Through the Eyes of Architects: Challenges in Designing Collective Housing Projects for Wellbeing and Innovation

The housing sector plays a crucial role in fostering innovation in response to the changing needs and desires of a growingly diverse ageing population. In recent years, collective housing concepts have gained more attention as a promising alternative option to address these changing needs. Architects are at the forefront of creating suitable, collective housing projects that enhance the subjective wellbeing of both current and future older residents. However, the challenges and constraints faced by architects when realizing these projects have remained largely unexplored. This study seeks to bridge this knowledge gap by conducting in-depth interviews with ten Belgian architects who have completed a collective project for future or current older people. The findings provide an overview of the obstacles architects encounter related to (1) architects' values and vision, (2) collaboration and communication, and (3) practical and policy barriers, offering a better understanding in the process of designing innovative, collective housing projects. As a next step, these results may be utilized by policymakers, designers, and stakeholders, to develop more effective strategies for overcoming these challenges and constraints, and to unlock the potential for innovative, collective housing solutions that cater for the wellbeing of residents.