared space to meet neighbours. For many city residents, the street is typically the only shared space people can casually meet and chat with neighbours.

The design of modern residential buildings is a consequence of embracing the nuclear family as the container for our lives. People living in boxes.

Convention would have us believe this small, isolated structure allows for the creation of lifestyles people really want – free from the demands of extended families, intrusive neighbors, and social pressures to conform and fit in.

Imagine some of the benefits of the tribal way of living… indigenous villages, being brought into a modern city context. Where resources and workloads are shared within a local community and work is undertaken together. Residents preparing, cooking and eating food together. Sharing childcare where all adults take responsibility for raising children, not just the biological parents. Where there are economies of scale that create leisure time – spent on celebrations, dance, art, and relaxing.

Is there a way we can welcome these ideas into modern times? Would changing the way we design cities, villages, houses, and estates help change residents’ behavior and support the benefits of a more caring, sharing culture?

Can we keep the privacy of living spaces but design and build to allow social interaction, co-working, and co-creating by providing designated shared spaces and buildings?

Could we make our surroundings environmentally sustainable, collectively growing healthy food just on the doorstep?

ECO-VILLAGE

An intentional, traditional, or urban community that is consciously designed in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology, and economy) to regenerate social and natural environments.

Urban village by EFFEKT.dk

Regen Villages concept

Naturbyen (translated Nature Village) / EFFEKT Architects

A new residential area, planned by Municipality of Middelfart (Denmark) in collaboration with EFFEKT Architects ( which will be an international demonstration project for how sustainable housing development can be combined with ambitious afforestation, increased biodiversity, and circular resource thinking in the suburban and peri-urban areas. And as a bi-product create healthy and socially connected neighborhoods.

A cluster of small communities that put environment, biodiversity, and sharing of resources at the forefront. A total of 220 new homes located in a newly planted forest will offer an alternative to the traditional parcel- and row housing options which is still the predominant form of housing in Denmark, outside the major cities.

The new municipality-led residential expansion led aims to become a laboratory for residential development in suburban and peri-urban areas and help Denmark reach its ambitious goal of covering 20% of its landmass with forest by 2100. (text by architects: effekt.dk)