Watching the collectives
THOM GILL AND HELLE WESTERGAARD OF Studio Nord architects were one of the two lead ‘driver families’ (DFs) who funded the $4.95-million purchase of the land, the design and the Resource Management Act planning process, and formed a consultative development company for the four-year Cohaus Grey Lynn build.
The DFs required some serious intestinal fortitude, high levels of financial nous and professional skill, a sensitivity to the group’s requirements and an ongoing commitment to and faith in each other – a radical array of skills that they freely admit evolved during the project. On the way, they developed a grudging admiration for the risk resilience of developers and an understanding of the finely poised balance between success and failure.
Both DFs were biking families. After initially exploring smaller sites, they expanded their search to include 1900–2500m sites that could accommodate 12–20 units and were within a comfortable 30-minute cycling range of the city. Initially, they joined with “two or three dead-keen people with a common will” and looked for people they “knew a bit, who were prepared to go on a big journey and discover new ground on the way”. To give the community a chance of working together, the
