Group Formation
Experience indicates that in order to foster a sustainable community spirit, a core group of future residents needs to be involved from the beginning of the process.
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Ottawa Cohousing will help you to find and form your core group, or seek to place you as an explorer in an already started group.
We look at the following key criteria:
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Personal budgets, financial limitations and capacities
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Type of community desired
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Key tolerances and intolerances
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Preferred types of amenities to be shared
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Common values and interests
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Healthy diversification
We guide each Group through the process of design and policy-making during which members discuss and decide how they are going to live together as close and supportive neighbours, while respecting privacy and personal space. During this period, Affinity Groups will determine their legal structure and financing.
“Social Connectedness is not the cherry on the cake, it is the cake itself”
- Pattti Rios, architect and urban studies for "Happy Cities"
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Established Cohousing Groups
Do you have your own Cohousing Group already assembled?
Super! Ottawa Cohousing can help you develop your cohousing community and advise you on any considerations you may have missed. If you are looking for more members we may have suitable households within our Intake Roster.
DESIGN PROCESS
Does the Core Group establish the Design Criteria for the development project that will become their cohousing community and home?
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Yes and No. There are two major things to consider before establishing cohousing: the fundamentals of cohousing and the development industry. The Design Criteria for dwelling units and shared spaces are established by each specific Affinity Group, but they must work within the development limitations of the site, development law, building codes, and budgets. These limitations inform the design just as much as the Affinity Group's criteria.
The project will be built to comply with Ottawa's Official Plan and zoning bylaw, the Ontario Building Code and all other governing regulations. It will have the legal structure of a condominium (in order to secure financing), and while similar to other condos will have a greater proportion of common spaces and a significant design nuance to allow for its community intent. The project will sell at market rates and each unit will have to carry it's share of the cost of common spaces.
Each Affinity group will have additional specific Design Criteria, pertinent to their group, but all groups under Ottawa Cohousing will have the following general criteria:
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Each private residence will contain a kitchen, bath, living/dining area and bedroom(s)
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A common amenity space will include (at a minimum) a kitchen area, a dining room, and mail boxes
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Additional indoor common space, programmed as per needs of the Affinity Group
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Outdoor space designed to be shared
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Some semi-private outdoor spaces (decks, patio, balconies, garden beds)
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Parking (less parking than typical condos, space for car share parking as possible)
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Spaces designed to allow for casual interactions (both indoors and out)
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A delightful, welcoming place that feels like home
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So what does all this mean then? What will the place be like? What's left to design? How will it look and feel?
Design work will be divided into two phases: Schematic Design & Design Development.
Schematic Design Phase
In this phase, our general criteria and your Intake Forms provide the necessary information to complete the schematic design for any site. Urban lots are tight, and schematic design is very much dictated by building codes, budget constraints, and by-laws. The architect will consult with City planning staff and industry experts to design the volume and massing for a proposed cohousing development. An experienced project manager or developer will provide cost estimates for the development.
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The Affinity Group will be presented with potential options for the cohousing development on the identified site.
Design Development Phase
Once a site is selected, and one of the options chosen, work can begin on designing the look and feel of the development. This is the fine tuning. THIS is the fun stuff!!
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In this phase, the architect will facilitate the Affinity Group in making decisions about the size and organization of the shared amenity spaces, the precise number and size of all units and the number of bedrooms in each, balconies, exterior features, the materials, fixtures, finishes and design details.
The architect will complete the design work, and provide the group with a site plan, building plans, unit plans, common area plans, and a 3D model of the outside of the building and key interior shared spaces.
