The kiddie barrier at the top of the stairs leading to the Amherst, Massachusetts offices of Kraus Fitch Architects is there to keep Paco, a beagle-dachshund mix of a certain age, from popping out unaccompanied. Not that he looks ready to bolt. Curled up on a padded wooden chair, he’s the picture of a contented office dog. Only he doesn’t belong to anyone in the firm. He’s there, more or less, as a result of cohousing.

Cohousing, an American term for a Scandinavian model of residential living dating from the 1960s, refers to “intentional communities” of condominiums or co-operatives, occasionally rentals, with shared ownership of extensive common areas. Planned and designed with significant resident input, they are also managed and maintained by residents through non-hierarchical decision-making. This might sound like a commune but there are key differences. Although neighbours tend to be very involved in each other’s lives (hence the Kraus Fitch architects’ willingness to watch Paco during the working day), they don’t share “ownership” of the dog, nor is dog-sitting mandatory.