Mixed use

Part of a larger whole
Anyone who looks beyond his own agenda and activities will see a world of possibilities. A well designed multipurpose building will result in savings, sustainability, additional ease of use, and inspiring interaction among different people and activities. 

Sharing space and facilities makes it possible to have access to arrangements that would be unimaginable to each separately, like a restaurant, a fitness room, auditorium, meeting and presentation facilities, etc. Shared used of space also has virtues in dealing with peak demands on space or parking. While participating in a joint project can yield savings it can also yield significantly improved price-quality ratios. 

Savings are found also in building installations and energy demands, which produce benefits to sustainability in addition to such benefits as intensive use of space. Investing in special sustainability measures, such as energy-generation or storage of cold and heat becomes all the more attractive. 

In addition to practical benefits, this opens a world of cross-pollinations and new relations that result in vitality and especially inspiration. Consider simple combinations of businesses that stimulate each other, for example, in research and development. But on an even more rudimentary level, think of combinations that bring training courses into proximity with practitioners of their ultimate work or target group. Or – even simpler yet – what about bringing housing for the elderly and child day-care into a single building? All of these ideas are generated by one question: what could people mean for each other, and how can our daily lives become more interesting and pleasant? 

As designers we like to take a role of catalyst in this process. We look for all possible synergies and solutions for potential concerns, such as management issues, formulas to allocate costs, and – not to be overlooked – the ever-recurring issue of identities: common, shared, harmonious, contrasting? An expert, a properly managed design process, inspires and provides the perfect introduction to happy "cohabitation".