In September 2017, Patrimoine SA organised a conference entitled “Humanising the City”, attended by 250 people including institutional representatives, partner associations, start-ups, tenants and Patrimoine’s own employees.

During collaborative workshops, the questions “how can digital technology help people to continue living at home?” and “how can digital technology encourage social links?”, produced the same answers: digital technology, yes, but as a tool serving PLACES that encourage neighbours to meet, thus promoting solidarity.

Based on its experience with Intergenerational Residences, Patrimoine’s CoHabitants® project provides a concrete response to the ideas expressed during these workshops, creating “turnkey shared housing” for its future residents.

* TURNKEY SHARED HOUSING: ACCOMMODATION UNITS, COMMUNAL AREAS AND A FULLY-SUPPORTED USERS’ COMMUNITY

Based on emerging practice in existing shared housing schemes, Patrimoine provides its tenants with communal areas whose use is not completely defined. It then undertakes to support the residents in defining and implementing such uses after handover of the residence; it also facilitates community use of these areas.

With its new “turnkey shared housing” approach, Patrimoine intends to democratise this new way of living, opening it up to new categories of people who are less well-off and uninitiated in the concept, but who are interested in the issues that it tackles:

- Enabling older people to remain living at home, in a non-stigmatising residence

- Mutualising resources,

- Social links, solidarity between neighbours

*MIXED HOUSING FOR A VARIED POPULATION:

70% of the dwellings in the residence are adapted to senior citizens, the remainder being family dwellings aimed at various types of people (young couples, families, students...).

The project includes an INCLUSIVE FLAT comprising four private apartments and a communal area, designed to accommodate elderly people, handicapped or otherwise, who have hitherto lived in ordinary circumstances, in the same residence or elsewhere, alone or as a couple but who, due to worsening of a handicap, loss of their partner and/or increased loss of autonomy, require a greater degree of support – both with healthcare and socio-educative provision – in order to remain at home.

*A USERS’ COMMUNITY FACILITATED AND SUPPORTED BY A DEDICATED SOCIAL ENGINEERING TEAM

This individual adherence to the project is guaranteed by the principle of PROACTIVE CHOICE OF RESIDENCE, so it follows logically that the tenants’ collective must receive support.

Thus, beyond spatial organisation, PATRIMOINE provides a POST-TENANCY CONTRACT service: seeking, mobilising, coordinating and evaluating local stakeholders who, according to their specific characteristics and those of each residence, will contribute to the organisation of the residents’ social life to ensure that everyone “lives together” as harmoniously as possible.