rs ago. Aegidienhof is a city block of buildings dating back to 1270 AD that originally housed a convent, factory, church, and other buildings that served many uses over the years. In 1998 the whole block became available and the project management and business consultant firm ConPlan bought it for redeveloping as mixed housing and businesses.ConPlan did the initial feasibility and design work, advertised for future residents and held information evenings. People bought into the project off the plans, and ConPlan then facilitated regular meetings of the group of future residents to make decisions by 75% majority about how the project evolved. ConPlan continued in the role of developer/project managers, and sometimes had to make decisions themselves, but always sought agreement from the group later. Buyers worked with the architects to customise their own units (paying an hourly rate after the first few hours).
The graceful old brick building
s now house 52 apartments, 11 businesses and a cafe, inhabited by people of different ages, incomes and physical abilities. All the buildings have been refurbished in a resource and energy efficient way, with high levels of insulation, a combined heat and power plant delivering hot water to all buildings, rainwater collection, permeable paving and a car-free environment.Like most of the other neighbourhoods I visited in Germany, Aegidienhof is not cohousing as we understand it, and has no common house or other shared facilities except the courtyard. However, with the initial input of buyers in the design process and an ongoing legal structure that ensures communal decision-making of the group in management of the shared courtyard, there is a much closer relationship of owners with each other than is normal for city apartments. One way in which this is demonstrated is that the residents have set up a Charitable Trust consisting of all owners, to promote arts, cultural and educational events for youth and elders of the wider community.
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