The wants and needs of residents are changing and in order to meet these needs effectively and contribute towards the building of communities, architects need to adapt their designs to the future.
During our panel discussion on ‘Creating a Successful Vision’, we spoke to industry experts including Brendan Geraghty, Director at Centred Architecture, David Jones, Director of Education & Training at ICM, The Institute of Construction Management, Richard Fairhead, Head of Residential at 3D Reid Ltd, Ernie Bardrick, Director at E8 Design, Tom Hall, Chief Economist from Barbour ABI and AMA Research Ltd and Nick Haughton, Head of Marketing at Sapphire Balconies about their views on the subject. We also touched upon the design trends for the future, the meaning of the fast-changing regulations, dealing with material shortages and price hikes, reducing carbon footprint, fire regulations and a lot more. Here are some of the key takeaways from the panel discussion:
Consideration When Planning for ‘Built to Rent’ Properties
Different aspects need to be kept in mind while planning for ‘Built to Rent’ properties. When such ‘Built to Rent’ properties first kicked in, they were built for a mixed demographic, but now, these kinds of properties are being built for an age-specific demographic. The designers are instead focused on creating communities in such ‘Built to Rent’ spaces, which help in increasing dwell time and the ability for people to move in between different apartment blocks while staying within the realms of the same landlord. Designers are also experimenting with mixed age groups to build communities that share similar values and lifestyles.
Additionally, to target this particular section of society, it is important to understand their mindset. These are the people who believe in investing in experiences over assets and so prefer to keep renting rather than buying homes. Gaining more insights into their lifestyle, needs and values are key in the development of such properties. This will help with community building and will help attract the right kind of renters to the area.
Building a Community
In order to build a community, the outdoor spaces are just as important as the indoor spaces. After the pandemic especially, the need for such community and community spaces has increased. Residents want private and public outdoor spaces where they can socialise and meet others in their community. Residents are also looking for bigger apartments with balconies to rent. The demand for two bedroom apartments has seen a significant increase since the pandemic. These inputs need to be considered while designing new developments.
Brand Before Building
Especially when it comes to creating such communities in both, ‘Built to Rent’ and ‘Built to Buy’ properties, adequate research needs to be done beforehand on the needs, requirements and lifestyle of the desired target audience. The insights gained through such in-depth research should be used to create the branding assets and the design of the building.
Post Pandemic Increase in Development
Since the pandemic, there has been an acceleration in new developments in the UK. While there have been various problems like shortage of labour and materials, rising prices in the industry, etc. impacting the industry, there is still no data indicating whether this has affected or constrained the rate of new development in the industry. On the other hand, there has been a slow but gradual improvement in the planning pipeline in the residential sector which is a positive development. The planning pipeline had been affected in the past due to the political uncertainties caused by Brexit and COVID.
To learn more, watch the panel discussion on-demand here: https://www.resi.build/creating-a-successful-vision
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