Layering Great Apt. Design Gives Competitive Advantage

SAN DIEGO—Constantly trying to push the envelope beyond good design to create great design layered with different components and amenities is more effective in the multifamily sector, TRIO Environments' principal and creative director Angela Harris tells GlobeSt.com. Harris and her team have earned several nominations and awards, including from the Denver HBA for Best Interior Design for an attached home, Rising Star of 2013, and Best Website for a Builder Partner; she was also nominated for a 2017 PCBC Gold Nugget award.

Harris spoke on the panel session “Design Trends—I Wish I Had Thought of That during PCBC here last week. We sat down with her afterward for a chat about the session and some of the latest design trends to come out of the multifamily sector.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of the coolest new design ideas, details and tricks in multifamily housing?

Harris:  There's so much, depending on which market you're in. We're still seeing huge trend between indoor and outdoor connection. We're working on a project now where the exterior space almost outnumbers the interior space. There's a shift toward how creative we can be toward outdoor spaces, which invites items like rooftop gardens and outdoor showers. Everything is so market specific, but depending on how it's designed in the community, most markets can support outdoor showers, which are a really cool amenity.

GlobeSt.com: How would you characterize the direction in which multifamily design is heading?

Harris:  I don't think there's any particular theme, but I do think we're constantly trying to push the envelope of how are we going to layer on amenities. The design space is very crowded, so now it's more than just good design; we're now looking at how can we take a great design and layer it with different components, which is more effective. We're looking at the seven areas of wellness—social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, occupational and physical—and looking at how to make spaces live and breathe better for our residents. Making these projects better only enhances the design. Layering these components gives us a competitive advantage.

For example, for one project, the Dylan in the Arts District in Denver, we played with the concept of wide open spaces from the architect, and we put a speakeasy in there. We took the amenity spaces and connected a commercial kitchen to the outdoors; we added a copper hood and copper plumbing and used a distinctive design palette. This worked well.

GlobeSt.com: What ideas in multifamily design are outmoded or on their way out?

Harris:  I think any spaces that are compartmentalized, that promote a specific function—such as a theater—we wouldn't even contemplate. A business center is another—the lock-and-leave type is no longer a number-one design choice. Now, it's more of a creative pod or out in a social space. There are more multifunctional aspects to spaces versus. something very specific.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the panel session at PCBC on which you spoke?

Harris:  It was just a really good interactive session. We got the perspective of an interior-design firm, but we also had Andy Clay, managing director of development for the mountain region at Alliance Residential, on the development side. It took a holistic perspective, which was neat to hear.