Les Bobines is a participatory housing project in the Autre Soie district of Villeurbanne, France, developed by the housing cooperative Habitat & Partage. 1 The project was delivered through a purchase under a VEFA arrangement—an acquisition of a property bought before completion—from Rhône Saône Habitat. 1
The project began in spring 2019, when prospective residents started working collectively on the design and organisation of their future home. 1 With support from Habitat & Partage, the group established the project’s principles, operating arrangements and spatial programme, including both private dwellings and shared facilities. 1 The completed programme comprises 19 cooperative rental homes, ranging from two-room to five-room apartments. 1 It also includes 130 square metres of shared facilities: a common room, laundry, guest room, shared outdoor areas, bicycle storage and a vegetable garden. 1
Habitat & Partage’s role extends beyond project support: within its cooperative model, residents are both tenant-members and shareholders, participating in decisions concerning their housing and shared spaces. 45 The organisation was created as an association in 2015 and became a variable-capital SCIC cooperative in 2018. 7 Its activities include developing participatory housing through a citizen property company, as well as advising and training individuals, local authorities and professionals in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. 7
The keys were handed over on 27 November 2025, while project delivery took place at the end of December 2025. 1 Residents then undertook continuing participatory work on painting, finishing and fitting out the common areas, with the first move-ins beginning shortly afterwards. 1 Les Bobines therefore marks both the completion of a collectively designed housing project and the start of Habitat & Partage’s rental-management activity. 1