Whether it’s a residential or commercial building, traditional architecture and construction practices such as facadism and interior extravagance have continually maintained their presence throughout the years.
While sometimes they are considered beautiful additions, often they can be rendered pointless. They can take timeless efforts to build only to output results that don’t necessarily contribute to the welfare of its occupants nor modern design, let alone sustainability.
However, with the posed risks of climate change, many real estate and construction business players are in a transitional phase or have already moved on to sustainable projects.
The Sustainability Drive
The United States is a country where the apartment culture is highly prevalent in many cities such as New York, Chicago, Miami, etc. With the rising amount of congestion and climate change concerns, it is important to push construction practices and architecture towards sustainability.
Sustainability can also bring a change when it comes to affordability. You will be surprised to find out how much traditional buildings cost in terms of energy and other factors. Sustainability is not about profit maximization but getting the best possible outcome.
Among the real estate players who are rapidly increasing their hold in this new and innovative space are multifamily investment companies. Let’s look at some common ways these companies choose to integrate sustainable features into their projects.
How It Works
Generally, in our country, houses are built using traditional methods that don’t pose much in terms of innovative sustainability. It’s exciting to discover possibilities of executing multifamily projects into something like an ontology system. For instance, imagine designing a housing project that can be delivered at par pricing with sustainability features. It is more of a build-less-give-more idea.
To make this possible, you need to look at sustainability features through the lens of simplicity. Basically, it means to build what people need rather than what you think they might want.
Sustainability via Architecture
A good design needs to bring joy to the end-user. Also, sustainable projects are generally designed with simplicity as one of their core themes. Let’s look at an example of a double-height structure made out of recycled brick, steel and glass. While the structure’s base is mostly finished in brick that gives out a traditional vibe, the top part upto the roof comprises a slick warehouse structure made of steel frames and glass windows.
Let’s continue with the common areas, such as the entryway with natural stones like in ancient Europe. On the entry sidewalls, you can hang up vines to add a touch of green freshness to the structure. Basically, this means adding elements in a way you could take a step back towards nature.
Sustainable Utilities
A big step sustainable builders take is turning the whole project fossil fuel-free. Such projects also include an autonomous tech-intensive energy system to provide cheaper carbon-neutral electricity. This has a lot to do with the architect’s expertise to make such sustainability-based integrations possible safely and effectively.
Additionally, to contribute to this fossil-fuel-free way of living, you can choose to install appliances like a multifunctional electric oven, induction cooktops, etc.
Takeaway
A lot of new-gen builders in many countries have proved that the kind of sustainable models discussed in this post actually works. It’s one thing to build a financially viable model and an entirely different feat to have complex ideas about mandating carbon neutrality and selling 100% of apartments to owner-occupiers. Choosing sustainability as a core idea is a huge commitment. It is challenging to cater to every aspect of it throughout the project’s lifecycle. However, it is wonderful to see such projects do well.
