How We Build Housing: Exploring Baugruppen in Berlin as Scalable, Participatory Co-production in Berlin

This research project will explore the German Baugruppe model of housing development—literally ‘building group’—through which multiple households organize themselves into an association and pool resources to purchase land and engage an architect to design a multi-unit complex of dwellings to suit their needs. This model removes the land developer from the equation, thus giving households, architects, planners, and policymakers primary roles in housing delivery. The central aim of this research project is to explore case studies of the Baugruppe model within the conceptual framework of participatory housing delivery in order to identify the viability and limitations of this model for Canada, as well as to develop an understanding of the elements, factors, and drivers that have contributed to the model’s success in Germany.

Faculty Supervisor:

Nik Luka

Student:

Partner:

Technische Universitat Braunschweig

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

McGill University

Program: