Architects will balance demand for community amenities with changing behaviors brought about by the global health crisis. Pictured is a lounge area at the 345 Harrison apartments in Boston’s South End. Image courtesy of CBT Architects

As designers of multifamily residences, we have always had the responsibility to meet many expectations simultaneously. Creating beautiful, comfortable places that many people will call home is balanced with providing a remainder of shared spaces that round out a new more urban, more shared-economy lifestyle. 

Now, more than ever, we must work to balance the complexity placed on those spaces, especially those that could see hundreds of people each day passing through. With the proliferation of a global health crisis on hand and the future of construction in our region in the lurch, the design community is examining how today’s lifestyles will be affected by the many factors we now face.  

For several years, we saw the progression in multifamily design go from all-private to all-shared; from that ubiquitous movie screening room that must be reserved in advance to all-welcome, drop-in barre classes twice a day. We’re seeing a generation of residents whose expectations continue to evolve with the times, seeking a customizable blend of private and shared daily activities. Multifamily residential buildings are evolving to reflect these changes in real time. 

Adapting to New Lifestyles 

These days, virtual concierge, WiFi packages modifiable by the day and several AI options are being tried and tested, but the changes we are seeing are not necessarily about technology. They have much more to do with the interpersonal nature of living, working, dining, celebrating, getting fit, and generally interacting as a proximate residential community. It’s about people and the way they go about life together – and apart.  

The fact is that, to succeed in attracting tenants, residential buildings and their amenities need to be designed to support lifestyles that didn’t exist before. Well into the gig economy at this point, we’re seeing people of all ages and professions practicing a new brand of mobile working that can support sometimes three or more jobs at one time. People don’t want to be confined to their apartment units day and night, and naturally seek places for mobile working that are neither the same place where they sleep nor in a chain coffee shop. 

Rather, prospective tenants are shopping for living environments that offer break-out spaces where they can control their personal experience, yet remain semi-public and connected to their community in more subtle ways. Well-designed amenities of this type provide private, quiet alcoves overlooking or overhearing a more active amenity space – giving people their desired closeness and distance at the same time.  

Interacting, But at a Distance 

Residential lobbies and common areas are being broken down into smaller nooks and pods. “See and be seen” is proving to be less applicable to these spaces these days. In its place, a “now you see me, now you don’t” phenomenon is emerging. We are creating spaces within spaces within other spaces, a practice previously unexplored. The layout, location and furnishing of these nooks within larger lounges offer cues that let people easily interact at a distance. This new movement reflects the need to transform space to match lifestyle. Increasingly fluid lifestyles call for more fluid spaces – and we’re answering the call. 

R. Vickie Alani

From workforce housing all the way up through market-rate housing, residential environments are evolving to produce an ever-changing variety of options. In the design community and at CBT, we’re seeing this in our projects here in Boston to Houston, Austin, Tampa, Baltimore and really everywhere. The post-gig economy, a time of personal and professional fluidity, will be marked by striking the right balance between public and private in every way. 

Now, of course, we wonder what the future holds for the sharing economy and shared living spaces. Whatever the outcome, our charge remains the same at its core: to meet many fundamental expectations simultaneously, while creating beautiful, comfortable and safe places that many people will call home. 

R. Vickie Alani is a principal at CBT in Boston. 

The Future of Designing Shared Space in Multifamily Residences

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: 3 min
1