For a decade now economic crisis has been prompting people to organise to improve their lives seeking joint, sustainable solutions capable of ensuring satisfying living standards. A new residential culture is forming in both private and collective spaces. Providing homes means designing efficient buildings but also making available platforms capable of activating local community building resources. Co-operative type social management in Italy today is embodied by social housing action determining a de facto new welfare model and the experience of the Laboratorio sul Gestore Sociale Cooperativo has opened up new scalability potential for this model.