BTR VERSUS BTS DESIGN DIFFERENTIATORS

OUR BTR DESIGN VISION ACCOMMODATES FACT THAT APARTMENTS ARE BECOMING A HEAVILY REGULATED BUILDING TYPOLOGY IN TERMS OF DESIGN GUIDELINES AND HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS. THESE ARE ULTIMATELY PREDICATED ON A BTR DEVELOPER MODEL AND NOT A BTS MODEL.

Intrinsic in the design process for Smith Collective, Macquarie Park and Realm Caulfield BTRs, ARM Director Mark Raggett delineates key design differentiators between this residential model and a BTS offering. Strategic use of space, the importance of amenities, and a consideration of asset accessibility in the context of changing tenant lifestyles are a few points he discusses.

As architects, we’re often asked how a Built To Rent design framework differs from a BTS outcome. There are a number of considerations here, and our role is not only to communicate these to developers but to guide them through the process of achieving the most strategic and engaging outcome possible within the parameters of a BTR’s site and scale.

Many developers are well-versed in delivering streamlined BTS offerings with less emphasis on placemaking, community-focussed design and amenities. However, these elements are central to BTR design, and our job is to advise developers about specific visual, functional and accessibility considerations that define every successful BTR project.

Strategic Use Of Private And Public Space

ARM’s expertise in the sector has revealed key learnings about the maximizing both public and private space in a BTR asset. Developers who deliver BTS projects don’t necessarily consider how these spaces will serve tenants in the long-term after the asset is sold.

In contrast, BTR projects require detailed consideration of both the intimate user-experience across internal residential spaces, as well as the fundamental urban component of how public space is used across the site, both now and into the future.

As a pilot project, Smith Collective saw us guide developers through the process of creating a sense of community across the vast Gold Coast site. Our masterplan for a campus-style layout considered how space could be maximised without making residents feel overwhelmed by the site’s scale. We designed Smith Collective’s six apartment blocks around a passegiata, which functions as a true main street. This main thoroughfare is complemented by a range of additional outdoor public spaces facilitating community gatherings, leisure, and recreational pursuits. The emphasis on designing and delivering functional and accessible community spaces is not a priority in designing for BTS.

People often talk about active frontages in BTS apartments and urban design development more generally, with a focus on achieving retail spaces, cafe culture and tenancies in a dynamic environment. While this remains important in a BTR project, developers equally need to consider the importance of passive community areas. These are spaces designed for tenant wellbeing, with a slower and more peaceful atmosphere where people can sit and relax throughout the day. Designing for that softer, more passive urbanism is essential in a BTR community, given the asset owner needs to nurture a relationship with their clients, who are also creating a relationship with each other.

Another key difference in designing and delivering BTRs is the significant portion of space dedicated to amenities. Resident post-occupancy surveys undertaken at Smith Collective and Realm Caulfield continue to demonstrate that amenities including pools, gyms, communal function and dining spaces, dog-walks, and on-site retail and hospitality offerings are what many people enjoy most about living in these communities.

At Smith Collective, we used the amenity spaces as an opportunity to create more intimate microcommunities within the precinct. We designed the main pool and gym facilities in the centre of each apartment lot, offering residents the convenience of moving between their accommodation and the amenities without having to walk across the precinct. This design outcome also provides an opportunity for residents to gather and connect at a central point in each apartment building.

Designing To Engage Residents And Communities

The design aesthetic of a built-form asset sets the tone for the entire BTR community. Whether developers are working on apartment towers, villas or other communal facilities, the design outcome must be aesthetically inspiring in order to connect people to place.

A cohesive design narrative brought to life through progressive responses to colour, texture, and materiality achieves buildings that residents are proud to call home, whether these are social and affordable housing offerings, or luxury apartments.

OUR BTR DESIGN VISION ACCOMMODATES FACT THAT APARTMENTS ARE BECOMING A HEAVILY REGULATED BUILDING TYPOLOGY IN TERMS OF DESIGN GUIDELINES AND HEIGHT RESTRICTIONS. THESE ARE ULTIMATELY PREDICATED ON A BTR DEVELOPER MODEL AND NOT A BTS MODEL.

We approach our BTR design process in the same way we approach any of our other public placemaking projects at ARM. This includes a rigorous research process evaluating the locational attributes of the site and its demographic, which directly informs our design narrative.

Motivated to both unpack and challenge a developer’s brief, we create design narratives and design highlights ensuring the development not only integrates into its environment but enhances it. The striking use of colour across the apartment sat Smith Collective, for example, contributes to the overall liveliness of the site. Residents often share that the bold colour palette on the apartment facades feels inspiring, and leaves a lasting impression on people who visit the precinct.

Similarly, ARM’s design for Bellfield Social Housing demonstrates how progressive design can set a new visual precedent for social and affordable housing. The building’s cross-grain timber façade brings the site to life through a patterning thematic, one of several design outcomes in the project that redefines public perceptions of what social housing looks like, and how it serves the community.

While our process of investigating client brief is similar for BTS and BTR projects, BTR projects require a more intricate consideration of the end-user’s physical, emotional and psychological experience across spaces, and a more detailed consideration of tenant needs across a range of demographics.

Designing For Ease Of Access And Functionality

A BTR asset will be competitive against a BTS if the design is sensitive to diversity of occupants and changing tenant lifestyles in both the short and the long-term.

BTR design is highly sensitive to a resident’s moving experience in and out of an apartment building. We guide developers in addressing the typical ‘pain points’ of moving into a rental property, offering design solutions that make the process of transporting appliances, furniture and white goods easier and more seamless for residents.

ARM designed Realm Caulfield with functional inclusions supporting ease of access across the apartments. These include dedicated goods lifts for transporting large items from basement loading bays up to the apartments.

Our accessible design model was essential in our work with Launch Social Housing across the Dandenong and Bellfield projects. The apartments and community spaces had to be agile and flexible in supporting the wayfinding and navigational experience of tenants who may come from backgrounds of disadvantage, disability, or trauma.

Similarly, our Macquarie Park BTR features silver standard apartments with base build dimensions allowing them to be converted to accessible apartments, without having to build in aids like permanent grab-rails and disabled toilets from the outset. This agility in design anticipating resident demographics and intrinsic needs is often not a design priority in a BTS project.

Designing for ease of access in a BTR asset will be a big focus for the sector into the future, as clients look to build efficient operating expenditure into the assets itself that not only enhance the tenant’s experience, but also saves on time and costs in the long-term.

DESIGNING FOR THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL USE

Designing apartments that cater for multiple generations and growing families is another unique design consideration in BTR projects. We achieved a dual-key model at Macquarie Park that allowed multigenerational customers to rent two apartments together, with separate self-contained areas for children, parents and grandparents.

Our BTR design process also considers this idea of long-term tenure and a resident ‘maturing’ through the asset. We advise developers about the importance of having a diversity of one, two and three-bedroom studios in a BTS site, as well as villas and stand-alone townhouses for families who outgrow apartment living, or for retirees looking for a change of lifestyle.

Designing For The Future Btr Market

Our BTR design vision accommodates fact that apartments are becoming a heavily regulated building typology in terms of design guidelines and height restrictions. These are ultimately predicated on a BTR developer model and not a BTS model.

As Australia’s BTR sector continues to strengthen, thoughtful and innovative design outcomes will counter traditional combativeness around residential BTS developments, demonstrated in factors like planning and the will towards vertical builds.

ARM’s vision is to apply market-leading BTR design expertise to achieve a more nuanced and urbanistic approach to apartment development. We are committed to focusing on qualitative appraisals rather than the quantitative ‘set of rules’ from developers. We believe this approach will ultimately result in more cohesive cities and communities.