De Warren is North Holland’s first self-build housing cooperative. De Warren is built for the city of the future. It is a social and affordable place, where people live together and care for each other. De Warren offers space for a diverse group of people, from starters to families with children. The project has many communal spaces, and there is openness to the outside and the neighbourhood. As a cooperative, De Warren itself is the developer and the community manages the building itself.

Living together: The Story of De Warren was made by Sam van Zoest, filmmaker and resident of De Warren. Sam works with a variety of media, from documentaries and prose to installations and interactives. His work focuses on the human aspect of big issues such as climate change and housing shortages. Sam studied Film & Television at the University of Edinburgh, and Environment and Resource Management at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Sam also gives workshops on using art and emotions to raise social issues.

Chandar van der Zande is the creative producer of Living Together: The Story of De Warren. As a co-initiator and chairman of the first board, he realised early on that the story of De Warren needed to be captured. Chandar did this with a handycam while working on the project. Much of this footage was used in the documentary. Chandar also helped establish the dramaturgical line and pick the music for the film. Chandar is team coordinator and policy advisor on circular and biobased built environment at the Municipality of Amsterdam.