3 Vivarium’s role models (Colivings or any similar models)

Like most people, we love to see other businesses do amazing jobs and support great causes. We love to find companies that inspire us and share our values, from which we can learn and think outside our own box. 

As we grew Vivarium, we had a unique idea of what we wanted to create. We had certain values we knew we wanted to incorporate, messages we wanted to transmit, and services we wanted to provide. But still, even with our unique idea in mind, we had (and still have) some businesses that inspire us and that we look up to. 

It’s not easy to find businesses that share your purpose and passion, so finding those that do is always an amazing opportunity for self-reflection and growth. We feel that as long as you keep your service or products unique and don’t step into other businesses’ uniqueness, having role models as a business owner is a very healthy thing to do.

In our opinion, talking transparently about your business role models and letting your customers and audience learn about them is not only a way of giving recognition but also a way of showcasing what you care about and what inspires you more closely. It is like a conversation that lets your customers learn more about you and about what you want and aspire to create, making it easier to connect with you and your business, and even help you build that by contributing to it. 

So, in this article, we wanted to share some of Vivarium’s top models and show you what aspects of these businesses inspire us the most.

Let’s go!

1) ImpactHub network

ImpactHub is an impactful network and a community connected through coworking spaces all over the world. Like all businesses, and ours as well, ImpactHub started small, with one community and from one city, with a goal to connect inspiring, motivated, and vibrant people under one concept. 

It all started with a simple question by Johnatan Robinson: “What if people striving for change, who work towards such change in the isolation of their homes, have a shared space where they can meet, connect, and collaborate?”

In 2005, Jonathan Robinson turned his visionary idea into reality by establishing the first Hub in the London Borough of Islington. 

This groundbreaking initiative aimed to provide a dedicated workspace specifically designed to foster social innovation, and at the core of it was the vision of creating a dynamic environment where innovators could not only work but also learn and connect with one another.

One aspect especially interesting for us is their dedication to providing a platform for changemakers, something that we work hard to achieve with Vivarium. 

After years of work, ImpactHub has successfully built an environment and ecosystem that encompassed individuals, physical locations, and impactful programs, where individuals and organizations with a shared purpose can come together, collaborate, and support one another in their respective endeavors, and has created a strong sense of community, which is instrumental in encouraging creativity, innovation, and the exchange of ideas.

Today, ImpactHub operates on over 5 continents, and each space is founded and led by a local impact leader who wanted to make a change. 

They have curated an ecosystem that fosters collaboration, learning, and growth through various events, workshops, and initiatives. And by providing these opportunities, they empower their members to develop professionally, expand their networks, and have a tangible impact on the causes they care about.

From Vivarium’s perspective, ImpactHub provides a look into future possibilities of how businesses that focus on impact and collaboration can truly grow in today’s world and gives us a rough path we can follow or aspire to take. With Vivarium, we envision a similar concept but focused on coliving, where individuals not only live together but also collaborate, fostering deeper connections and existence and knowledge-sharing. By implementing this idea on a smaller, local scale, we think we can create a tight-knit community that thrives on shared values and a commitment to positive change.

ImpactHub deserves a place in this list of our role models because of their emphasis on community-building, collaboration, and empowering individuals to make a difference, centered around changemakers at a local level. 

2) Rooral

Rooral is one of those businesses that understand the human need of taking one breath at a time. 

With the purpose of inspiring people to slow down and focus on their well-being, the folks at Rooral place a strong emphasis on regeneration through unique coliving experiences and a genuine connection with local communities. 

Their approach combines the concepts of rural coliving and coworking, offering individuals the opportunity to immerse themselves in the tranquility of village life while fostering a regenerative society.

This concept was founded by Ana Amrein and Juan Barbed with the goal of creating transformative experiences in rural settings, which they currently offer in Andalucia and the Pyrenees. Their focus goes beyond traditional notions of productivity and achievement, instead prioritizing well-being and the art of slowing down. This philosophy is rooted in the belief that finding a balance between doing and being is essential for personal growth and a harmonious existence.

What sets Rooral apart and captures our curiosity the most is its commitment to connecting with local communities. By integrating with the surrounding environment, they create authentic and meaningful experiences for both residents and the local population. Through collaboration, cultural exchange, and engagement with local artisans, Rooral fosters a sense of interconnectedness and mutual learning. 

For us at Vivarium, examples like these are always an inspiration because, with our coliving, that is exactly what we want to accomplish. 

Additionally, what makes them a role model is their approach that seeks to restore and revitalize both the natural and human ecosystems. They provide an opportunity for individuals to reconnect with nature and live in harmony with their surroundings, facilitating personal growth, community-building, and the cultivation of a regenerative mindset.

Although Vivarium is not a rural coliving, we believe this kind of regenerative experience can also happen in urban areas. The key is practicing mindfulness and learning to appreciate things, creatures, and nature that surrounds you, not letting moments slip through your fingers. The key is also to find strong connections with places we live or reside in, even places we temporarily visit, and that’s why we always look for opportunities to connect our colivers with the local community. 

Following Rooral, we see others who take inspiration from the same purpose and work toward the same goal and can learn a lot of strategies and approaches to enhance one’s well-being and mindfulness.

3) K9

Lastly, at least for this round, we always like to mention K9, one of the first coliving concepts in Europe. 

It was established following the successes of Hus24 and TechFarm, which were born from the visionary mindset of Lisa Renander, a Swedish entrepreneur who personally had the luck to experience the transformative power of living in the community. So, born out of the idea of a different way of living—one that is more conscious and fosters closer connections— K9 was created. 

What sets K9 apart from some other coliving spaces is that every member plays a crucial role in building and sustaining the intentional community. As you might know, when we started building Vivarium, this was what we had in mind. We didn’t want to create an experience through which people come and go but instead build a platform for people to be part of the creation of our community. So we take great admiration in projects that did this before us such as K9.

In their space and community, there is a shared understanding that everyone is invited to contribute, celebrate, and take on leadership responsibilities. House values, personal and professional activities, as well as events, are driven by a common interest in personal growth, development, social impact, and co-creation.

The K9 community is vibrant and has inspired many valuable connections and relationships. In K9 they share our vision of co-creation and intentionality, so those who choose to live in the house intentionally opt to co-create their lives and the collective experience of the community with others.

K9's operators say their organizational governance draws inspiration from the Holacracy method, which resides on the base that there are no traditional leaders or hierarchical structures, and the authority and decision-making are shared among everyone.

For Vivarium, K9 serves as an exceptional role model in intentional coliving and community co-creation. We love to see how they managed to create an environment in which members take full ownership and management of their coliving experience, fostering a strong sense of autonomy and responsibility.

 As you understand by now, Vivarium aspires to emulate a similar model, focusing on intentional, long-term stays and empowering its members to actively shape and co-create the community they belong to, which is why K9 will always be on the list of our role models.