01
Don't buy land first
Land bought before the group, the charter, and the numbers exist becomes a mortgage that designs the building for you. Every case study in the atlas got its land late — often leased, not bought.
Practically
Short, in the order it actually happens.
01
Land bought before the group, the charter, and the numbers exist becomes a mortgage that designs the building for you. Every case study in the atlas got its land late — often leased, not bought.
02
Small enough to decide, large enough to survive departures. Recruit for commitment, not headcount; the mailing list comes later.
03
Money, exit, kids, cars, conflict, commerce — written down while everyone still likes each other. The document is cheap; the fights it prevents are not.
04
A community land trust (or an existing one) holds the land permanently; a development cooperative builds and owns the building. Separating them is what keeps the homes affordable past the founders.
05
Residents are the client; the architect runs the process; the 10–20% developer margin stays in the building. This is the single biggest lever in the pro forma — it is how R50 and Spreefeld penciled.
06
An existing building (Scenario 3) is faster, cheaper, and teaches governance; a new court (Scenario 1) is the full brief. Strong groups do the first while preparing the second.
07
The gallery-access mid-rise needs egress code work in most US cities. Reform is moving in several states, and the question is live in California — put a code consultant on it in month one, not year three.
08
Ground-floor leases — to member businesses and neighborhood ones — carry real rent and real street life. A courtyard block with a dead ground floor is a gated community lying about it.
09
Publish the charter, the spec, the numbers, the mistakes. The replication unit is one building; the replication mechanism is the next group not starting from zero.
Join
This site is the draft. If you would live in this building, help write it.
Contribute ideas, corrections, and case studies on GitHub — open an issue or a pull request — or propose a parcel you walk past every day.