This book tells the story of communal living forms from about 1850 until the present day. The projects featured in this book are divided according to the motivations of their creators and users -economic, political, and social. The book also contains historical analysis and the identification of nine discrete development phases. The author investigates and compares different forms of housing and the way they developed until today. She illustrates how shared living, including the assurance of privacy, is practiced in Europe. Owing to its comprehensive documentation, the analysis of typologies, layout plans, and user and expert interviews, the book can also be seen as a handbook on communal living, offering a unique and detailed overview of this form of residential architecture. The out-of-print first edition has now been republished in a new edition complete with a fresh design and layout. - Illustration of European communal housing concepts since 1850 Over 30 case examples on how and why people live together New edition of the standard work on collective living Also available in German: Eine Geschichte des gemeinschaftlichen Wohnens

Susanne Schmid studied interior design at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Engineering & Architecture and completed the MAS in Housing program at the ETH Wohnforum - ETH CASE in Zurich. Her research focused on communal living and its sociological and architectural implications. As a long-standing partner at Bürgi Schärer Architekten in Bern and since 2024 as Managing Director at Baumschlager Eberle Architekten in Zurich, she has dedicated herself in practice to the topics of social sustainability, cost-effective and flexible housing construction, accompanied the housing evaluation system WBS of the Federal Office for Housing BWO and focuses not only on housing but also on new ways of working and their spatial implementation. Susanne Schmid has been a part-time lecturer at the Institute of Interior Architecture at the Lucerne School of Engineering and Architecture since 2022 and gives numerous specialist lectures and workshops, including at the IST University of Lisbon - Tecnico-Arquitectura in 2023. Prof.em ETH DI Dietmar Eberle studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology, graduating in 1978 under Anton Schweighofer. In 1979, together with Markus Koch, Norbert Mittersteiner and Wolfgang Juen, he co-founded the "Vorarlberger Baukünstler" (1979-1982). From 1984 to 2009 he worked together with Carlo Baumschlager. He runs the internationally renowned firm Baumschlager Eberle Architekten with twelve offices in eight countries worldwide. Since 1983, he has taught continuously in Hanover, Vienna, Linz, Zurich, New York, Darmstadt and Hong Kong. Professor at ETH Zurich from 1999 to 2018, associated with this is the management of the ETH Housing Forum - ETH CASE (Center for Research on Architecture Society and the Built Environment). Dr. Margrit Hugentobler (Sociology/Political Science) studied and worked at the University of Michigan, USA. From 1992, she conducted research at the ETH Housing Forum and headed the interdisciplinary research group from 2009-2015: Housing situations and needs of different target groups (including women, older people), innovations in housing construction in the context of sustainable urban development, multi-local housing.