History

1980

Chuck and Katie meet at the Royal Academy of Art and Architecture at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. While studying there, they discover bofællesskaber (cohousing).

1982

Chuck graduates from California State Polytechnic Institute, with 5 year Professional Bachelor of Architecture degree.

1983

Katie graduates from University of California, Berkeley, Department of Architecture with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Chuck and Katie get married.

1984-85

Chuck and Katie return to Copenhagen specifically to research cohousing, visiting most of the cohousing developments in the country. Research includes a 10 week bicycle tour through Jutland. They spend all available cash on film, along with the much too infrequent, beer and coffee.

In Denmark Chuck coins the word “cohousing” as the English version of the Danish word “bofællesskaber.” (directly translates to “living communities.")

Chuck and Katie return to the United States, with little cash but a wealth of ideas about architecture and housing, and about 5000 slides.

1986-88

They write and self publish the 1st edition of their book, Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves.

Katie works for Swatt Architects. Chuck works for the Mayor’s Office of Community Development in San Francisco where he designs childcare centers.

1987

They conduct 1st Cohousing Workshop in Palo Alto, California.

They begin McCamant & Durrett Architects in Berkeley, CA.

1988

The 1st edition of the book comes off the press, 3000 copies are delivered to Katie and Chuck's basement.

They conduct 2 slide shows in Davis and Sacramento, CA. From these, Muir Commons Cohousing in Davis is begun and Southside Park Cohousing in Sacramento is formed.

The first significant article on cohousing appears in the San Francisco Chronicle. A second article appears in the Los Angeles Times. The national media follows.

McCamant & Durrett Architects are credited with the introduction of the word "cohousing" into the Oxford English Dictionary.

1989

Katie and Chuck are interviewed by Bryant Gumble of NBC’s Today Show in New York City (flights, hotel, limo, and a three-digit dinner comped by NBC.  Chuck and Katie’s first taste of fame).

Muir Commons Cohousing in Davis, CA breaks ground.

First International Commission: Consulting on the design of a new cohousing community (Bofaellenden) in Denmark.

Cohousing workshop for owners of Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, CA.

1990

M & D Architects move office to 1250 Addison Street, Berkeley, California.

1991

Daughter Jessie is born.

Break ground 1 week later on Doyle Street Cohousing.

The first Residents move into Muir Commons-the very first cohousing development in the United States.

PG&E Child Care Center is designated a “Working Mother Dream Center,” by Working Mother Magazine.

National speaking engagements on the east coast with six-week-old daughter Jessie.

Cohousing design as a model leads to the design of many other multi-family housing projects.

1992

Katie, Chuck, and daughter Jessie move into Doyle Street Cohousing.

1991-95

California recession makes it difficult to start new cohousing projects in California, but couple works on projects around the country.

1994

Katie is founding board member of the Cohousing Network, now the Cohousing Association of the United States.

2nd edition of book is released.

Like many other cohousers Katie, Chuck and Jessie move within the cohousing community, "upscaling" to a two-bedroom unit with a balcony.

1995

Depot Commons in Morgan Hill, California, an affordable housing community for single parents who want to study and gain better job skills, is completed. Childcare is provided on site.

1996-2000

McCamant & Durrett Architects designs a dozen cohousing communities around the country, as well as several large childcare centers.

McCamant & Durrett Architects finishes three childcare centers in downtown Washington, D.C. for the World Bank.

2001

HomeSafe project, housing for (24) survivors of domestic violence and their children, in Santa Clara, California is completed

Design of new 25,000 sq.ft. American School Childcare Center in downtown Tokyo, Japan (pictured below).

2002

Residents move into the 32-unit Pleasant Hill Cohousing Community, and are pleasantly surprised by how cool their homes stay without air conditioning, in this particularly hot part of California.

2003

Cotati mixed-use commercial/cohousing construction is completed.

2004

Cotati Cohousing receives National Association of Home Builders 2004 Prize for Best Smart Growth Project in U.S.

McCamant & Durrett Architects opens second office on 241 Commercial Street in Nevada City, California.

Ground Breaking for Broad Street Commons in Nevada City, CA.

2005

Senior Cohousing: A Community Approach to Living Independently, written by Chuck Durrett, is published.

2006

First residents move into Broad Street Commons in Nevada City, CA.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno breaks ground on their new Sanctuary.  The first LEED certified building in Fresno County, CA.

Chuck and Katie move into Broad Street Commons in Nevada City, CA.

2007

The first all-rental attempt at cohousing starts construction in Sebastopol, CA

Cohousing projects are integrated into several large scale mixed use developments.

2008

MDA continues to design new cohousing communities around the country as well as new affordable housing projects, town planning, childcare centers, and mixed residential and commercial places.