The communal space in a collective housing or cohousing project constitutes the nerve centre of living together. It is in this space that the bonds are forged that connect the group. The spatial qualities of this place (or these places) leave an important mark on the identity of the design as a whole and its perception as a collective project. And yet these are precisely the spaces that are most difficult to design. Their quality exists by the grace of the use and the programme of the residents. Photographer Brecht Van Maele portrayed five projects and went in search of the spaces behind the collective use.