Supporting Families Through Amenity Design
In the past, property developers used to boast state-of-the-art amenities, from swimming pools to well-equipped gyms and tennis courts. However, COVID-19 has rendered most amenities temporarily unusable. Daily activities we used to take for granted have been suspended or restricted for the time being.
Convenience, flexibility, and peace of mind have become the new prerequisites in homes today, as residents seek to be relieved of additional stresses and chores under pandemic conditions – conditions which are likely to lead to long-term changes in work and living arrangements.
At URBN Playground, keeping abreast of changes in the industry is important to meet our customers’ evolving needs. With this in mind, here are the top 3 ways amenity design is making home living better for families today:
1. Flexible Living Spaces
For many of us working from home, encountering a kid crying in the background or a dog barking in the middle of a work call is the norm these days.
This has given rise to flexible, compartmentalized home design, with designated areas in the house for quiet or play, depending on the residents’ needs. Outside of work hours, collapsible walls or removable partitions allow play areas to be extended for playtime. During work hours, these same walls and partitions can be reinstated to provide some quiet for working in private while allowing kids to run free.
As offices move into the home, storage space becomes scarce. Work files have to compete for space with toys and books spilling into open areas. The solution? Smart furniture allows for conservation of space while keeping belongings stowed away with little fuss. Sofas, beds and couches that have pocket doors as well as revolving book stands create more capacity that combines aesthetics and functionality, keeping residences tidy while still being able to be converted into a play area or workstation conveniently.
2. Digitalizing the Home
We look to our cell phones to organize just about every activity in our lives. From saving shopping lists, to scheduling meetings and responding to both personal and work emails. Residents today want to be able to access the amenities in their homes through their phones as well.
What had previously been only a pipe dream has become reality; our door locks, thermostats, lighting and security camera feeds can already be accessed and controlled remotely via smartphone. The digitalization of buildings also enables automated functions such as motion-sensor lighting and temperature controls that would achieve cost savings for the resident and reduce energy consumption.
More property developers today, including those that we work with at URBN Playground are starting to provide mobile apps and platforms that allow tenants to pay rent and utility bills, reserve amenity spaces and stay up-to-date with community information digitally. Instead of having to access bills and booking of spaces through separate devices and channels, home-related matters can now be resolved with a few swipes of the screen.
3. Luxury-as-a-Service
In 2018, nearly 63% of respondents to a survey conducted by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NHMC) stated that their lives are so busy that they are looking for ways to make fewer decisions daily. This is unsurprising; growing demands at work often leave the working demographic looking forward to coming home to recuperate, instead of worrying about dishes that need to be washed, trash that needs to be taken out, or bills that must be settled.
With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting access to retail, shopping has moved to online channels, accelerating a trend that had taken root even before the pandemic. In 2019, 1.92 billion people purchased goods online and e-retail sales exceeded USD3.5 trillion worldwide, which is expected to accelerate further into 2021. In response, some residences developed sophisticated inventory systems to support the deluge in deliveries by incorporating of technology and developing secure specialized parcel rooms that can accommodate oversized packages and even perishable items.
Amenity designers are recognizing that beyond a building’s physical facilities, time is a key luxury. This means incorporating ways to reduce or eliminate decision-making for residents by partnering with service providers to offer concierge services. These services can range from grocery delivery to house cleaning and maintenance, laundry and pet care.
In a Nutshell…
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, it is likely that present work-from-home arrangements will remain for the foreseeable future.
The search for new homes today will not emphasize state-of-the-art amenities as much as the need for flexibility, convenience and peace of mind, which can be met through amenities and home design that incorporates flexible living spaces, use of digital tools at home and new services that make home living worry-free.