Gen Y residents are driving interior design and architectural trends characterized by open floor plans and all-inclusive clubrooms. For these residents, it’s about the party, not the personal time.
Forget about square footage and focus on fun. Many architects and interior designers say today’s Gen Y residents, born between 1980 and 2001 and continuing to fill apartment buildings upon graduation, would rather spend time socializing in an impressive common area than they would in their individual units.
To cater to this group of prospective residents, amenity areas are growing in size as units are getting smaller, says Sanford Steinberg, Principal of Steinberg Design Collaborative LLP, a Houston-based multifamily housing architecture and design firm. “Young renters want to be entertained and want to see who’s around,” he says. “A spacious apartment does not have the clout it once did because there is no opportunity to interact with others.”
Visual transparency and connectivity are key in understanding the type of living experience most Gen Y’ers seek. When it comes to individual units, Steinberg says young renters aren’t necessarily looking for big floor plans—but they do want an open design.
“I’m still surprised to see floor plans for units with a separate dining room and living room,” Steinberg says. “Owners and developers need to move to a great-room concept—units that, aside from the bedrooms, function as more of a studio without walls dividing up the rooms.”
Common areas are no different. New communities are moving away from separate amenities—such as a business room, computer center and game room—and turning the clubhouse into one large, open area.
Clubhouse Crowd
When Voyager at the Space Center was in the beginning stages of design, the owners had a specific demographic in mind.
A short walk from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the 313–unit apartment community, owned and managed by affiliates of Martin Fein Interests Ltd., appeals to young professionals working for NASA who are looking for a contemporary apartment with more activity and amenities.
Voyager’s clubhouse is a two-story, open-air space that features multiple plasma TVs, a Wii gaming station, pool tables—with large, modern mobiles hanging above—and a Latte Lounge with a custom “constellation” light fixture, all of which encourage residents to socialize in a resort-style area outside of their individual units.
Jack Kern, Managing Director of Kern Investment Research LLC, a market research firm for the multifamily housing industry, says resident surveys have shown that Gen Y residents want central areas in the clubhouse and workout areas where they can cluster. “The most successful floor layouts provide a sufficient balance of exercise equipment with nearby coffee and juice bars so that the entire living experience is more socially focused,” Kern says.
Gen Y’ers want to sit in one spot and see everything that’s going on around them, Steinberg adds. “That visual connectivity is important,” he says. “You’re starting to see large windows in clubhouses that overlook both pools and the exercise rooms.”
In addition to large bay windows, Voyager at the Space Center also includes air-conditioned corridors, with seating on both sides, that connect the clubhouse to the pool and outdoor grills.
“Outdoor areas are of paramount import to our residents, and as such, we have to put more and more work in designing these spaces to be an extension of our interior common spaces, rather than a separate area,” says Jason Schlanger, Vice President of Development for Martin Fein Interests. “Everything flows as one amenity.”
Individualizing the Interior
Apartment design is no longer a black-or-white issue. Instead of settling on one color scheme for an entire community, Steinberg says many of his clients are choosing three different color palettes for a project and dividing them among the apartment homes to give prospective renters more options.
While pastels, blues and greens are the most popular colors in the Texas market, saturated colors with more “pop” are the trend on the East and West Coasts, says Jong Chung, Senior Director of Design for AvalonBay Communities, an Arlington, Va.-based apartment management company.
As for flooring, carpet continues to be brushed under. Schlanger says it is easier to move furniture around on hard-surface flooring, a trend that reflects young renters’ desire for mobility and change within their units.
The designers of Voyager at the Space Center also moved away from other traditional decorating tactics—such as crown molding—and focused on higher-end appliances, lighting and plumbing fixtures. The units are meant to look bright and light and feel youthful and open.
Regardless of the region, most young renters want a contemporary and sleek apartment that reflects their generation’s focus on technology, Kern says.
“Gen Y renters look for features beyond the typical architectural focus of the apartment and select a unit based on its utility and usability,” Kern says.
“Popular and meaningful apartment characteristics that appeal the most to young renters include multiple conveniently located cable outlets that give renters several options when installing an entertainment center or using wi-fi. This is especially important as many of today’s young renters work from home and must have an apartment—and clubhouse—designed to accommodate their Internet and workspace needs.”
Due to the smaller square footage of today’s units—a conscious trade-off Gen Y renters make in exchange for a more modern and social atmosphere—Kern says renters want built-in shelves and wall units that can be used instead of bookcases and other furniture that would take up additional floor space.
“Interior design is much more of a decision factor than bulk space,” Kern says. “In almost 82 percent of instances—according to resident surveys we have conducted—the prospective resident looks at the model apartment and tries to visualize the lifestyle suitability.”
Individualizing units comes at a cost, but Steinberg says owners are spending more liberally now than in years past.
Developers may have a chance to capitalize on these design shifts in the next year or so as new development in multifamily housing (apartments and condos) ramps up nationwide.
Marcus & Millichap estimates 186,700 multifamily starts nationwide for 2011 and 333,500 for 2012. It estimates 52,600 multifamily completions in 2011 and 65,000 in 2012.
“Construction costs have dropped quite a bit, leaving owners with extra money,” Steinberg says. “I have found that they’re spending it on the interior of the community and the amenities in the clubhouse. Interior design isn’t going to get you high rent at the moment, but it will be the tipping point between your community and another.”
Lauren Boston is NAA’s Staff Writer. She can be reached at lauren@naahq.org or 703/797-0678.