Showcasing Success: "5 Must-Have Features for Coliving Spaces That Work"
Rethinking Coliving architecture for modern urban living
Today coliving is no longer considered a novelty reserved only for students and digital nomads willing to trade space for location. In dense cities like London, where rent is high and lifestyles are increasingly flexible, coliving offers a sensible way of living that balances privacy and connection. It all comes down to designing shared areas planned around real habits, interaction, and creating a third space, whether it’s a corridor, a yoga studio or coffee area, where the layouts, materials and shared amenities are planned with real habits in mind.
When the spaces are created to be used in everyday life, the result feels intuitive, residents can move freely between socialising, working and retreating. They can naturally gravitate to the shared spaces when they want company, yet just as easily withdraw to a more private setting when they need quiet and comfort. This perfectly designed contrast, between privacy and connection, efficiency and comfort, is what makes coliving spaces a perfect long-term solution that makes people want to stay.
The third space: designing for interaction and flow
At the heart of successful coliving schemes are well-designed shared amenities that shape daily life. Beyond the headline amenities, the most successful coliving schemes invest in in-between spaces, the areas that most people don’t necessarily plan to use, but end up doing so the most. In these areas, residents might stop to make a coffee, sit with a laptop between meetings, or chat briefly with a neighbour on the way out. A widened corridor with a cosy bench where one could sit and chat while waiting, or a ground floor café where both locals and residents mix organically.
From an architectural point of view, this is achieved by making circulation spaces wider and more usable, allowing people to be introduced to the shared rooms as they move through the building. With the right design and lighting, a window seat suddenly becomes somewhere to pause, people-watch, or wait for a friend. Even a shared table near the lift can support impromptu meals, work sessions, or quiet conversations. This third space, neither fully private or public, allows free-flowing natural opportunities for interaction, and for the building to invite people to socialise without feeling obligated or pressured.
Shared amenities in coliving: coworking, dining, and outdoor space
Shared amenities are the heart and main focus of coliving spaces. They give residents a reason to leave their apartments and cross paths with other tenants without awkwardness. A building with a shared kitchen, dining space or local bakery offers a safe environment where relationships can grow organically through a multitude of planned and unplanned gatherings.
Someone cooking an early dinner, another grabbing breakfast, a late-night snack run that turns into a conversation with whoever happens to be there; these everyday overlaps are what build connections. Roof terraces and landscaped outdoor spaces extend this social life beyond the daily tasks, giving people somewhere to decompress after work, enjoy a hobby, exercise, or spend time outdoors without leaving the building and dealing with traffic. In dense cities, these external areas play a critical role in wellbeing by encouraging people to step outside and engage with nature.
Privacy, wellbeing, and sustainable living
In shared communities, keeping the balance between retreat and socialising supports healthier social dynamics and ensures that private spaces remain genuinely private. A separate coworking space that’s well-lit, calm, and well appointed allows residents to start their day with structure, by grabbing a coffee downstairs, setting up at a sunny desk, taking breaks in shared green spaces, and switching off when work is done. When these spaces are part of a connected internal network rather than isolated rooms, people gain real choice throughout the day from quiet corners for focus, sheltered and outdoors for some fresh air and sunlight when weather conditions allow it. This separation and variety matter more than it seems. Without them, bedrooms become offices, routines blur, and burnout follows quickly.
Sustainability also plays a defining role in successful coliving developments, the shared co-management style allows operations to run more efficiently, thus reducing waste, energy use, and environmental impact. At the same time, these buildings can act as pedagogical environments, subtly teaching residents how to live more sustainably through shared communal gardens with tools, visible recycling and waste areas, energy monitoring and encouraging the use of bikes and public transport learned through the daily use of the building rather than reminders and house rules.
Designing coliving spaces that are built to last
Ultimately, the real measure of a coliving building isn’t just its convenience or amenities, but what happens between them. Third spaces capture moments where everyday life unfolds, brief conversations over current events, bonding over similar interests, discovering a new beverage to enjoy before work; these must have spaces that traditional buildings cannot. When these spaces are comfortable, welcoming, and well placed, they support connection without pressure.