![Rendering of a modern housing block on a neglected street.](/static/cf2b7d5d7e3c4bcfae2b7fdbc8aaf610/144ac/1_Carehaus_Rafi-Segal_Marisa-Jahn_Render-GreenmountPreston-1800x1350..jpg)
Coliving for caregivers and patients
Carehaus is a design proposal for care-based co-housing that seeks to "balance the needs and desires of both caregivers and care-receivers, reduces social isolation, and dignifies care and aging." It calls for locating 4-8 units of housing for domestic care workers above a group quarters for their elderly patients. Sharing amenities such as a communal kitchen, laundry, storage, and medical aid accessories, and HVAC allow for reduced expenses and carbon footprint.
Carehaus doesn't explicitly address the role of digital technologies—in many ways it represents a backlash against institutionalized technology-intensive care, as well as isolated technology-assisted aging-in-place. However, coliving more broadly has leveraged mobile tech extensively to allow for convenient, flexible management; and there will be many opportunities to explore how the senior cohousing model can unlock the benefits of technology for ambient health and telemedicine in group settings.