The multifamily apartment building sector has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, driven by factors such as urbanization, changing demographics, and a housing shortage fueling strong demand for rental housing, with an estimated 420,000 new rental units built in 2022 and significantly more to come online this year. With an ever-increasing demand for urban and mid-urban living spaces, developers have been racing to construct multifamily apartments at an unprecedented pace.
However, as this boom continues there has been a growing outcry in recent years over the alarming proliferation of standardized, uninspired designs, particularly in the form of large bland complexes done in cheap “5-over-1” wood construction that make little attempt to blend well with the surrounding context, leading to a lack of harmony between the apartment complex and the community and environment it serves. These large projects are not used to craft urban space; they just occupy those spaces to the limits allowed by zoning and codes. Their architectural design quality is often reduced to the minimum that can get past a design review panel.
And now, rising interest rates are projected to stay higher for longer, introducing a new challenging dynamic that may further compromise the design quality of these crucial living spaces. As apartment developers scramble to maintain profitability in the face of increased borrowing costs, they will face pressure to cut costs wherever possible, allocating even less resources to design, amenities, and overall quality. In the face of these challenges, the already alarming downward trend in design quality is sure to gain momentum and become a competitive "race to the bottom" of sorts.
A further lowering of apartment building design quality is detrimental to both the industry and the communities it serves. While the need for affordable housing is undeniable, it should not come at the cost of sacrificing quality, authenticity and differentiation, sustainability, the overall well-being of residents and the surrounding urban fabric. This article explores current trends in multifamily apartment building design, and the potential consequences of rising interest rates on their design quality.
Current Trends in Design Quality of Multifamily Apartment Buildings
To understand the negative impact that higher for longer interest rates will have on design quality, it's essential to understand the current pressures and alarming downward trend in design quality:
1. Cookie-Cutter Anywhere Designs
One of the most apparent signs of the race to the bottom in apartment building design is the prevalence of cookie-cutter designs. Developers often opt for formula driven generic layouts, materials, and finishes to minimize costs and increase density. This results in uninspired developments with a lack of uniqueness and character, leaving residents feeling like they're living in indistinguishable boxes. Critics have dubbed it “anytown architecture” saying it’s often difficult to know where you are from one city to the next. Rather than unique and innovative designs that contribute to the character of a neighborhood, we are seeing more large bulky designs that are conspicuous and overpower their surroundings, usually with little thought toward integrating with or improving the surrounding urban fabric.
A large part of the problem, critics say, lies in the fact that a small group of large real estate developers is overseeing a disproportionate number of new projects nationwide. In 2021, five out of the top 25 developers had initiated construction on nearly 47,000 units, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the total output within this group, as reported by data from the National Multifamily Housing Council.
2. Diminishing Quality
For developers, wood-frame construction is the primary choice for these apartment building structures, as it typically proves more cost-effective compared to alternatives such as concrete or steel. The urban and mid-urban landscape is increasingly dominated by these large bland complexes featuring five wood-frame stories resting atop a concrete podium, commonly referred to as "5-over-1s." They exploded in popularity in the 2010’s after a 2009 revision to the International Building Code which allowed up to five stories of wood-framed construction. Rarely do local jurisdictions adopt code provisions that put restrictions on these. Cheap and expedient, these structures have earned the colloquial moniker "fast-casual architecture."
For a significant portion of the urban population, these large 5-over-1s have come to symbolize the most distressing facets of the current housing crisis, serving as tangible embodiments of gentrification, corporate landlords, a decrease in quality, bland design, and exorbitant rents for shrinking unit sizes. Others fear that as these cheaper structures age poorly they will lose the ability to attract higher-income tenants. These widespread sentiments explain the increasingly strong aversion towards them and why it is socially acceptable to hate them.
3. Planning Regulations and Design Guidelines
Attacked on several fronts, big developers push back, saying the style of its buildings is driven by the planning regulations of a city. That the adopted design guidelines are often poorly written, outdated, and partially responsible for encouraging the homogenization of architecture across a design district (or city). Critics say this is disingenuous deflection by developers, that they just don’t want to spend the extra money needed to do real architectural design modulation. But there is consensus among industry participants that reform is needed in regulations, design guidelines, design review board composition. Unfortunately, such reforms fall within the purview of political processes, and meaningful change can be slow and elusive.
In fairness, these can often push toward monochromatic projects that are too similar, suppressing architectural diversity that is the foundation of what makes a neighborhood interesting. Their emphasis is often that projects must have certain massing, and exterior materials and cladding that all must be high quality. To afford these materials other aspects of the design suffer. Review board members want to see a project that isn’t just one big mass, so they will say things like ‘you need to modulate the building’ or ‘we want you to make it look different.’ Architects attempt to window-dress these buildings’ artless boxy massing enough to pass review. So, what they all end up with is a building like one that passed before, which has flattish facades with all these different materials of arbitrary contrast, some random colors, extended eaves, and other half measures.
4. Neglecting Community Integration
Beyond individual buildings, the race to the bottom can negatively impact entire communities. Dull, uninspiring designs can detract from the overall appeal of a neighborhood, potentially driving down property values and discouraging investment in the area. A well-designed multifamily apartment complex should contribute positively to its neighborhood. However, in maximizing profit margins, apartment developers often neglect true community integration. These large 5 over 1 buildings have never been used to create urban space; they merely occupy those spaces to the limits allowed by zoning and codes. The design and layout may not blend well with the surrounding environment, leading to a lack of harmony between the apartment complex and the community and context it serves. Traffic impacts downplayed, and integration with mass transit a low priority (or sometimes intentionally avoided).
5. Minimal Amenities
Amenities have become a significant selling point in modern multifamily apartments. However, in the push to reduce project costs, developers often skimp on the quality-of-life features and amenities that make apartment living enjoyable and lessen social isolation. Fitness centers, communal spaces, rooftop gardens, dog parks, landscaping, and meaningful green areas may be either nonexistent or substandard, detracting from the quality of life for residents. As our population ages, the demand for senior-friendly housing is also on the rise. Multifamily apartment complexes can play a crucial role in providing housing that caters to the needs of older adults.
6. Sustainability Sacrificed
As sustainability becomes a growing concern, it is disheartening to see how some developers prioritize short-term profits over long-term environmental responsibility. Sustainability initiatives in multifamily apartment building design often come with additional upfront costs, which can be challenging to justify when interest rates are on the rise. As a result, developers may abandon or scale back green building practices, which could have long-term environmental and cost-saving implications for both tenants and property owners. Many multifamily apartment buildings already lack energy-efficient features, solar panels, sufficient natural light, better thermal and noise insulation, or eco-friendly construction materials. These not only harm the environment but also lead to higher utility bills for tenants.
Are Architects as a Profession MIA?
Architects doing these apartment building projects frequently must operate within the constraints of limited budgets and high unit density requirements imposed by developers, who are intent on cutting expenses and safeguarding their investment and maximizing profit. Competition between firms to win the project is high, and the winning fees low with thin margins. These are difficult impediments to overcome in a quest for good, responsible design.
But some critics ask why can’t architects as a profession push to do better? Put in the extra design investigation and have the hard conversations needed to arrive at more sensitive, authentic, and innovative solutions? Others suggest that the architects of this era doing these multifamily apartment projects have lost control of the process and are having their own race to the bottom. That a fair number of these firms take the path of least resistance, rolling out a tweak of a formula driven design that is from another project they did (or the developer did), sometimes to the point where some firms’ portfolio of their multifamily projects starts to look the same. Depth of design investigation is not what it used to be.
Some in the profession are beginning to feel that BIM software like Revit, which models a building in full component detail, has had an adverse impact on the balance of power, on the design process, suppressed design exploration, and thus design innovation. These 3D models are complex, cumbersome, and costly to build and modify, encouraging firms to use standard designs and reuse model components with minor adaptations. The database aspects of the software may have also given building developers (and their contractors) more ammunition and leverage to water down and control designs early on, putting the architect in the back seat.
Conclusion – Rising interest rates for longer undoubtedly pose new challenges for developers and investors in the multifamily apartment building sector. While the pressure to cut costs is understandable, the race to the bottom underway in apartment building design quality has serious implications for both residents and communities and should be a cause for concern by all. While the need for affordable housing is undeniable, it should not come at the cost of quality, sustainability, and safety. The built fabric of our cities should be inspiring and living in them meaningful.
Lower budgets for amenities, expedited construction timelines, the use of inferior materials, a lack of architectural innovation, diminished sustainability efforts, and potential resident dissatisfaction are all consequences that can ultimately harm the industry's long-term viability. To address these challenges, stakeholders in the multifamily apartment building sector – developers, city policymakers, and architects – must work together to strike a balance between cost-saving measures and maintaining design quality. It's crucial to find creative solutions, explore alternative financing options, and prioritize sustainable and tenant-friendly designs even in the face of rising interest rates. By doing so, the industry can weather economic fluctuations while continuing to provide high-quality, safe living spaces for residents.
As architects, we are positioned to influence and shape the future of our cities through better multifamily apartment design, planning and innovation – we need to do better.
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