The last few weeks have shown us the best and the worst in our civilisation. Inequality, solidarity, loneliness, togetherness, distance and closeness.

Our architectural models have been tested and showed their failures. Our apartments make us lonely, amenities can make us sick, and working from home is half the fun we thought it would be, showing us how important in-person interaction and change of scenery is. Places built to care of our elders turned out to be traps that made the vulnerable even more vulnerable. Did I already say that we failed? Well, we did. Although we planned with precision, we did not allow for disruption.

Every one of the housing models, from coliving, microhousing, luxury apartments, to retirement communities, segments the market into a laser thin user case and provides a specialised solution. We designed the smallest possible apartments with highly activated amenities for millennials, which has proven to be a massive challenge when amenities are closed, people need to work from home, and there is a lack of diversity (i.e. nobody around who can talk about the experiences in the nineties). We designed conveniences and services for elders, grouped the services around accessible apartments, and filled the building with old people. We forget that diversity in aged creates resilience, fosters engagement, and provides the exchange of knowledge. We also exposed one age group to an unexpected deadly virus without having a backup plan. We designed luxury condominiums with beautiful amenities, where residents never needed to leave the building. But once a city shuts down, we sit in the ivory tower, removed from the true life’s struggles, unexposed to learning and character- building emotion.

The next apartment type needs to allow for disruption. We recently lived through one of the biggest shifts of our lives as a collective, while also experiencing individual hardships in our daily lives. Important life moments, from the birth of a new child, to changing jobs, to facing illness, to retiring or finding a new life partner, need to be accounted for in our physical spaces. Whenever a change happens, the apartment needs to be able to adjust and support. It needs an inherent flexibility that allows us to add, subtract, and share parts of the apartment, constantly evolving with us through our lives. This allows the building to serve an infinite target market with people joining in from all life stages.

The building is coliving, senior living, student housing, micro housing, and luxury living at once. We are able to achieve this with a simple yet meaningful trick. We are only designing 2-bedroom units that are designed with two respective entrances into the bedrooms, and connecting doors that lead into the flex space in the middle of the apartment. This space can be a kitchen/ living room, another studio apartment, or a live/work amenity for the flanking units. This configuration works perfectly for:

• EMPTY NESTERS: When the kids move out of the house the second studio can become a home office, for the occasional work that needs to be done after returning from the office.
• TRAVELLERS: When travelling (especially for extended periods of time) the tenant can move all of their personal items into one studio, and rent out their 1 bedroom to maximise their income while keeping their private belongings securely stowed.
• HOME CARE: In extreme moments of need, the second apartment can become the home of a caring nurse or aid who is available 24/7. This is the perfect example of receiving at-home care.
• COLIVERS: Many people live alone, but that does not need to be the standard. The second studio can be subleased to a friend, student, or tenant so a coliving community can be formed. The two entrances allow for privacy and individuality if desired.
• FAMILIES: A family with one or two children, with the kids having their own bedroom. The door to the hallway from the children’s rooms stays locked and everybody enters through one single door next to the parents’ bedroom.
• STUDENTS: When they’re ready to explore the world at 18, but do not yet have enough money for their own apartment, the 2 bedroom can be shared by 2 or 3 students. The flex space in the middle can become an additional bedroom that can be reached via one of the main entrances.

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With FLX, we don’t have to define unit mixes. The building takes on a life on its own, reconfiguring according to the demographic and lifestyle changes of the neighbourhood and within its walls. New housing should stop focusing on one type of lifestyle and provide the hardware that supports its residents through any disruptions in life, from the moment a child is born until the moment we need care. With FLX, each resident will ultimately determine to what extent they want to be a part of a bigger community, and to what extent their personal apartments will accommodate coliving. My prediction is that most people will choose to live with somebody and to be open to coliving in the long term, so they can live out their lives surrounded by the comfort of other people, neighbours, and friends. In a time of endless uncertainty, flexibility creates stability.

‘Whenever a change happens, the apartment needs to be able to adjust and support. It needs an inherent flexibility, that allows us to add, subtract, and share parts of the apartment, constantly evolving with us through our lives. This allows the building to serve an infinite target market with people joining in from all life stages.’

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