Charles Durrett

Charles Durrett, principal architect at The Cohousing Company, is a leading voice in creating communities where people truly connect. After studying Denmark’s bofællesskaber model, he coined the term “cohousing” in 1985 and brought it to North America with the book Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, now in its third edition titled Creating Cohousing: Building Sustainable Communities. Now on his 16th book, Neuro-Inclusive Community Design, he has designed over 55 cohousing communities for seniors, families, and neurodiverse individuals.

By starting with culture before construction, Charles has spent four decades helping people create places that foster belonging and sustainability. His work has been featured in Time, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and he’s spoken everywhere from the U.S. Congress to Stanford and the Royal Danish Academy. Whether designing a village or speaking to a crowd, Charles is driven by one belief: housing should bring people together.