What do we owe each other as members of a community? What do we owe ourselves as individuals? What do we owe those we care for? “Brick and Roses,” the title of our cover story, recalls the time-honoured adage “bread and roses” and its twin appeal to have our basic needs met while also gaining some access to that often neglected essential: beauty. The article is about intentional communities, inspiring places enabled by co-operatives, community land trusts and other frameworks that allow a group of people to come together, organize and shape their own ways of collective living.

Another saying, “many hands make light work,” springs to mind. Via strength in numbers, people can purchase land or building stock and design it in a collaborative process. What’s typically a foregone assumption — that we only have access to homes through a rigged real estate market — is upended in this more equitable scenario that provides an alternative to the status quo.

In “It Takes a Village,” meanwhile, contributor Giovanna Dunmall explores a number of new models for facilities designed for older adults; one of them is the dementia village, a typology that has been gaining traction since the first one opened in the Netherlands some 15 years ago. In this form of community, seniors with diminishing cognitive function have the freedom to move about safely between their private, shared indoor realms and their communal outdoor spaces.

Simply put, our Mar/Apr 2024 issue argues that we need more options, in everything from housing to healthcare to education. Can we create more options for how we house ourselves? For how we approach the housing and care needs of our aging populations who are especially fragile? For how we teach architecture to begin with? We hope our latest edition offers some insights.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Wonders from Miami Design Week

Azure‘s Eric Mutrie presents a selection of the experimental design – for homes, sidewalks and shorelines alike – that captured his attention at the annual event.

Work It Out

Our Spotlight on Workspace included new approaches to office interiors and furnishings. A vibrant highlight: Nicole Marion’s Percy lounge chair for NaughtOne.

Q&A with Sumayya Vally

The rising architect is charting the migrant experience through architecture that builds bridges, including the literal kind: her design for the Asiat-Darse bridge is going up in Vilvoorde, Belgium.

Métis Crossing

The cultural space in Smoky Lake, Alberta, has taken shape over decades – and will continue to evolve. Lawrence Bird visits its embracing spaces.