Book review – Cooperative Conditions. A Primer on Architecture, Finance and Regulation in Zurich

By Anne Kockelkorn, Susanne Schindler and Rebekka Hirshberg, 2024

Lucia Chaloin

Published in Issue 8.1 // Updates

Keywords: Cooperative housing, Zurich, design experimentation, financing, regulation, public value

Abstract:

Against the intricate dynamics of the housing crisis and deepening inequalities caused by global financialization, the book Cooperative Conditions: A primer on Architecture, Finance and Regulation in Zurich (gta Verlag, 2024) by Anne Kockelkorn, Susanne Schindler and Rebekka Hirshberg, makes the case that the nonprofit-rooted tradition of housing in Zurich can be developed to create public value in the form of affordable housing, public open spaces, and social relationships based on trust. Cooperative housing in Zurich is considered a common utility and has been valued as such by public policies and public opinion for more than 100 years. The collective efforts of over 15 contributors (mostly women) provide a clear reconstruction of the intersection of design experimentation, historical recognition of public resolutions, and the virtues of the instruments and financial relationships developed in Zurich. The work draws on archival material, visual documentation, and interviews with cooperative activists. The eight conditions for the development of cooperative housing in Zurich are reflected in eight chapters that link the three intertwined foci of the book: architecture, finance, and regulation.

http://doi.org/10.54825/TFHK4697

Lucia Chaloin has a background in sociology and has researched social vulnerabilities and urban spaces in Italy. Currently, she is a PhD candidate in Urban Studies at the Universtiy of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, working on cohousing and the inclusion of vulnerable groups. Her study analyses collaborative housing experiences in Southern European welfare and housing contexts.

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