London High-Rise is Giant Co-Living Space

• December 2, 2015

by Tianna Mañón

A London high-rise takes an innovative approach to combatting rising rents.

London has unveiled an innovative way to combat rising housing costs.

The Collective, a London-based company, revealed designs for a high-rise residential building dedicated entirely to co-living, according to Fast Co Exist.

Rents in the city have been rising rapidly, prompting a need for an innovative response. Renting a unit in the co-living space will cost 15-40 percent less than most of the city, according to the article.

Residents will have to sacrifice some privacy but will still have their own sleeping areas and bathrooms. What the building loses in traditional privacy it makes up for in shared amenities, like a library, a spa and a theater, as well as 12,000 square feet of living space.

“The idea is that we provide a compact but well-designed living space where you can have all of your basics. … It’s really your crash pad,” Reza Merchant, CEO of The Collective, told Fast Co Exist. “The wealth of amenity space is the modern form of the living room.”

The DC area will eventually have something similar, the question is when. WeWork’s planned residential development in Crystal City is currently under construction, but its delivery date next year remains a bit of a moving target.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/london_high-rise_is_giant_co-living_space/10641