Lessons From Collective Housing Projects Co-designed With Indigenous Communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile

Cohousing and shared living environments have been gaining increasing attention worldwide, as they offer significant social, ecological and economic benefits. Many Indigenous communities across the world had historically lived in collective housing with deep connections to nature, multigenerational relationships and the sharing of resources. However, many of these populations have been displaced from land and currently live in homes that are not aligned with their values and traditions. In recent decades, there have been growing efforts to recover these original values and translate them into contemporary housing through participatory design processes. This article presents findings from interviews with designers working on collective housing projects in two countries across the Pacific where Indigenous values have been integrated into architecture through co-design. This study, conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile, discusses differences and similarities in approaches, and provides insights into the future of housing. The findings reveal the residents’ unique contributions to the design of these housing projects to create a sense of community. The methods and participatory practices shared can be valuable in helping to design socially connected and regenerative collective housing in other contexts and countries.