In today’s condos, less really is more
September 23rd, 2008Suite sizes have shrunk, but clever design makes every inch count
By Terrence Belford - Globe and Mail
When architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe coined the phrase “less is more,” he did not have today’s crop of condominiums in mind.
But the words he used to capture his minimalist approach to design perfectly describe what is happening to condos in Toronto.
While overall square footage of suites has shrunk, the usable living space within their walls has grown.
Today’s 900-square-foot, two-bedroom condo has about as much living space as an 1,100- or 1,200-square-foot unit did at the beginning of this decade, architects and designers say.
Granted, little can be done with a 480-square-foot, one-bedroom unit, but as suites get into the range of 750 square feet and above, today’s designers can work wonders transforming wasted space such as hallways into functional spaces for living, dining and entertaining.
“It may seem like a paradox, but it is true,” says Paul Maggiacomo, president of Tanner Hill Associates Inc.
His company is currently doing interior spaces on projects such as Gramercy Park right next to the Wilson subway station.
“Costs of construction and land have driven prices up but at the same time there has been a revolution in design,” Mr. Maggiacomo says.
That revolution finally reflects an understanding that condominiums are not just rental suites under another name, says Sol Wassermuhl, president of Page + Steele-IBI Group Architects. You can see Page + Steele’s skills in projects such as the Hazelton, the Ritz Carlton and Maple Leaf Square.
“The whole design paradigm has shifted,” he says. “The process has become much more complicated and complex. Equally important, interior designers are now brought in once we have settled on the size of each floor plate. They work with us to create the working drawings for each suite.”
In the past, Mr. Maggiacomo says he and his colleagues would be given finished working drawings and told to do their best with decisions already made. Now they get a say in the design process right from the start.
For more than 20 years, developers turned out condos that differed little from rental buildings. Designing rental units is based on making life easier and more profitable for landlords. Rental buildings only have value to tenants as long as they lived in them. They care zip about operating costs because the landlord picks up that tab. If they do not like the building they can move.
Developers, architects and designers understood how to turn out rental buildings. The fact that condos were dramatically different had yet to set in.
Condominiums represent a U-turn in that lasting value proposition. A year or so after residents move in, the developer walks away from the project; it no longer has a stake in its continued success. Owners of the suites are the ones on the hook to keep maintenance standards up and operating costs down. And, since for many this may prove to be their home for decades to come, they want their building to deliver a certain lifestyle.
“That is one of the biggest shifts,” Mr. Wassermuhl says. “The first is creating a building and suites that represent lasting value for residents and the second is that condos are all about lifestyle. It is a very different sensibility.”
Developers now get the point. Buyers do not want those loading bay-like rectangles that served as the GTA’s rental suites right up until the end of the 1980s, they want homes that combine as much livable space as their pocket books can afford, designed in innovative ways in a building that is easy to maintain and operate, surrounded by all the lifestyle bells and whistles.
So, how have designers managed to pack all that useful space into shrinking floor plates? The first thing they do is get rid of hallways, Mr. Maggiacomo says.
“In the old days, you had a long hallway leading to the living area with bedrooms arranged in sequence along the sides of the hallways,” he says. “Now, the front door opens right on to the suite or a small foyer. Bedrooms open off the main living and dining area.
“If it is a two-bedroom suite, we split them putting one on either side of the living/dining area. That not only gets rid of those hallways but also ensures greater privacy.”
If there is a single bathroom, designers can create what Mr. Maggiacomo calls a “poor man’s ensuite.” The bathroom has two doors, one of which opens to the master bedroom while the second opens to the living/dining area.
Open-plan designs also lend themselves to better use of small spaces. Breakfast bars serve to separate kitchens from dining rooms and if you make the breakfast bar high enough, guests can’t see the dirty dishes piled in the sink, he says.
Kitchen cabinetry can run right up to the ceiling, making best use of vertical space rather than the horizontal.
Will condos get much smaller? Unlikely, Mr. Maggiacomo says. “We are pretty much pressing against the sides of the envelope now.”
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