The Evolution of Co-Living Spaces in India
The greatest casualty of Covid-19 has been a human connection. It has tested the spirit of human resilience in every way and the world now values social interaction and connections like it never has before. Even the mundane possibility of going back to the drudgery of a boring job just to be able to interact and be around people now seems enticing. The world isn’t just ripe for a comeback, it is spoiling for it.
As the nation and the world starts coming back to life after a six-month hiatus, one thing is abundantly clear that the priorities and the way of working of the world have shifted fundamentally and permanently. Friends and family now hold a value that had gone hiding in the last few decades since the pace of life changed. And if COVID were to magically disappear completely overnight, these truths would not. Work from home will still stay. Flexible hours will still stay. Value for life will stay. Wellness as a lifestyle will still stay. The value of family will still stay. This is the real fundamental shift in the new world. And life will have to be rebuilt around that.
Needless to say, that social loneliness caused by this pandemic is going to leave us hankering for reaching out for connections and as it recedes there will be a resurgence of social activity like never before. In a scenario such as this, the brands that products and services that can solve this dire need are also the ones that will be valued the most.
Although, the challenge remains to clearly identify these needs. Going back to the way we used to be isn’t an option. And there is very little empirical evidence to corroborate any specific way of life as the new truth. Even as people casually drop the term ‘The new normal’ they barely understand what it really means. There will be no authoritative guidebook that will suddenly emerge on the subject and remove all ambiguity around it. We will have to dig in and figure it out for ourselves.
One product solution that has been solving this need even before the pandemic hit is Coliving. The very fundamental offering of this solution is community living that allows people to live in a buzzing environment that always has something activity or interaction available at an arm’s length. Not only that. A well thought out Coliving brand can provide a solution to a large range of challenges. As opposed to RWAs or other such solutions in Group Housing Societies, Coliving is a professional solution steeped in hospitality solutions. Whereas Group Housing Societies and residential colonies can only retrofit solutions, Coliving and even more so purpose-built Coliving facilities can change the entire dynamic in a much shorter duration.
On the back of technology, coliving operators can deliver far superior solutions when it comes to fighting the pandemic, isolation and monitoring, creating meaningful interactions and communities, providing avenues of personal and professional growth. With activities such as scheduled group classes (these can range from cooking to the personal brand) that can be notified through alerts, residents get to discover facets of themselves that they would have found challenging in a traditional residential set-up.
And here, time is of abundance. All the functional aspects of security, housekeeping, maintenance, and meals are taken care of so you have a lot more time to spend on and with yourself. Residents can focus on self-development or choose to sign up for group or fitness activities.
Add to that a facility that is built from the ground up for the sole purpose of facilitating this lifestyle. We see the concept of co-living facilities running deeply integrated with coworking facilities. An ideal facility model would be a co-working café/casual restaurant on the ground floor with two floors above dedicated to office spaces and another ten or more floors above that dedicated to co-living spaces. This level of integration is actually only a logical progression as this crisis is going to see a shift of more and more people to facilities that are professionally equipped to handle these and any other such pandemics and enhance the quality of life they are currently living.
To summarise, this is the time to create a new way of life one that doesn’t just follow what is needed by those who demand it but can lead them into a way of life they did not expect and once adapted to, they cannot do without. One that takes care of their emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs. This is the time where humanity is redefining itself and the spaces it lives out its life should far ahead in showing them the way.
