“Miteinander im Wiesental” is a resident-led, cooperative housing project in Aachen-Nord, Aachen, Germany. Its 16 apartments bring together people of different ages and income levels; eight are publicly subsidised, making the project’s shared-living model accessible to households eligible for lower-cost housing. The building was occupied in November 2023, after nearly two years of construction, and has five storeys and about 1,300 square metres of living space.1
The project’s origins predate construction: Alexa Bittner and Wilfried Fischer initiated it in 2014, while the group began concrete planning for the shared house in early 2020.13 The official developer and building owner is Ko-Operativ eG NRW, a umbrella cooperative that provides organisational and legal support to community housing projects. The City of Aachen made the site available under a 99-year leasehold arrangement, and the architectural competition was won by Cologne-based office offfice03.1
The house is designed for both privacy and shared daily life. Residents have private apartments alongside communal facilities, including a common room, garden and play area. At move-in, the community comprised 22 adults and 13 children, with ages ranging from young children to people over 80. Resident Alexa Bittner described neighbours sharing meals and films, helping with shopping and repairs, and looking after one another’s children.1
The five-storey building is constructed from wood, reflecting the project’s focus on environmental sustainability. Construction cost about €6.15 million; NRW.BANK contributed around €1.8 million through the state’s housing-funding programme.1 The project received the Architecture Prize Aachen in 2023 and the Architecture Prize North Rhine-Westphalia in 2024.1