The Kolding Project

In this project Enactlab is assisting with the development of a co-housing community in the Danish city of Kolding, together with the administrative building-organization, Lejerbo, the property union, Real Dania, and the two foundations, Bevica Foundation and Elsass Foundation.

Enactlab is both developing research about the target groups, their life and experiences, and acting as advisors for the developers, the municipal of Kolding, architects and building-entrepreneurs in the project’s first two phases.

The future aim is therefore to meaningfully translate the research knowledge about the target groups through the different phases of the design and construction process, in order to finally evaluate the impact of the co-housing community on the target group’s quality of life and well-being.

Young people are today subject to a high level of stress, depression, and anxiety

Young people with disabilities experience in addition to stress, depression and anxiety – also stigma and social exclusion
Parents are today subject to a high level of stress and families are increasingly becoming organized around single-parent homes

One in four senior citizens feel involuntarily lonely

However research shows that positive social engagement, good relationships and strong community are a general factor in people’s quality of life and well-being.

Our preliminary analyzes therefore suggest that co-housing communities can function as an antidote to individualization and mental distress, since the residents experience less loneliness, social exclusion and increased quality of life.