Shaping a dream together
Reflections from Suvana’s latest codesign session for our shared future homes,
Our new cohousing community took another exciting step forward on Saturday 17 May 2025, with an all-day codesign workshop.
Held just around the corner from the established Marmalade Lane community in Cambridge, at the Allia Future Business Centre, around 30 of us gathered for a creative and connecting day — working together to bring our shared vision closer to life.
We were joined by friends from the neighbouring Northstowe cohousing group (also known as Block C), with whom we’ll share the Lane and some other spaces.
The day was led by our development and design team: TOWN (developers), Mole (architects), Guarda Landscape, and Homes England. We were also treated to a delicious lunch from My Persian Kitchen.
Over the day, we explored:
the evolving masterplan for the site
layouts for the common house
plans for shared gardens
the design of our shared Lane
interior plans for all home types
It was inspiring to see detailed plans and animated visualisations of our future homes — bringing to life the codesign work we’ve been doing together since November. Things are moving quickly now, with much to consider as TOWN prepares to submit the detailed planning application this summer.
Pictured here are the current proposed masterplan layout and a screenshot from the brand-new design animation.
That said, the details are already shifting! We’re learning just how iterative this process is—balancing many constraints, needs, and perspectives: from future residents, planners, and other stakeholders, alongside technical and commercial requirements.
The design team is now working to incorporate what they heard. We’ve already had one online meeting since Saturday, and the Suvana Coordination Group has a review session this Thursday, ahead of a meeting led by TOWN on Friday. It’s a full and exciting time!
This is a great moment to get involved
If you’re interested in shaping the physical environment of our future community, it’s not too late to join us as a cocreator.
No obligation or commitment is needed—just curiosity and a willingness to contribute.
