The Latest Trend in Co-Living: Multiple Generations Under One Roof
The Generations Block in Helsinki, Finland offers multigenerational shared living with communal spaces for all hobbies and activities.
Generations Block in Helsinki took the idea of student housing with common rooms and shared spaces and made it multigenerational to create a community within their housing development. The concept of the Generations Block started in 2010 and has since drawn in many collaborators and partners, including Aalto University, the Ministry of Environment and the City of Helsinki. The Block has 262 homes available in 3 buildings with a whole floor dedicated solely to shared spaces.
Residents can enjoy a communal garden, kitchen, sewing room, woodworking room, tv room, soundproof music room, sauna, gym and even a theatre stage. A wide, open and wheelchair-accessible corridor joins all the shared spaces together to create a flow of people and unite people and activities.
Common rooms and shared living has long been part of student lifestyles and even residential or care homes, but what about everyone in between? The Generations Block offers the opportunity to create neighbourly friendships and a sense of community and belonging in a large city while also offering access to spaces and resources to share and develop hobbies and interests. With the rise in co-living for young people, it will be interesting to see what the demographic of the Generations Block will be like and how intergenerational living works in reality.
