Design Ideas For Apartment Buildings – Housing is one of the most important categories of development—one that has far-reaching implications for the health of a society as a whole. And while it’s true that single-family homes dominate the U.S. housing market by a significant margin, multi-family homes play an important role in building and creating thriving, sustainable communities.
Like all real estate, multifamily design is not static but rather evolves with current market demands, needs and aesthetics. Architects and developers of multifamily properties need to be aware of these trends so that better designed spaces will attract and retain tenants over the long term.
Design Ideas For Apartment Buildings
In this article we explore the basics of multifamily development, explore some current trends affecting multifamily design, and look at some project examples from around the world.
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Multifamily design is a housing design category that includes everything from condominiums and townhouses to apartment buildings and apartment communities. Photo by Andrew Ragg
Multi-family design or multi-family housing development is a sub-category of housing in which multiple individual housing units for residential residents reside in the same building or in multiple buildings of a complex. These units can be placed side by side or stacked on top of each other, with most multi-family developments incorporating a mix of the two layouts.
There are several types of multi-family developments found in the United States, the most common of which are apartment buildings, apartment communities, condominiums, and townhouses or townhouses. Most multi-family housing complexes are either owned by a single entity that rents individual units to individual tenants, or each unit may be owned by separate parties who share joint ownership of any and all common areas.
Multi-family planning is important for several reasons, the most important being that it provides housing opportunities for those who cannot afford or prefer to own a private home.
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From a sustainability perspective, multi-family development uses land and infrastructure much more efficiently than single-family development, greatly increasing the density of households on any given plot of land. This dense housing makes it easier to maintain open space and natural amenities, while requiring less energy to operate per unit than single-family homes. Increased density with multi-family development is also important from an economic perspective, rapidly expanding an area’s tax base and helping to boost local economies by encouraging economic growth and increasing employment opportunities.
Finally, equitable multi-family development may be key to strengthening and maintaining strong communities by providing a more conducive environment for interaction and cooperation with neighbors.
Like any other architectural category, multifamily design evolves and changes over time to meet current market needs, demands, and aesthetic preferences. Here are some current ideas and trends that are informing the design of many households in our modern world.
Florence Mills Apartments is an affordable apartment building project in Los Angeles designed specifically for low-income families. Photo by Jeff Simmons Photography
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With skyrocketing home prices and rising mortgage rates forcing a large percentage of the population to rent, it is imperative that multifamily developments offer a mix of affordable housing options with mixed-rate units. This is exemplified in the extreme by the Florence Mills Apartments, a multi-family housing complex in Los Angeles, priced to accommodate families at low, very low, and very low income levels.
New multi-family construction can also serve to provide missing medium housing or medium density housing that exists between single-family homes and large apartment complexes. Missing middle housing includes a variety of housing types—including townhouses, maisonettes, triplexes, blocks of flats, bungalow courts, courtyard apartments, etc.—and distinguishes housing options available to families of different sizes, ages, and income levels. The lack of multifamily construction in the middle also goes hand in hand with creating walkable landscapes and neighborhoods.
Cable Mills Apartments combines multifamily design and adaptive reuse, redeveloping eight 1800s industrial buildings into affordable and mixed-use housing. Photo courtesy of Cable Mills
Another trend in multi-family planning is the adaptive reuse or renovation of buildings originally intended for non-residential use such as apartment complexes and the like. Reusing existing buildings is often cheaper than building from scratch and produces less waste than new construction, reducing the overall environmental impact and carbon footprint of a project. Adaptive reuse also helps preserve the historic fabric of an area and is a proven strategy for revitalizing post-industrial cities without contributing to further urban sprawl.
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Cable Mills Apartments, for example, is a multi-family housing complex in Williamstown, Massachusetts that occupies several buildings originally built as part of the Water Street Mill in the late 1800s. In the 2000s and 2010s, Feingold Alexander Architects renovated eight buildings to create the Cable Mills apartment complex, which now has 61 units – including 13 designated as affordable – and supports a vibrant residential community.
The mixed-use 5 SE MLK Boulevard in Portland features offices on the lower level and residential properties on the upper floors. Photo by Quanta Collective
It is becoming increasingly common for multi-family development projects in densely populated urban areas to incorporate mixed-use planning into their design—that is, to include residential space as well as office, retail, restaurant, or other commercial space within the same building. Multifamily mixed-use plans typically place these nonresidential spaces on the lower levels, while residential units occupy the upper floors, an arrangement that makes shops and restaurants accessible to the public without compromising tenant safety and security.
Incorporating mixed-use plans into multi-family plans can be extremely beneficial to tenants by providing convenient proximity to shops and potential avenues of employment accessible without a vehicle. It helps to encourage walkability, reduce traffic and reduce urban sprawl. Multi-family mixed-use developments also tend to be more profitable than their single-use counterparts because they are able to generate multiple streams of income and help stimulate the local economy.
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Designed by The Architecture Team (TAT) to meet Passive House standards, the low-rise Old Colony Phase multifamily project features highly insulated walls and passive solar design techniques to reduce energy consumption. Photo courtesy of PHIUS
A dominant trend in multifamily design—and newest construction, for that matter—is improved energy efficiency. Indeed, reducing energy use in the built environment is seen as crucial to halting and reversing climate change, as the real estate sector currently accounts for around 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Multifamily developments can work to reduce energy costs by installing energy-efficient appliances in each unit, investing in motion-activated LED lighting for common areas, and installing high-efficiency HVAC systems.
In addition to energy-efficient systems and appliances, multifamily development projects can reduce their energy use needs by building airtight, well-insulated buildings that use continuous insulation, eliminate thermal bridges, and use energy-efficient windows.
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YKK AP can help provide high performance daylighting and solar shading solutions in multi-family design projects. Photo courtesy of YKK AP
With the average American spending 90% of their time indoors and a record number of people working from home, allowing adequate natural sunlight into multifamily designs has never been more important than now. Daylighting, or the practice of using windows, skylights and other light-receiving features, can help illuminate a building’s interior, providing that much-needed sunlight while improving the occupant experience and overall building performance.
“The benefits of additional lighting in multifamily buildings are numerous, including a healthier, more productive and energy-efficient environment, improved occupant comfort, and the ability for architects and building owners to better meet certifications such as LEED and WELL,” Steve Shohan. Director of Marketing & Communications at YKK AP Americas, who previously wrote for gb&dPRO. YKK AP, a leading manufacturer of commercial and residential fencing solutions, offers a range of products including high performance windows, doors, curtains and window walls and sun control systems.
You need to know how to use that light, however, so it’s important for multi-family plans to incorporate daylighting solutions as well as effective solar shading techniques like sunshades. “When designing multi-family buildings, shades are an important factor in improving occupant comfort, improving energy efficiency and reducing solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC),” Shohan wrote. “Shades provide design flexibility and can often be adjusted depending on how a building faces to reduce harmful light while bringing in visible light to achieve optimal daylighting.”
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Smart thermostats, keyless entry systems, video doorbells and other examples of proprietary technology are attractive amenities for multi-family development projects. Image courtesy of Nest
A recent complaint report titled “2023 Multifamily Living Trends: A Study on What Multifamily Renters Desire, Expect, and Will More for Their Residences” found that 82% of all survey respondents identified smart home technology as a must or a plus. Features Smart Property technology allows tenants to control certain systems via their smartphone and includes everything from smart locks and video doorbells to smart thermostats and lockers, all integrated through an advanced residential portal app.
Real estate technology can also benefit building managers and property owners by improving energy efficiency and safety. Multifamily developments that implement smart lighting solutions in common areas, for example, reduce their artificial lighting
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