Trends in condo design driven by residents’ needs
THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS DRIVING CONDO DESIGN
Rebecca Keillor
The Vancouver Sun
Condominium design is changing in Vancouver, says Jason Turcotte, vice-president of development at Cressey Development Group, with much greater emphasis being placed on amenities and outdoor living spaces. This reflects the way people are seeing them: more as their long-term, permanent homes, not just stepping stones towards something bigger, he says.
“Condos are becoming a permanent living solution rather than just a step along the way for new homebuyers and downsizers,” says Turcotte. “The industry as a whole is adapting, placing greater importance on the space outside the condo.”
Turcotte says Cressey projects that reflect these changes include Hensley — a condo and townhouse development in West Coquitlam — where they’ve designed more “flexible, unprogrammed amenities spaces, allowing homeowners to shape the space to their needs.” Among the amenities are a fitness centre, health club and a “triple-height penthouse amenity space that features a large atrium that can accommodate private or group events or be used for lounging.”
Interior designer Linda Gallo of Vancouver’s Insight Design Group has also noticed these changes in condo design.
“Families are moving into these condos more and more, and the amenity spaces have been getting larger and more grand as time has gone on,” she says.
Gallo says that 10 years ago, a building would maybe have a gym and meeting room, and that would have been it. A project like Hensley has an entire floor dedicated to amenities, such as a pool, sauna, gym and flex space to suit the residents’ needs.
She says that when working with companies like Cressey, floor plans have become a lot more customized to suit different types of condo dwellers.
“We designed, for instance, two different kitchen-and-bathroom concepts [for Hensley], one for the purchaser who is going to be living there and needs a ton of storage and places to put things, so it has huge pantries and things like this, versus more of a satellite homeowner who will be coming and going, and more wants their place for entertainment. So they have a bar instead of an extra pantry, and their bathroom is a little more decorative and showy, versus the other scheme, which has lots more storage and drawers and medicine cabinets, so really giving people a lot of choice because we find there’s a lot of different purchasers out there.”
Vancouver designer Anita Curry of Avenue Spaces is very familiar with the needs of condo dwellers, with more than half of her clients moving into smaller spaces. She says these can offer elements that family homes don’t always offer, such as proximity to “amenities (like transit), having newer/more modern appliances, and being a lot easier to maintain and care for”.
Curry also has some good advice for those moving from larger homes into condominiums.
“Many people think they can simply move their existing furniture to a condo, but find it doesn’t work, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t feel right and people aren’t happy,” she says. “With condo design and furnishing, everything has to have purpose and function.
“So you maximize on every bit of space you have. It’s also really important to look for furniture specifically designed for condo living, which can save you money and space. These pieces often double up in function, like a console table for keys and mail that doubles as a desk and second office.”
Curry also advices choosing lighter colours for sofas and chairs, and using a a lot of glass for side tables, and media units, so they “disappear into the walls creating the illusion of a bigger space”.
“People tend to go dark because they’re afraid of getting it dirty,” she says. “But they really make a small space feel even smaller, dingy and dirty, as the contrast against lighter walls make the space feel like it’s caving in on you.”
© 2018 Postmedia Network Inc.