The future of urban life is increasingly being imagined as collective, layered, and adaptable. As cities grow denser and the boundaries between work, home, and leisure blur, architects are rethinking the traditional notion of residential living, shifting from isolated units to integrated, community-driven environments. This collection of unbuilt projects, submitted by the ArchDaily community, reflects this shift: a global exploration into how design can shape more resilient, inclusive, and connected ways of living.
Many of the proposals take the form of vertical villages or mixed-use ecosystems that intertwine housing with amenities, nature, and public space. In North Macedonia, Urban Hills reimagines a high-rise as a mountain of stacked gardens; in Texas, West Parkway Residence creates communal experiences through elevated social spaces. Others, like Symbiosis in the Netherlands, propose hybrid models for co-living and co-working, while Build Now: Waterloo Region in Canada prioritizes affordability within a complete community framework. From symbolic gestures of national identity in THE EAGLE in Albania to the urban-natural interface in Rive Nature in Paris, the projects demonstrate a shared ambition to design not just buildings, but urban conditions that foster belonging and transformation.
Read on to discover 8 unbuilt residential and collective housing projects that propose new ways of living together.
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Social Spaciousness: MVRDV Reimagines the Future of Co-LivingUrban Hills / BMA - Besian Mehmeti Architects
Skopje, North Macedonia
The Urban Hills is set to become a landmark-a landscape-inspired mixed-use development in Tetovo in North Macedonia.The urban sprawl sparked our conceptual thinking about how to combine, organize, stack, and create a building that would actually be a vertical neighborhood of homes with gardens.Through an intricate play with the volumes and masses, we have been focused to turn this large-scale project into a human scale project. It will be the highest man-made mountain in the city when it's finished
Build Now: Waterloo Region / ABA Architects
Ontario, Canada
On December 2nd, 2024, City of Waterloo Council voted unanimously to identify Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region through their BUILD NOW: Waterloo Region initiative as the preferred proponent to develop 25-acres of vacant land to build 1,000 homes deemed affordable and attainable. ABA proudly prepared the concept plan that envisions a complete community nestled within a vibrant public realm and natural setting. The first phase of the development aims to secure permits for 50 affordable housing units by the end of 2025.
MTK Towers / AIMM Architects
Kyiv, Ukraine
A project for a multifunctional residential complex on the left bank of Kyiv. The project envisions the development of the area with residential buildings of varying heights (9-25 floors). In addition to housing and commercial spaces, the project includes a shopping center, a sports complex, a school, and kindergartens.
West Parkway Residence / Atelier E.Design
Texas, USA
West Parkway Residence is a residential development in Houston, Texas, featuring 770 high-end condominium units across 1.4 million square feet. Designed as a vertical village, it fosters community interaction through thoughtfully placed amenities on upper levels, including a gym, movie theater, social lounge, and outdoor pool. Each unit offers panoramic views of nearby parks and rivers, with interiors featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and high-end finishes.
Symbiosis, a Prototype for Living and Working / Contexō
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Symbiosis is a 20,000-square-meter prototype redefining urban living and working. Located in Kenniskwartier, Tilburg, it fosters a hybrid ecosystem blending housing, workspaces, and communal areas. Prioritizing sustainability, adaptability, and inclusivity, it dissolves boundaries between public and private spaces. Rooted in urban regeneration and environmental integration, it embraces a flexible framework for cooperative living and working. More than a building, Symbiosis is a prototype for a resilient, inclusive urban future that fosters interaction, collaboration, and shared progress.
THE EAGLE / Davide Macullo Architects, ERE architecture
Tirana, Albania
Albania deserves a genuine manifesto to honour the pride of an ancient and tenacious people who know how to be gracious. A strong yet light symbol, authentic in its structure, rational and poetic, just as an eagle. This building is not just a building, but an idea of territory and history. This new presence will not go unnoticed because it is meaningful. It epitomises, in one volume, our belief that architecture is the link between the DNA of a place, its present and its future. It is a building that expresses the values of a nation and the values of the surrounding Mediterranean. The eagle of Tirana works with light, evoking the history of Mediterranean architecture, from classicism – taking up its orders and iconographic power – to the dynamism of the Baroque, passing through the purity of the Renaissance and Gothic geometry, to the present, rising to the challenge of sustainability.
Rive Nature / Valode & Pistre
Paris, France
This project was an opportunity to create an organised, mixed-use urban location that would form an articulation joint between the banks of the river Seine and the heart of the Bongarde district. The project thus offers an urban density similar to that of a city-centre district.The main characteristic of this new neighbourhood is the laying-out of a huge central landscaped space in the form of a densely planted pedestrian walkway. This tree lined pedestrian zone is laid out at right angles to the Seine and links the riverbank, boulevard and nearby streets, as well as the riverside terraces of the neighbouring shopping centre.
Next Amani / Spectrum
Tatu City, Kenya
NEXT Amani, designed by SPECTRUM Architecture and commissioned by Next Group, redefines urban living in Tatu City, Kenya. This innovative residential complex spans 8,085.3 square meters and features four distinct residential blocks that blend contemporary design with nature. With state-of-the-art amenities like a pool deck, communal courtyards, and a signature restaurant, NEXT Amani offers a tranquil, vibrant lifestyle that promotes community and sustainability.
HOW TO SUBMIT AN UNBUILT PROJECT
We highly appreciate the input from our readers and are always happy to see more projects designed by them. If you have an Unbuilt project to submit, click here and follow the guidelines. Our curators will review your submission and get back to you in case it is selected for a feature.
