A model for social connection, comfort, and individual wellbeing

Metaform’s residential project in Luxembourg City reimagines collective housing as a model for social connection, comfort, and individual wellbeing. In dense urban areas, apartments are often chosen out of necessity, but this project demonstrates that collective living can combine privacy, intimacy, and communal engagement.

The design systematically addresses common concerns associated with collective housing, including limited natural light, lack of privacy, and insufficient living space. Each apartment is carefully oriented to benefit from sunlight, panoramic views, and cross-ventilation, while private basements and terraces provide residents with personal retreats. The duplex units invert traditional layouts by placing daytime areas above nighttime zones, ensuring continuous daylight and comfort throughout the home.

Community is fostered through thoughtfully designed shared spaces. An underground communal area includes a kitchen, leisure facilities, and games rooms, naturally lit through light shafts. Outdoors, residents have access to a shared garden that encourages interaction while maintaining quiet, private zones. The vertical organisation of the building, with separate cores connecting each floor, limits the number of units per staircase or elevator and allows for a sense of neighbourly proximity without compromising privacy.

By transforming common issues into opportunities, the project redefines collective housing as a positive, human-centred experience. It prioritises social interaction, a sense of belonging, and shared identity, while maintaining the comfort, autonomy, and spatial quality of each individual unit. The result is a residence where living independently within a community becomes a practical and inspiring reality.

Photography © Steve Troes