Nearly 40 million Americans live in apartments. And because of the COVID-19 pandemic, developers and residents have been forced to rethink apartment living in terms of health, space, and utility.
To capture these thoughts, and to understand the future of multifamily housing, a team at Grimm + Parker Architects, which specializes in affordable and sustainable architecture projects, last summer conducted a fact-based exploration of the challenges and pressures that developers and residents experienced during the health crisis, and how those factors are likely to affect apartment design.
Other design firms have speculated on the impact COVID-19 is likely to have on apartment living, but far fewer have provided solutions as specifically as Grimm + Parker.
In this exclusive interview for HorizonTV, BD+C Executive Editor Rob Cassidy interviews three designers from Grimm + Parker Architects about proposed new ways to design multifamily communities in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Zak Schooley, Lauren Gilmarten, and Julio Cruz discuss new design concepts for typical apartment units, common open spaces, fitness centers, and community mailrooms and office spaces to make them safer and healthier for tenants and visitors.
For more, read BD+C's recap article, A post-pandemic ‘new normal’ for apartment buildings.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Sep 21, 2017
Entire living rooms become balconies in a new Lower East Side mixed-used development
NanaWall panels add a unique dimension to condos at 60 Orchard Street in New York City.
Giants 400 | Sep 20, 2017
Bubble? What bubble?: Apartment and condo construction simply can't keep up with demand
Since the current multifamily boom took off in 2010, most activity has focused on large urban areas.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 20, 2017
New housing development rises from a historic textile mill’s ashes
Loft Five50 will add 137 housing units to Lawrence, Mass.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 19, 2017
Top 90 multifamily construction firms
Lendlease, Suffolk Construction, and Clark Group top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest multifamily sector contractor and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 18, 2017
Top 40 multifamily engineering firms
WSP, AECOM, and Thronton Tomasetti top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest multifamily sector engineering and EA firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 15, 2017
Hurricane Harvey damaged fewer apartments in greater Houston than estimated
As of Sept. 14, 166 properties reported damage to 8,956 units, about 1.4% of the total supply of apartments, according to ApartmentData.com.
Giants 400 | Sep 14, 2017
Top 95 multifamily architecture firms
Humphreys & Partners Architects, KTGY, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest multifamily sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Multifamily Housing | Sep 5, 2017
Free WiFi, meeting rooms most popular business services amenities in multifamily developments
Complimentary, building-wide WiFi is more or less a given for marketing purposes in the multifamily arena.
University Buildings | Sep 1, 2017
The University of Texas receives boutique-style student housing complex
The Ruckus Lofts provide 46 furnished units and 165 beds for UT students.
Mixed-Use | Aug 30, 2017
Former industrial building becomes 'lifestyle community' in ever-evolving Baltimore
The new community offers 292 apartments with 20,000 sf of retail space.