CO-HOUSING IN THE MAKING

Casa Malta: A Case Study of

a Contemporary Co-Housing
Project in Helsinki
SALLA KORPELA

This case study analyzes the social goals of different types of co-housing groups and
their organizational structures. Experience shows that such groups can be divided
into three main categories both in Finland and internationally: groups aiming at
building together; those planning to share everyday life; and a third category of
groups that serves a common ideal. In connection with this, the case study presents
the case of Casa Malta in Helsinki. Casa Malta is an ongoing co-housing project of
the second category: individuals and families involved in the project aim at sharing
everyday life and chores. It is an owner-based, privately funded block of flats for
approximately sixty families and is the largest and most ambitious co-housing
project in Finland in at least the last 40 years. The uniqueness of the project lies
in the fact that it is based on the will and cohesion of the group. This case study
studies the methods of cohesion building, decision-making and management of such
an autonomous group of people combining their assets and resources in a large-
scale joint effort.

Types of Co-Housing Projects and Groups
Practical experience suggests that from the
point of view of social construct, contem-
porary co-housing projects seem to fall into
three categories:
Building Together
This refers to groups with the sole interest of
joining assets and efforts to produce housing
that meets the parallel needs of the individual
persons or families. These groups only share
interest in gaining economic and practical
benefit through the project. Their original
goal does not include practicing active social
interaction after the project is finished and
they have moved in. The social cohesion
of the group does not need to deepen from
working relations and formal contracts.
Usually they only share a minimum of
common spaces that are often technical in
nature.
Sharing Everyday Life
These groups not only develop their building
or buildings together but they also plan to
share everyday activities while living there.
The building or buildings often contain
common spaces for these purposes. This is
a very common model in Nordic co-housing
and it often involves regular shared meals.
This type of a group often also takes a larger
responsibility of organizing the construction,
financing and other practical arrangements.
The common activities and everyday life of
these groups is regulated by a set of rules
and practices that the group has agreed upon.
These only aim at facilitating practicalities –

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 CASA MALTA: A CASE STUDY OF A CONTEMPORARY CO-HOUSING PROJECT IN HELSINKI
there is no commitment to particular religious
or ideological beliefs.
This type of a group needs a fairly well
structured decision-making system and func-
tional democratic procedures. Conscious atten-
tion needs to be addressed to building and
maintaining social cohesion and mutual con-
fidence within the group.
The Casa Malta project presented below
belongs to this category.
Serving a Common Ideal
These groups not only build and live together
but they do so in order to serve an ideology,
religious commitment or a specific lifestyle.
Such communities have existed for thousands
of years in the form of monasteries and
orders. Contemporary examples include eco-
villages, religious sects and kibbutzim. In
these the inhabitants yield to rules and goals
that regulate not only their common spaces
and activities but also their personal choices.
The rules of such groups are often strict and
unchangeable and often such groups have a
strong leader. Sometimes these groups act a
single economic entity, sharing all expenses
and income.
Figure 1. An
illustration of the
Casa Malta from
the northeast. A
colourful wall on
the northeastern end
of the building will
form a spectacular
landmark and
will be seen by
those approaching
Jätkäsaari from the
city centre
BUILT ENVIRONMENT VOL 38 NO 3
The Concept of Casa Malta
Casa Malta is an ongoing co-housing project
in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The build-
ing is currently being designed. Construction
began in June 2012 and the building is
expected to be finished in the latter half of
2013. The project has attracted significant
public interest as it is a bold attempt to break
the current conventions of housing devel-
opment – by and for the benefit of the inhabit-
ants.
Casa Malta is a block of flats comprising
sixty-one family units, shared spaces of about
550 m2, an underground car park for twenty-
four cars and two commercial spaces of about
100 m2, approximately 8,100 m2 all together.
The building will be nine storeys high and
be divided in two stairwells. The plot of land
is a narrow rectangle and will only allow for
a fairly small common backyard. The indi-
vidual apartments vary from studios of less
than 40 m2 to a large, 150 m2 two-storey apart-
ment. The apartments will be fully equipped
with modern appliances and large balconies,
and they will allow for flexible interior
arrangement of spaces. Some may be split or
combined with the neighbouring apartment.
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 CO-HOUSING IN THE MAKING

Figure 2. The main community functions will take place on street level floor of the building. There is a
multifunction area of c. 140 m2 that serves as a dining room, library and TV room on a daily basis and as
a large hall on festive occasions. There is a well equipped kitchen adjoining the hall. The common spaces
include plenty of room for hobbies, textile work, carpentry and bicycles.

Figure 3. The top floor will include a comfortable sauna department with three hot-rooms and adjoining
washing and dressing areas and a room with a fireplace for after-sauna evenings. In the northeastern end
of the floor is a greenhouse for prolonging the pleasures of summer. A large terrace surrounds the entire
floor.

The common spaces – those exceeding serve the everyday maintenance needs of
regular, mandatory common areas in a Fin- the inhabitants as well as community life.
nish apartment block – are designed to On the ground floor there will be a large

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 CASA MALTA: A CASE STUDY OF A CONTEMPORARY CO-HOUSING PROJECT IN HELSINKI
multi-purpose hall of about 140 m2 and a
restaurant-standard kitchen, with adjoining
service and storage spaces. This area is
designed to be used for quotidian common
meals, as well as the inhabitants’ private
occasions, and common parties, recreation,
cultural events, film evenings, small-scale
gymnastics, etc. This space will also include
a corner for library and office use, as well
as for children’s play. It will be furnished
with light, easy-to-store furniture in order
to allow for different setups. On the first
floor there will be fairly large laundry and
drying rooms, rooms for textile work as
well as other hobbies. The activities that are
planned to take place in these spaces as well
as the philosophy behind them are discussed
below.
The top floor of the building will be used
for common purposes as well. According to
Finnish tastes and traditions the best spaces
in the building will be devoted to saunas.
There will be three units of hot rooms with
adjoining washing and dressing areas.
These will be used as common saunas, one
for men and one for women as well as for
individual family saunas on a negotiated
schedule. The third sauna will be a walk-in
sauna with an instant stove, and can be used
on a first come, first served basis at any time.
Most new apartments in Finland contain
individual saunas, even the smallest studios.
The apartments in Malta will not have saunas
as a standard feature. This was a conscious
choice of the future inhabitants, for economic,
ecological as well as community reasons.
Saunas are very expensive spaces and heating
individual saunas several times each week
is a considerable waste of energy. On the
other hand, sharing sauna with neighbours
is a most natural feature of social life in
Finland.
The top floor will also include a cosy den
with a fireplace for relaxing after sauna
and smaller club meetings and dinners etc,
and also a shielded roof garden as well as
wide open-air terraces on three sides of the
building with a view of the sea.
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New Housing in an Old Port Area
The project has obtained a leased plot of land
from the city of Helsinki in the Jätkäsaari area
close to the city centre. The neighbourhood of
Jätkäsaari is currently under construction on
a southern peninsula vacated by a cargo port.
Once finished, Jätkäsaari will accommodate
16,000 inhabitants and 6,000 jobs in a dense
urban structure. Construction of the area
began in 2009 and is estimated to be finished
by 2025. The Malta plot is situated on one
of the area’s main streets with a trolley line,
and there will be a trolley stop right in front
of the building. The Metro line is 300 metres
from the building and there will be a very
convenient and fast bicycle and walking track
leading from the area to the main railway
station and the city centre.
The conditions of lease for the plot
include regulations on the resale price of the
apartments for the first 30 years. During this
period the owners are not allowed to sell
their apartments at market prices, but the
price of these apartments is tied to the general
market index. This regulatory system of the
City of Helsinki, known as ‘Hitas’, is aimed at
keeping the price of housing within the reach
of middle-class wage-earning families. Thus
the apartments of Casa Malta, albeit situated
at a very good address, will not be lucrative
for investors looking for profit in the short
term. This serves the purpose of co-housing
well, as those involved are seriously planning
a home for themselves and their families and
not seeking a profitable investment in the
short term.
Casa Malta is an owner-based project.
This means that the group of inhabitants
initiated the project and will be ultimately
responsibility of the development procedure
as well as all costs. Finnish housing coopera-
tive legislation provides a good organiza-
tional basis for the project whose estimated
cost runs at around €20 million, i.e. about
€4,300/m2. This is comparable to other Hitas-
style apartments in the same area. The money
saved on marketing costs and in not involv-
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 CO-HOUSING IN THE MAKING
ing a profit-making commercial developer
will be used on common spaces and quality.
One of the most important quality factors
is the eco and energy choices of Casa Malta.
The building will be constructed according
to high ecological and energy-saving
standards, with quadruple windows and
thick insulation. Each unit will be equipped
with individually adjustable air conditioning
and heating. The project has applied for
permission from the City of Helsinki to
construct a geothermal heat pump system
that would provide for most of the heating
needed in the cold seasons as well as cooling
in the summer. Whether the city will grant
permission for this is uncertain at the time
of the writing. Hot water and supplementary
winter heating will be provided by the
Helsinki city district heating system.
The mobility needs of the inhabitants are
also a very important ecological considera-
tion. The entire Jätkäsaari precinct is designed
to encourage the use of public transport,
walking and bicycling and discourage the use
of private motor vehicles. The inhabitants’
need of parking spaces was assessed at an
early stage and it became apparent that less
than half of the families were going to need
parking space and each of these for only one
car. The parking spaces in the basement will
340
Figure 4. Casa Malta from the
northwest. The backyard of the
building will border a sports area
that is already in use.
be sold or let separately, their construction
costs will not be included in the prices of
apartments. On the other hand there will
be a comparatively large storage area for
bicycles, including a repair shop and facilities
for recharging electric bicycles. The group of
inhabitants has also decided to establish a car
share system, once they live in the building.
Finally, where does the name of the project
come from? It has two etymologies. The first
one comes from the situation of the plot:
it is situated on a street that will be called
Välimerenkatu (Mediterranean Street) and
as it has no immediate neighbours it is
like an island – the island of Malta in the
Mediterranean sea. The word also includes
a wordplay in the Finnish language: ‘malta’
in Finnish means ‘be patient’. A co-housing
project is a time consuming undertaking and
requires patience, of which the inhabitants
keep reminding themselves each time they
pronounce the name of their future home.
The Background of the Project
The Malta project was originally initiated
by a group of old friends, who dreamed of
living under the same roof once they grow
old. They decided there was no need to wait
until old age and organized themselves as a
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 CASA MALTA: A CASE STUDY OF A CONTEMPORARY CO-HOUSING PROJECT IN HELSINKI
Figure 5. Casa Malta from the
southwest. The building will
be situated by one of the main
streets of the new Jätkäsaari
area.
registered association in the spring of 2007.
The association was named Home in the City
and it declared two goals: to improve the
culture of urban housing and to develop a
co-housing project in central Helsinki. More
friends and relatives joined and the active
members of the association contacted the Real
Estate Department of the City of Helsinki in
order to apply for a plot of land at an early
stage. The city authorities were favourable
and offered a plot in the Jätkäsaari area,
which was just undergoing its first phase of
plot distribution. At the same time the project
started to gain public attention and was
presented in Helsingin Sanomat, the largest
daily newspaper in the city. A turning point
came in February 2009 when the chairperson
of the group appeared in a talk show on
prime time TV. During the next few weeks
the association gained more than fifty new
members. This, in turn, created more public
interest.
The co-housing group sought inspiration
and practical advise from several models both
nationally and internationally. Many of the
residential buildings in the centre of Helsinki
had been originally developed and built in a
co-development procedure during the years
of rapid growth from the late nineteenth
century until 1960s – albeit these projects
did not identify themselves as co-housing
projects. They were joint ventures initiated
either by the patriarchs of wealthy families
BUILT ENVIRONMENT VOL 38 NO 3
or by early labour unions. These projects
proved very successful and produced some of
the most esteemed and beautiful residential
buildings in the city. From 1960s onwards
this style of housing development faded as it
became the business of large companies with
connections to local political stakeholders
governing zoning, planning and the use of
land – as well as financial arrangements.
A modern Finnish model of co-housing
and a forerunner in this field was Loppukiri,
a senior co-housing project that was started
by a group of senior citizens in 2000. Their
building, a block of flats, was finished in 2006.
It has served as a model for the organization
of the planning stage as well as for the
common spaces in the building. However,
Loppukiri differs from Casa Malta in two
aspects: Loppukiri is a senior co-housing
project aimed for people over the age of 48
and without dependent children and it was
built by a commercial developer with which
the group had a contract. Casa Malta is for
all generations and the housing cooperative
aims at taking full charge of the development.
The Home in the City association has also
studied models and examples from abroad.
The association received a grant from the
Finnish-Danish Cultural Fund for a study
trip to Denmark in 2008. A group of four
active members visited four co-housing
projects in the Greater Copenhagen area as
well as a senior co-housing project in Malmö,
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 CO-HOUSING IN THE MAKING
in the south of Sweden. The association also
arranged a visit to the co-housing project
Södra Station in Stockholm in spring 2009,
with over thirty participants. Some active
members of the group also participated in
the International Co-Housing Conference
arranged in Stockholm by the Royal Technical
University and the Swedish co-housing as-
sociation, Kollektivhus NU, in May 2010. This
conference included a field trip to several
co-housing projects around the Greater
Stockholm area. Some members have visited
comparable projects in Germany, in the Berlin
and Hamburg areas.
The examination of these models has been
very useful in both finding inspiration and
practical solutions to planning the building
and in the organization of the group. They
have also been a great source of faith in the
idea and possibilities of co-housing as a
sustainable lifestyle, and have helped shape
the functional concept of the community.
The Organization of the Project
The recruitment of new inhabitants is taken
care of by the Home in the City association.
New interested people attend an event,
where they receive information about the
association and the project and where the
board members of the association have a
chance to interact personally with each of
them. The board accepts new members and
their membership begins when they pay
their membership fee (€20 in 2011) to the
association. So far, the board has accepted
practically all applicants – there is no social
scrutiny. The order in which membership fee
payments are received constitutes the order
in which the members have the opportunity
to reserve an apartment and can at any time
be verified from the banking documents.
This has been accepted as a fair and open
procedure by all parties.
At the beginning of 2010 the association
had over 100 members and the basic concept
of the building and the social activities of the
community had matured to a point where
342
the actual development project was ready to
begin. Two active members of the association,
architects by profession, drafted a very
rough outline of the building, which served
as a basis for a first evaluation of costs. This
evaluation was carried out by a professional
consultant and paid for from the accumulated
funds of the association. With a first estimate
in hand, all members of the association
were asked whether they were interested in
reserving an apartment in the building and
of what size category. Those who responded,
forty-one families, signed a commitment
stating their rights and obligations as well as
the organization of the preparatory process.
In addition to this, each family paid €30/m2
as a preliminary reservation fee to fund the
planning process. This accumulated over
€100,000 and allowed the project to engage
an architect (Pentti Kareoja of Ark House
Architects, Helsinki) as well as a professional
project manager to work for the project full
time.
The group has met regularly approxi-
mately once a month or more often to
prepare and make decisions on the plans.
They have an elected managerial board as
well as a number of open working groups
concentrating on different aspects of the
building and community life. These groups
include, for example, the construction group,
the kitchen group, the greenery group, the
community activities group and the aesthetics
group. This structure of open working groups
has proved very functional as it allows for the
members to participate actively in subjects in
which they are interested and perhaps also
have professional skills. As a plenary meeting
of forty to sixty can effectively only make
well-prepared major decisions, many issues
have been first developed and matured in a
smaller group.
The plenary meeting of the Malta co-
housing group aims at making decisions on
a consensus basis. This has been the most
common case. Consensuses take time to
mature, but it has been worth the time and
the trouble sometimes to take the longer
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 CASA MALTA: A CASE STUDY OF A CONTEMPORARY CO-HOUSING PROJECT IN HELSINKI
path. If it becomes apparent that consensus
cannot be achieved, the group votes on a
two-thirds majority on issues concerning
community life and on a simple majority on
issues concerning construction choices. Each
apartment has one vote. When especially
controversial issues arise, for example the
pricing of the apartments, ad hoc working
groups may be established to resolve the
differences and find a model for solution,
which will then ultimately be taken to the
plenum for decision-making.
The group works in an atmosphere of open-
ness and a culture of trust and trustworthi-
ness. Open, unhindered debate is encouraged
and questions and problems arising from
members are taken in serious consideration.
Protocols and documents are produced in a
disciplined manner in all meetings and all
proceedings are carried out in a very orderly,
professional fashion. This is essential not
only in maintaining the members’ faith in the
project but also in negotiating with service
providers as well as the city officials.
At the beginning of 2011 the architect
produced a draft of the building that allowed
for the reservation of the actual apartments
to begin. As members reserved their apart-
ments they also signed a second written
commitment and paid an additional €30/
m2 as reservation fee. As the project has
proceeded, more specialist consultants have
been engaged and further fees have been
collected from the inhabitants to fund the
planning. By March 2011 all members of
the association had had a chance to choose
and reserve an apartment, and there were
still some twenty apartments unreserved.
At this point the association enhanced its
recruitment efforts and finally in August 2011
the last apartment had found its taker.
Social Construct and Cohesion
In short, the community of Casa Malta seeks
solutions and activities that will make the
members’ lives easier, cheaper and more fun.
It is not an ideological community, nor does
BUILT ENVIRONMENT VOL 38 NO 3
it compromise the inhabitants’ privacy or
personal freedom in any way.
The members have negotiated an Inhab-
itants’ Agreement that will be signed by all
adults moving to the building. This agreement
states the principles on which the community
operates in its everyday life: mutual respect,
communication, giving and receiving from
one another. It also outlines the organization
of decision-making, once the building is fin-
ished and the community becomes opera-
tional. In addition the agreement states that
the community has the right to issue sanc-
tions on those not abiding by the mutually
accepted rules and decisions.
The social cohesion of the group is funda-
mentally based on a conscious agreement
and mutually accepted rules and procedures.
This is important to note – it is not based on
personal preference or emotional biases.
This is not to undermine the significance of
mutual sympathy and compassion that has
already developed among the members of
the group.
As there are no other criteria for the mem-
bership of the Home in the City association
except for a keen interest in its activities, the
members of the group come from varied
walks of life. It must be said, however,
that compared to general demographics of
Helsinki, the inhabitants’ average education
level seems to be considerably higher. And of
course, they are people with means to own
their homes.
The basic idea is that the common spaces
and facilities will to some extent be main-
tained by the community, which means
that each member is required to participate
according to his/her capacity and health.
These chores may include different types of
cooking, cleaning, maintenance, administra-
tion and other such work, to be defined at a
later stage.
Many of the inhabitants are either old
friends or related to one another, and many
have become friends in the procedure.
For such people it is a great advantage to
live under the same roof, share everyday
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 CO-HOUSING IN THE MAKING
activities, food and care for one another.
The group includes people with common
interests, such as childcare needs, and who
may benefit from shared arrangements. The
community is a resource of mutual neigh-
bourly assistance for all: when someone falls
ill, there will certainly be someone to help
out and pets, plants and such will be looked
after during holidays. Hobbies and pastimes
may be shared according to the inhabitants’
interests. Lonely and old people will find
company and meaningful activities in a safe
environment. This aspect is emphasized by
the effects of the arctic winter, when moving
outdoors may be difficult and dangerous for
frail, elderly people.
Common dinners are a major activity of the
community. According to current plans, these
will be arranged three times a week during
school terms. Participation is voluntary.
Those participating will be grouped in teams
that will take turns in preparing the dinners.
This is a common feature in co-housing
projects in Europe and elsewhere and seems
to be a great source of satisfaction for those
attending and a major relief for both families
with small children and the elderly.
Common dinners are an especially valuable
feature in maintaining and enhancing com-
munity spirit and cohesion. This is explained
by the simple fact that everybody needs to
eat every day – whereas hobbies and inter-
ests vary from one person to another. A struc-
tured, regular activity open for all creates a
forum for all kinds of encounter, in which
more shared activities tend to be planned.
Common spaces and supplies also save
money in many ways. Several inhabitants
have decided to settle for a smaller apartment
as they can carry out some of their daily
activities in the common spaces. Also com-
mon dinners, car sharing and sharing tools,
equipment and such save money.
Housing for the Future
Western societies seem to be facing a
prolonged period of economic insecurity,
344
dissolving family structures and an ageing
population, all of which put great pressure
to public welfare systems. Co-housing, es-
pecially of the second category, such as Casa
Malta, is an interesting initiative intended
to answer a wide range of social, economic
and ecological issues as well as questions of
human wellbeing.
Groups who take responsibility for develop-
ing their own housing challenge the existing
housing market. Both the quality and price
of housing will be change especially in cases
where buildings are constructed without a
commercial developer. When this style of
housing becomes more common and thus
an option for the wider public, there will an
effect on the entire housing market, especially
in urban areas.
The intentional community building of co-
housing projects of the second type may
provide solutions to many everyday prob-
lems. Affordable and safe childcare can be
arranged jointly, the elderly looked after with
little extra effort, cooking, cleaning and such
activities shared. The sense of community
and a very low threshold to finding company
in one’s own quotidian environment may
enhance the wellbeing of lonely and vulner-
able individuals.
Living in co-housing projects reduces the
need for transportation and saves energy.
The inhabitants’ carbon footprints can be
reduced by sharing space, household appli-
ances, vehicles, utensils and such. Future
inhabitants are often willing to make ecologi-
cal investments in the construction phase – as
they are the ones to pay the energy bills over
the coming years.
As these activities are all intentional and
voluntary, there is a sense of personal free-
dom, involvement and choice not present in
purchased services or those provided by the
government. A co-housing community can, at
best, be a nurturing environment for personal
growth.
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