Bypassing Developers: An Interview with Plan Común on Self-Commissioned Housing

Founded in Chile in 2012, the now Paris-based practice Plan Común has become one of the most interesting practices working in the field of housing today. For years Plan Común has channeled its efforts into finding commissions and opportunities within an increasingly hostile market for truly affordable housing. In 2023, the practice completed the Maison Commune, a multi-unit residential building characterized by an abundance of collective spaces, located next to the Parisian Cemetery of Pantin. Our interview with Plan Común members Kim Courrèges and Felipe De Ferrari focuses on the details of the Maison Commune’s financial scheme. Devised as a “prototype,” this self-commissioned project was an opportunity for Plan Común to conceive a project without traditional intermediaries. By bypassing developers, the architects were able to redirect those costs to build less private and more collective areas—“non-profitable” square meters—that would otherwise not find space in a balance sheet. By adapting a system of financing used in real estate, Plan Común found the margins to make something meaningful.