Pioneer cohabitation project fights loneliness in old age

The damaging effects of loneliness are well-documented, as is the increase of this phenomenon in old age. But what is being done to nurture human connection later on in life? In Catalonia, various projects are underway to focus on the value of one’s twilight years – including, for the first time, an innovative cohabitation project for the elderly.

The project is to be set up in a former factory in the town of Catllar, in southern Catalonia between Barcelona and Tarragona. It’s headed by the cooperative Sostre Civic, aiming to recover the complex and enable 30 living spaces at an affordable price.

“Cohabitation has always existed,” explained architect Helena Trias with Sostre Civic, adding that it’s about “bringing people together, to think of how they want to live, without fixed norms.” But differently than some shared living spaces for the elderly, Catllar also engages its residents to take charge of the community.

“It helps for active old age to develop and to blossom,” elaborated Ángel Estevéz, on the technical team for Catllar. The residents, he continued, must “get involved, participate in assemblies, as well as a participative project designing the building.” Indeed, “It’s a third way between renting and buying,” Estevéz said, to develop the end of one’s life “in a rich, activated, and inserted way for social life.”

The objective of the project is to provide a semi-independent living situation without placing them in a nursing home, and, most importantly, fostering the opportunity for companionship. In practice, two people will be able to share each of these 30 spaces – who may or may not have had a previous relationship.

The Catllar space, modeled after projects carried out successfully in Denmark, aims to not only combat loneliness but to generate community, building it from scratch. Those living in the complex will also have access to multipurpose rooms, a nurse’s office, a shared kitchen, and a group laundry room. All of this is also going to keep the elderly active and engaged.