The Holliger district in Bern has been transformed from a fragmented industrial area into a model of communal housing. The motors of this development were the closure of the waste incineration plant in 2012, the improvement of public transportation, and a housing initiative of the City of Bern. The city allocated six lots to housing cooperatives that are committed to social housing. Five of these lots have already been developed and occupied. The urban planning was by BHSF and Christian Salewski. It is based on large scale buildings and permeability. The core is a central space known as the Holligerhof, which was deliberately left open so that residents could participate in developing it. The buildings on the individual plots focus on different aspects of social housing. Flexible family apartments, rooms that can be switched from one apartment to another, communal kitchens, wide access decks and participatory building associations facilitate meetings between people and encourage diversity.