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Designing for Connection: What Communal Living Can Teach Us About Health, Housing and Belonging

09/12/2025

Andy Cameron-Smith

For decades, conversations about “healthy homes” have centred on damp, mould, energy efficiency and insulation. Whilst they matter enormously, they are not the whole story. A home’s impact on health is also deeply social. Loneliness, for example, ​​has been shown to have similar health effects as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It increases the risk of dementia, stroke and premature death. Yet we rarely design our homes with connection in mind. 

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