Op 28 juni 2013 kwam Laura Fitch in Gent een lezing geven over het ontwerpen van Cohousings. Een organisatie van Samenhuizen vzw. Dit tweede deel gaat over de aanpak van ontwerpsessies met de groep.

1. Endless Meetings or
Efficiency
in
Design Decision-Making
© Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc. 2006
Developed by Laura Fitch, Kraus Fitch Architects
(lfitch@krausfitch.com)
Permission to edit granted to Samenhuizen (Belgium
Housing Association) by Kraus Fitch Architects, 8/2013
The Workshop Approach

2. Building cohousing
communities starts with the
people who will live there but
it involves many
professionals along the way.
Workshops can be a win-win process
For both the design professionals and group members

3. We each have a job to do
Professional’s jobs:
• To work within the groups decision making process.
• To educate members in advance of decisions
• To reduce group member work load – they don’t need to
reinvent the wheel
• To be a cohousing expert – visit sites, attend conferences, do
research
Group’s job:
• To come to consensus in a
reasonable amount of time
•To understand the difference
between what is essential, what is
nice to have, and that compromises
are part of the process

4. Programming & Design
Workshops: 9 total
Flow chart by Chris ScottHansen

5. Programming & Design
Workshops: 9 total
I) Visioning – one day
2) Programming and Schematic
Design
• Site programming + Design –
two days
• Eco programming – one days
• Common House – two days
• Units – two days + one day
3) Design Development
• Site – evening
• Common House – one day,
subgroups
• Units – one day
• Design Development
acceptance - evening

6. Typical Programming and
Schematic Design
Workshop:
Homework in advance
Friday evening slide show
Saturday: Programming
Sunday: Programming
continued and Hands-on
Schematic Design
Professional Design
Charrette
Presentation, feedback,
design development

7. Homework
Assigning homework to the group ahead of
time brings more focus to the workshop.
Homework can:
Educate the resident group about issues in advance of the
meeting
Help the architect:
• understand the core values of their client group
• determine where there is already consensus
• determine where a recommendation is all that is needed
• determine workshop agenda and focus meeting
discussions on the areas where homework has shown that
there is no clear direction yet.

8. HW - On-line
survey
Overarching goals
Use a draft program: with
cohousing standards
Questions interlaced
Answers should be
designed to be easy to
collate

9. Use a simple rating
system to evaluate
green goals:
1. essential
2. important
3. nice to have
4. not important to me
5. don’t want

10. HW – Site Visit

11. HW – Gather
Images

12. HW – Visit cohousing
communities and read the
cohousing books

13. Preparing for Workshop:
Group:
• Provide main contact person for architect
• Determine location for and advertise slide
show
• Determine location for workshop
• Choose a process facilitator
• Do all homework assignments by deadline
Architects:
• Collate homework
•Cull out discussion and items and
recommendation items
•Create draft program and send to group
•Create agenda
•Pack materials

14. Know what
your meeting
facility and
atmosphere
will be like
before you get
there:
Tables
Break-out spaces
Childcare
Number of participants
Lunch and snacks

15. Set up the room in a way that will allow
everyone to participate fully.

16. Set up the room in a way that will allow
everyone to participate fully.

17. Team facilitation:
Team facilitation is fun, we recommend
THREE people:
-Architect deals with content,
-Aide (usually from architect’s staff) keeps notes and
helps architect,
-Group provided facilitator keeps stack and watches
for emotional needs.

18. The Workshop
Six parts to a typical eco-design workshop:
Part I – Educational
Part II – Introduction and Group Building
Part III – Programming (the hard work)
Part IV – Prioritization (the even harder
work)
Part V – Testing Decisions (if applicable
(e.g. site design)
Part V1 – Summary, Evaluation

19. Workshop – Part 1
Educational

20. Two part:
• What is Cohousing?
• Workshop Specific: site, eco, common house, units
Group:
• Advertise and provide directions
• Make newcomers feel welcome
• Provide food
• Introduce presenter
• Field questions specific to group vision and site
Presenter
• Content
•Tell cohousing stories not just technical information
• Field Questions: Be prepared to answer questions about living in
cohousing, not just about design.
Slide Show

21. Two part:
• What is Cohousing?
• Workshop Specific: site, eco, common house, units
Group:
• Advertise and provide directions
• Make newcomers feel welcome
• Provide food
• Introduce presenter
• Field questions specific to group vision and site
Presenter
• Content
•Tell cohousing stories not just technical information
• Field Questions: Be prepared to answer questions about living in
cohousing, not just about design.
Slide Show

22. Workshop – Part II
Introduction and Group
Building:
Present agenda and goals – it is easier to face
a long agenda if you know where it is going
Present ground rules
Be organized AND fun – set the tone early
Try simple get-to-know-you exercises
(eg., QUICK go-around to answer a question
such as: “What do you look forward to eating
in your common house?”)
Use visualization exercise to get members to
share their dreams

23. Sunday:
8:30 Gather
9:00/10 Opening
9:10/10 Introduction and Review
9:20/100 Site Layout – Block Exercises
11:00/30 Break – Architect’s work
11:30/60 Site Layout - Continued
12:30/60 Lunch
1:30/90 Secondary Discussion Items OR
continuation of Site Layout
Exercise
3:00/15 Break
3:15/60 Qualities of Spaces and Elements
4:14/30 Extra Time
4:45/15 Summary, Evaluation and Closing
Saturday
8:30 Gather
9:00/10 Opening
9:10/10 Introduction, Ground Rules,
Big Picture:
What are goals of weekend,
How do architects use this
information
9:20/10 Site Feedback
9:30/60 Imaging Exercise
10:30/15 Break
10:45/15 Review OverarchingGoals
11:00/90 Program Discussion Items
12:30/45 Lunch
1:15/105 Discussion Items (Continued)
3:00/15 Break
3:15/90 Discussion Items (Continued)
4:45/15 Summary, Evaluation and
Closing
Typical Site Design Workshop Agenda:

24. Ground Rules – my
list
Emotions are okay, Aggression is not
Hands to speak (stacks of four) and/or willingness to work with group’s “card
system”
Listen for understanding
When in doubt about process, the facilitators decides
Silence = Assent
If confused, ask
Stay on topic / Storage bin for off topic items
Let others speak
No side conversations (distracting for facilitators and others)
Imperfect process, facilitator is always making adjustments to match the group
process
Relies on Group coming to consensus in a reasonable timeframe
Develop your own – teach by example.

25. It will be a long weekend - humor
helps

27. Explore overarching values
But don’t get
bogged down here.
Values are only
words until put into
the context of tough
decisions.

28. Visualization:

29. Workshop – Part III
Programming:
This is the hard work (tedious, and unfamiliar)
Homework can make all the difference.
Prioritize the decisions that really need to be
made, and let the others slide if necessary.
Break the work into logical chunks.
Put specific issues aside if you are getting
bogged down.
Use a “parking lot” for off-topic items.
Stretch and take breaks
Ask folks to take a deep breath while
facilitators gather their thoughts

30. Don’t start from scratch, use the homework
to generate a DRAFT program.

31. Time and frustration saving
techniques:
Survey and educate in advance
One-on-one quick discussions
Small groups
Spectrum exercise
Love it, Like it, Live with it, Don’t like it,
Can’t live with it
Prioritization index cards
Block exercises for design
Information about costs
Simple choices
Clear recommendations from professionals

32. Workshop – Part IV
Prioritizing the program:

33. Workshop – Part V
Testing the program (hands-on):
This is fun but not natural to non-designers
Display other community plans, for common house plans for
reference.
Break into small groups (4-8 people).
Architect’s help out: give hints.
Generate several schematic designs (e.g., try a “linear” and a
“courtyard” scheme).
Small groups report back: present each scheme and list pros and
cons.
Group takes lunch break, while professionals have a working lunch:
group “types” of ideas and synthesize them.
Come back together, review, discuss, and look for consensus on 1-3
directions

34. Develop two or three different schemes and suggest different
approaches (eg., Try the common house in three different
locations)

35. It’s a good idea to build a site model if the topography is a
challenge. This is something that a group member can do to
save money on architectural fees.

36. “Blocks” for the common house
hands-on exercise are just
scraps of colored paper.
Fold or cut and paste them to
change them from simple
rectangles to more complex
shapes

37. Present and evaluate
ideas. Quickly list pros
and cons of every
scheme.
Be sure to say
something positive
about every design –
even rejected designs
teach us a lot

38. Synthesize this information. Look for a
direction.

39. Diagram the discoveries that
were made.
For example: Common house
location, views, open space…

40. Facilitate refinements of the
preferred schemes.

41. Workshop – Part V
Summary and Evaluation
Celebrate your progress at the end of each day! The design professional
should ask for constructive feedback .

42. Post - Workshop Design
Development and
Presentations

43. Remind the
group how they
got to this point.

44. Make revisions on your feet, bring the
right tools, and leave their egos behind.

45. Remember:
• Cohousing design professionals help build
community, not just buildings.
• It’s an imperfect process, be gentle and
flexible.

46. Kraus Fitch Architects provides slide shows
(for cohousing groups and professionals) on
cohousing design and work systems. They
include:
Part 1 – What is Cohousing?
Part 2 – Cohousing Site Design
Part 3 – Common House Design
Part 4 – Cohousing Unit Design
Part 5 – Cohousing & Sustainability
Part 6 – Getting the Work Done
Contact for copies: Laura Fitch: lfitch@krausfitch.com

47. This slide show was developed by Kraus Fitch Architects to
educate cohousing groups about our workshop approach to
making decisions during the design phase.
Permission to edit was granted to Samenhuizen (Belgium
Housing Association) by KFA in August 2013. Credits for
photographers, communities, etc. should remain intact.
If fees for presentations of this material are requested and
accepted, please consider giving a donation to the
Cohousing Association of the US (www. cohousing.org).
KRAUS FITCH ARCHITECTS, INC.
HOME COMMUNITY PLANET

48. Resources
Cohousing Association of the US (CohoUS)
www.cohousing.org
Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc.,
(413) 549-5799
www.krausfitch.com
Laura Fitch: lfitch@krausfitch.com

49. Photo
Credits:
Mike April
Janice Doyama
Rebecca Reid
Laura Fitch
Mary
Kraus
John Fabel
Jim Hanson
With special thanks to the many individuals
and communities featured in this show.