The CCCC Tour | Gerard Coutts & Associates

~~The CCCC Tour comes to an end but advocacy for housing solutions STARTS NOW!~~

The CCCC Tour was a journey full of interesting insights and new learning into co-operative and co-housing initiatives.

The final video revisits the places and people Gerard Coutts met along the tour. Whilst it provides closure to the actual journey, it also refreshes the knowledge gained and provides a stepping stone to the next stage - advocacy.

~~The CCCC Tour - Neighbours driving architecture~~

Gerard Coutts met with Tim Heide, of HEIDE & VON BECKERATH a Berlin based architect who has worked on several successful baugruppen projects.

Tim described how Baugruppen can innovate and transform architecture by forming the neighbourhood in the early stages of the project. The stakeholders consisting of various interests and professions, drive the design and how they want to live together in their new community.

~~The CCCC Tour - Baugruppen - a home & neighbourhood created by you!~~

Gerard Coutts met with Kristien Ring, Principal of AA PROJECTS, Assistant Professor at University of South Florida & Author and editor of the publication “SELF MADE CITY".

The discussion focused on the Baugruppen model as a pragmatic alternative which creates high quality living at a low price that challenges the overall housing market.

~~The CCCC Tour - A commercial co-operative in action!~~

Gerard Coutts visited Holzmarktstraße 25, a successful co-operative initiative with a commercial focus.

Holzmarktstraße 25 is a creative solution providing;

An investment model which secures sites exclusively for co-operatve development outcomes.
A workplace with childcare close by.
A variety of commercial creative spaces.

~~The CCCC Tour - Housing should not always be a profit making exercise.~~

Gerard Coutts met with Joel Dullroy, co-founder of Group Estate in Berlin. Group Estate is a Baugruppen platform where a group of people join together to collectively buy property to live.

Baugruppen is a housing philosophy where;

Making a lifestyle choice ahead of capital growth is the priority.
The co-operative spirit is nurtured and harnessed.
The people are enthusiastic, but government land supply falls short.

~~The CCCC Tour - Australia has nothing to learn about the creation & use of community spaces. FALSE!~~

Look at what Gerard Coutts came across on his day off in Berlin.

His discoveries are thought provoking!

Australia needs a social shift.
Integrating low rise residential into a commercial precinct should be viewed as a positive.
Our planning constraints are holding back great community outcomes.

~~The CCCC Tour - A ground-breaking Community Land Trust~~

Gerard Coutts met with Debbie Wildridge, CLT East Manager and Emily Mulvasney, CLT Advisor from CLT East.

The discussion revealed a number of interesting facts;

A Land Trust is non-profit, community-based organisation run by volunteers.
It requires a structure & needs to be governed by a specialised policy.
It is a housing initiative that is successful in overcoming barriers to get bricks and mortar on the ground.

~~The CCCC Tour - Diverse housing can create great design and eliminate a social divide.~~

Gerard Coutts visited one of Edinburgh’s most ambitious affordable housing projects.

The Quartermile development has been created on the iconic site of the old Royal Infirmary and includes a mix of;

privately owned
affordable housing
social housing
retail
student accomodation

Diverse housing can create great design and eliminate a social divide.

~~The CCCC Tour - Community created by people, not just developers!~~

Gerard Coutts met with Adam Broadway, Managing Director of Instinctively Green and Steve Cook, Social and Community Housing Consultant.

The discussion centred around the success of a community's involvement in the creation of a 42 home co-housing project.

The discussion revealed the following learnings;

Who controls the land is a critical factor in the overall development
A succesfull co-housing project needs a facilitator who is personally invested in the projects success

~~The CCCC Tour - Post evaluation, the critical element in every project~~

Gerard Coutts met with Astrid Kjellberg-Obst, Executive Director of Operations, Homes for Haringey and Steve Cook, Social and Community Housing Consultant.

The discussion revealed a number of interesting discoveries;

Post evaluation prevents repeated project mistakes.
Project learnings provide clarity and can help to shape a future project business case.
Social enterprise is not just about a structure.

~~The CCCC Tour - Alternative, edgy, low cost housing could be a solution to homelessness in Australia!~~

Gerard Coutts took a trip to Perivale on the outskirts of London to visit an affordable housing concept.

The site visit revealed a number of positive findings;

Modular building formats are sustainable
They reduce costs and wastage
The format is simple and effective
Attention to detail and making these types of developments environmentally sensitive are key issues
They are easy to dismantle and reuse

~~The CCCC Tour - Can Australia find solutions in radical housing movements from the 1960s & 70s?~~

Gerard Coutts met with with Melissa Fernández Arrigoitia Lecturer in Urban Futures (Institute for Social Futures) Department of Sociology and LICA (Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts).

The interview explored ideas around community movements that challenged contemporary thinking on housing and lifestyles.

Do established social concepts restrict Australia's ability to fully embrace co-housing & co-operative initiatives?
Are these initiatives more successful in places like Scandinavia due to past community movements that were more accepted into the mainstream of society?

~~The CCCC Tour - If you design a central hub for the aged you build an entire community with spirit!~~

Gerard Coutts met with with Nick Abbey, CEO of The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, an organisation which enables older people to enjoy more independent and better lives in a network of inspirational retirement communities.

The visit revealed some interesting new learning;

An increase in housing choice for the aged can potentially lead to self-segregation.
Broader community can benefit much more than it realises from an aged community hub.
Ageing in place means you can truely stay in one home no matter what your health care requirements are.

* CORRECTION : Nick Abbey is the Former CEO of The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, not the CEO as stated in the Video. Gerard Coutts & Associates apologises for this oversight.