As soon as an architect friend showed him a video of the Ori system, Matt Branagh knew it was just what he was looking for. The fourth-generation Owner/CEO of Branagh Development, Lafayette, Calif., saw that Ori could make his studio apartments feel like junior one-bedroom units—perfect, he said, for the “huge wave of people” coming to Oakland from San Francisco to get more space at lower rental cost in a first-class building.
He leased five Studio Suites and purchased eight Pocket Closets for Maya, his firm’s 47-unit apartment building in Oakland, which opened in March. He’s bundling a $275/month premium into the leases for units with a Studio Suite and $95/month for those with a Pocket Closet.
Branagh said tenant adoption for the Pocket Closet was “really strong.” “People get it,” he said. “It’s a price point that they’re willing to pay for, and it’s unique—their friends don’t have it.” He said some prospective tenants were “a little intimidated” working the robotic keyboard at first, but “once they did it a couple of times, they loved it.”
He said Ori turned his floor plans around in 3-4 days and suggested several options. The manufacturer flew in two technicians from Boston to install the systems. They had to do a work-around for the Pocket Closets because the nonmoving section of the two-part system would have bumped into the apartments’ mini-splits. Even so, “the installation was quicker than expected,” just a few days, he said. Branagh has ordered six more.
For Nova Quincy, a 171-unit mixed-use rental community in Quincy, Mass., 10 miles south of Boston, Jonathan Miller, Vice President of LBC Boston, has ordered 40 Studio Suites. “Our prospective tenants are young professionals looking for value outside Boston but close to transit in a lively downtown center,” said Miller. The MBTA Red Line stop is a seven-minute walk.
Nova Quincy will open in September, but already there’s been “a ton of interest” in the Ori system from prospective tenants “looking for something innovative.”
Studio Suites will be installed in 10 studio apartments and 30 micro-units (330–400 sf). “One of the primary benefits of Ori is your usable square footage is much greater”—about 100–150 sf more, he has calculated—“than what you’re paying for.” LBC Boston will include a $200–250 monthly rental premium for what they’re calling “Ori Smart” Studios.
SEE ALSO: Robotic interiors: How to make a studio apartment feel as big as a one-bedroom unit
Miller said he wants to see how the leasing goes for the Ori-outfitted units, but so far he’s “definitely bullish” on using Studio Suites in future projects in Quincy, Allston, and Brighton, where LBC Boston has permitting for 1,500 apartments.
Related Stories
| Oct 18, 2013
Researchers discover tension-fusing properties of metal
When a group of MIT researchers recently discovered that stress can cause metal alloy to fuse rather than break apart, they assumed it must be a mistake. It wasn't. The surprising finding could lead to self-healing materials that repair early damage before it has a chance to spread.
| Oct 7, 2013
10 award-winning metal building projects
The FDNY Fireboat Firehouse in New York and the Cirrus Logic Building in Austin, Texas, are among nine projects named winners of the 2013 Chairman’s Award by the Metal Construction Association for outstanding design and construction.
| Oct 7, 2013
Reimagining the metal shipping container
With origins tracing back to the mid-1950s, the modern metal shipping container continues to serve as a secure, practical vessel for transporting valuable materials. However, these reusable steel boxes have recently garnered considerable attention from architects and constructors as attractive building materials.
| Oct 4, 2013
Sydney to get world's tallest 'living' façade
The One Central Park Tower development consists of two, 380-foot-tall towers covered in a series of living walls and vertical gardens that will extend the full height of the buildings.
| Oct 4, 2013
Mack Urban, AECOM acquire six acres for development in LA's South Park district
Mack Urban and AECOM Capital, the investment fund of AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM), have acquired six acres of land in downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district located in the central business district (CBD).
| Sep 24, 2013
8 grand green roofs (and walls)
A dramatic interior green wall at Drexel University and a massive, 4.4-acre vegetated roof at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center in Kansas City are among the projects honored in the 2013 Green Roof and Wall Awards of Excellence.
| Sep 23, 2013
Six-acre Essex Crossing development set to transform vacant New York property
A six-acre parcel on the Lower East Side of New York City, vacant since tenements were torn down in 1967, will be the site of the new Essex Crossing mixed-use development. The product of a compromise between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and various interested community groups, the complex will include ~1,000 apartments.
| Sep 20, 2013
August housing starts reveal multifamily still healthy but single-family stagnating
Peter Muoio, Ph.D., senior principal and economist with Auction.com Research, says the Census Bureau's August Housing Starts data released yesterday hints at improvements in the single-family sector with multifamily slowing down.
| Sep 19, 2013
What we can learn from the world’s greenest buildings
Renowned green building author, Jerry Yudelson, offers five valuable lessons for designers, contractors, and building owners, based on a study of 55 high-performance projects from around the world.
| Sep 19, 2013
6 emerging energy-management glazing technologies
Phase-change materials, electrochromic glass, and building-integrated PVs are among the breakthrough glazing technologies that are taking energy performance to a new level.
