Rather than a developer-led project, the proposal is conceived as a building community in which future residents participate in the design process and contribute to selected construction tasks, while a local contractor delivers the primary structure. By reducing development costs and encouraging shared ownership, the model aims to make rural living accessible to people with different economic circumstances while strengthening community and local agency. Potential residents include older adults wishing to remain in the village, young adults entering the housing market, families seeking shared everyday support, and individuals whose housing needs change over time.
Remaining in place – a socially sustainable housing model for the rural northern Sweden
Master’s Degree Project
2026
Remaining in Place explores how collective housing can support long-term inhabitation and social resilience within rural settlements shaped by increasing connections to nearby cities. Situated in Tavelsjö outside Umeå in Västerbotten, the project investigates how architecture can create conditions for everyday encounters, mutual support, and continuity through different stages of life. Through adaptable dwellings, shared spaces, and climate-responsive design, the proposal rethinks housing as a framework for remaining connected to both community and place over time.
Rural settlements remain fundamental to broader societal systems through food production, forestry, extraction industries, and energy generation. The long-term sustainability of cities therefore also depends on socially functioning rural communities where people are able and willing to remain living over time. Yet many settlements in northern Sweden are increasingly shaped by commuting patterns, demographic change, and growing dependence on nearby urban centres.
The thesis investigates how architecture might contribute to more socially resilient forms of rural living. Located in Tavelsjö, a village approximately thirty kilometres northwest of Umeå, the project proposes a cooperative housing model as a complement to the detached dwelling typology that dominates the area today. The proposal is intended for people who wish to remain living in the village, but whose needs may no longer align with the detached house model, including older residents, young adults, and households seeking greater proximity and shared support.
Positioned between the public activity node Sundlingska Gården and an existing private farmstead, the building is conceived as a spatial mediator that strengthens existing social relationships while introducing new opportunities for collective life. Inspired by regional barn typologies and adapted to the specific conditions of the site, the project combines adaptable dwellings with shared spaces, terraces, and climatic buffer zones that support both informal encounters and individual autonomy.
The proposal combines social ambitions with passive environmental strategies and locally sourced materials. Timber construction, straw-bale insulation, clay surfaces, and climate-responsive spatial organisation reduce environmental impact while creating comfortable living environments adapted to northern Swedish conditions.
Rather than prescribing a particular way of living, Remaining in Place proposes an architectural framework in which independence and interdependence can coexist, supporting continuity, adaptability, and long-term belonging within the rural north.
Site context illustrating Tavelsjö as a liminal rural community where everyday life is shaped by both local village life and proximity to Umeå. Chosen as the project's test site, Tavelsjö represents a contemporary rural condition in which commuting, demographic change, and strong local identity coexist, making it an interesting context for exploring new forms of collective housing.
The site plan illustrates the project's integration within the existing rural fabric. Located at the intersection of the public activities of Sundlingska Gården and the neighbouring private farmstead, the proposal uses architecture to negotiate degrees of openness and privacy, while creating spatial conditions for future cooperation between existing and new residents. Rather than occupying an isolated site, the proposal extends the existing social and spatial structure.
Section illustrating the building's passive summer performance. The projecting pitched roof frames the private residential zone while providing solar shading, and cross ventilation supports a comfortable indoor climate.
South elevation. The elongated volume, clad in untreated timber and topped with a corrugated metal roof, reinterprets the proportions and material language of the region's traditional agricultural buildings.
Rather than treating housing as a finished product, the proposal frames it as an ongoing collective process. By combining resident participation, adaptable dwellings, shared resources, and locally rooted construction, it explores how architecture can strengthen social resilience and enable more people to remain living in rural communities throughout changing stages of life.
