That the family was promoted as a mainstay of society happened in the time that many new inventions were made that had a lot of influence on architecture and the city. The architecture of the house has been determined by the social organization of the family since the Renaissance. While architecture innovated within modernism, the role patterns and social structures were frozen. As a result, there was no longer room for very small houses.

Rotterdam is getting more and more inhabitants. In the ìwoonvisie 2030î of the municipality of Rotterdam states that the target group is growing between 24-34 years and that the group of single people is rising. However, the municipality of Rotterdam wants to focus on the families who live or who want to return. Should there not be a suitable home for the ìYoung Professionalsî target group (people who have finished their studies, do not want to live in a student house, but do not yet have an income at medium level)? Not a single-family home, but one that fits the lifestyle. A small home in which city life plays a major role.

First home after is an alternative to civil individualism for people who have graduated, have their first job and want to live in the city. The neighbourhood is a place where people can experiment, grow and enjoy life. New tracks, rituals and routines are being discovered.

On top of three traditional Rotterdam residential blocks, there is a world where a daring balance between public and private functions is offered, where sharing and cooperation are required against civil individualism and where quality of life is a priority. The limited individual space is compensated with the amount of shared and public spaces for experimentation against domestic life.

Living on the roof in the city centre of Rotterdam. The neighbourhood has 181 rental properties in five different typologies, each with its own ratio of shared and individual spaces. Important rules herein were to own a detached house with enough space around it for garding or just to walk around it.  In the individual space is room where a dialogue is possible with the city. The property can be personalized by your individual needs. The only simularity in all homes is a bed. The shared space in the house is diverse. Nature plays a major role in the neighbourhood, just like the experiment.

First home after is a neighbourhood that, according to stakeholders, just under 30% of the inhabitants of Rotterdam in 2030, wants to give a chance to a suitable home against domestic life and bourgeois individualism.