The American Dream of a single family home with a two-car garage and yard enclosed by a white picket fence became a tangible reality for many families in the mid-1950s with GIs returning from the war. To achieve the American Dream families moved farther away from their familial roots and the nuclear family became increasingly independent - the idea of community and helping your neighbor became a nostalgic reference to a bygone era.

In the past decade, there has been a resurgence of interest in creating community and neighborly connections. Cohousing provides the physical infrastructure to support and encourage community interaction. By living cooperatively together residents not only create strong bonds among their immediate community they also become active participants in local neighborhood groups and members of business districts - often hosting events and meetings.

Sustainability is a key focus of cohousing communities –both in their environmental footprint as well as the social capital they build in living cooperatively together. The residents of Daybreak Cohousing purchased the land, hired the professionals, and financed the development with the idea of environmental and social sustainability in mind. Through this process they built community bonds amongst future residents, developed consensus-based decision making and policies for self governance. Daybreak Cohousing is the culmination of many years of planning and meeting from a highly dedicated group of people. As architects, we were the facilitator of their ideals.

Daybreak Cohousing is 30-unit condominium project with a 7,000sf Common House. The project is located in the north-Portland neighborhood of Overlook - 6 blocks from the MAX Light Rail line and served by frequent bus service. While located on an arterial slated for higher density and neighborhood commercial services, this is the first major project to be completed that achieves this greater development goal.