Criteria for Successful Apartment Design
Our key design features for a Residential Apartment are summaries as follows, These key elements contribute to creating functional, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing apartment designs that cater to diverse lifestyles and needs.
AN ENTRY - an apartment no matter how small, is a home, and a home requires an entrance, where you can greet visitors, or meet strangers where they don’t have full visual exposure to your home. Privacy is key, but the entrance is a place to store shoes, clothes hats, umbrellas so it should include cupboard space. Even a Hotel Room as such convienience.
EFFICIENT SPACE UTILIZATION - open plan living areas that connect kitchen, dining, and living spaces. This promotes social interaction and enhances the sense of spaciousness. Flexible layouts that accommodate various furniture arrangements and potential future needs.
KITCHEN LAYOUT - Well-designed kitchens with ample workspace and storage, integrated into the open living area to serve as a social hub. Just because its a unit, it still requires thought into the movement in and around the kitchen space.
SPACIAL SEPARATION - Living, Sleeping and Utility Areas should be defined. Strategically placed bedrooms for privacy, ideally separated from living areas by buffer spaces like bathrooms or hallways, Separation of living and service areas, with access to bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundries distinct from main living spaces.
EFFICIENT SPACIAL PLANNING - Efficient circulation paths, ensuring smooth flow between entry, living areas, and bedrooms, Appropriate room dimensions, to allow functional use realistic furniture placement, with open plan living areas that connect kitchen, dining, and living spaces. This promotes social interaction and enhances the sense of spaciousness.
STORAGE - Abundant storage options to maximize available space. Dedicated storage solutions, including built-in closets and cabinetry, to reduce clutter and maintain organization. An obvious requirement but commonly forgotten. Most people buying into units are doing so for the first time, and don’t need drastic downsizing.
LIGHT AND VENTILATION - Natural light and cross ventilation for healthy living, Strategically placed windows to maximize views and natural light, and to allow furniture placement and efficient use of the space. These days, due to cost implications, fully glazed windows are the common construction system. The real estate agents love this, promoting uninterrupted views, fine if you like that sort of exposure, but it can limit furniture placement, and if your on the western aspect, its going to be hot.
OUTDOOR AREAS - Balconies or outdoor spaces that connect to main living areas, providing private outdoor retreats, sun protection an extension to the indoor space. The space also Needs to be Usable, can it accommodate a table and chairs.
PRIVACY both VISUAL AND NOISE - Noise reduction measures between apartments for privacy. For Example you don’t want your bedroom close to the Lifts.
FLOOR LEVEL AND ORIENTATION - Ideally we believe the best levels are between level 3 and 12, as your balcony will be more usable, and you don’t lose connection with the ground. You also close enough to the ground to use the stairs, they will be an issue when the lift requires upgrade. Obviously if you want to be on top of the tower then so be it, but the increase in winds speeds at higher levels will impact the usability of your balcony. Orientation is also Site specific, and consideration of surrounding buildings or view corridors is an important criteria.
If your looking to buy an apartment off the plan, we would be happy to assist in your decision making, by providing design reviews of the proposed apartment. We offer a number of packages which can include floor layout review, recommendations for changes to the floor plan to include in your contact and contract review and advice.