ABSTRACT
The Collective has built its brand around the idea of ‘living as a service’. Tapping into cultural shifts that have led to an increase in mobility and a reduced desire to settle, it positions renting as a lifestyle choice, rather than a fall-back for those unable to afford home ownership. At The Collective Canary Wharf, which calls itself the world’s largest co-living building, residents have premium facilities at their disposal. The building contains 705 micro-apartments, which are more comparable in size to a hotel room than a one-bedroom flat. The Collective Canary Wharf treats its residents as a single community, where people are more likely to connect through shared interests than proximity while some large-scale co-living developments try to create small neighbourhoods within their buildings. The theory is that friendships more typically emerge through activities, such as a regular yoga session, than between direct neighbours.
