From concrete slab tower blocks to multigenerational houses : Date:
Multigenerational housing is currently being built in many cities and communities. At the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, a research team is investigating how new forms of housing for young and old can be successfully implemented – with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Demographic change is altering the way society lives together: people in Germany are getting older, and the number of children is decreasing. The demands of the working world have also changed family structures: it is becoming increasingly rare for several generations of a family to live under one roof. But the desire for a life as part of a community is equally strong among young and old. Multigenerational-housing projects offer a solution to the challenges of demographic change. In these multigenerational buildings, single people, families and senior citizens form a binding community and support each other in everyday life.
As part of the MeGeWoPo project at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, social scientist Stefan Thomas and his colleagues Susan Schröder and David Scheller are researching the framework conditions under which multigenerational houses have been successfully established. The aim is to transfer positive experiences from self-administered housing projects to municipal housing associations in order to promote the spread of multigenerational housing.
Thomas and his team of researchers are initially investigating how community building and support services have grown in three self-organised multigenerational houses. Subsequently, two model projects will be used to test how inter-generational living can be realised within housing associations. In cooperation with two housing associations, one concrete slab tower building each in Potsdam and Frankfurt an der Oder is being converted for a joint residential project for the elderly. Successfully tested approaches from the self-organised housing projects are to be adapted to housing associations along the way.
The findings and information on the topic of multigenerational living will be compiled and made available in publications and practical guides, as well as by setting up an internet portal. This includes the development of a database of existing multigenerational housing projects in Germany.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is supporting the research project with about 360,000 euros within the framework of the SILQUA-FH funding line as part of the Research at Universities of Applied Sciences programme.