It is said that “it takes a village to raise a child.” But in today’s world, that village is increasingly hard to find. A bird’s-eye view of our modern suburbs reveals a landscape of isolated nuclear families, each tucked away in their own box. Inside these homes are children growing up alone, backyards with trampolines and pools that rarely see shared laughter, dogs longing for companionship, and private gardens that demand time from already exhausted adults. Neighbours pass each other without ever exchanging names. Children, who could thrive with more independence and social interaction, are confined to private backyards—the only safe space to play without the threat of traffic.

But life wasn’t always this way, and it does not have to continue like this. Across the globe, cohousing is gaining momentum as a thoughtful response to some of our pressing social and environmental challenges: loneliness, an ageing population, and the urgent need to reduce our ecological footprint. While cohousing may seem like a modern innovation, the key idea of living in more connected communities is a return to something ancient and deeply human. Many Indigenous communities have long embraced shared living, where resources, responsibilities, and relationships are woven together in a way that nurtures both individuals and the collective.

Our article explores case studies of contemporary collective housing co-designed with Indigenous communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile, sharing findings from interviews with project leaders and designers who worked on these projects. While Indigenous populations still face many challenges in both countries, there are also recent top-down and bottom-up initiatives aiming to create housing that is culturally appropriate, bridging traditions and new ways of thinking. Strategies on co-design processes with communities are shared in the article, discussing approaches to building meaningful relationships between designers and future residents. While acknowledging the differences in cultures, we also found some common themes in the way Indigenous communities would like to live in both countries. The interviews highlighted the importance of shared green spaces, and the deep relationship with the land, with a preference for units with direct access to the ground floor in most cases. Intergenerational connections in communities were also valued, with projects implementing strategies to better integrate the older and younger residents within communities. We hope this article helps researchers and designers to rethink the way we plan housing for the future, taking valuable lessons from the past.

Lessons from collective housing projects co-designed with Indigenous communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile by Priscila Besen (Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau–Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand), Iván Ivelic Yanes (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile), Sibyl Bloomfield (Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau–Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand), Claudio Aguayo (Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau–Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand) et al. is published in Architecture_MPS, volume 30.

Priscila Besen is a Senior Lecturer in Regenerative Architecture and Urban Design at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), where she co-leads the Future Neighbourhoods Master Lab and is part of the Systems and Communities Research Centre. Her research and teaching focus on designing healthy, resilient, and liveable environments for a post-carbon future. Holding a Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism from UFSC in her home country of Brazil, and a Master’s and PhD from the University of Auckland, Priscila brings experience in cross-disciplinary research and architectural practice. From 2023 to 2025, she co-led an international research project developed in Aotearoa New Zealand and Chile, exploring co-design of collective housing with Indigenous communities. Her award-winning work integrates technical performance with socio-cultural insights – spanning life-cycle thinking in architecture, sustainable urban design, co-design methodologies, building energy performance, post-occupancy evaluation, adaptive reuse and retrofit strategies.

cohousing Mapuche housing Māori housing co-design Indigenous values collective housing