Smart residential design should boost investment value.

In these difficult economic times, residential architects must focus on the essential role they can play in driving return on investment through design. Design cannot simply achieve aesthetic goals: more than just looking good, design also has to help deliver strong financial returns.

Experienced residential designers--allied with their developer partners--understand that designing for value extends well beyond the basic principle that attractive buildings attract residents. To generate maximum value, developers must work with residential designers who are prepared to enter into a project without formal preconceptions. The best architect needs to stand at an intersection of pragmatic and poetic forces--and look at the specific opportunities presented by each new project.

In today's economy, residential developers should forge a partnership with an architect who has taken the time to both examine and internalize a client's vision, goals, program, context, market conditions, schedule and budget.

Based on our extensive residential and mixed-use portfolio and experiences gained through partnering with our clients, here are some design techniques proven to maximize value:

Most developers will tell you a successful residential project starts and ends with a good floor plan and apartment layout. Design an efficient plan with a high net to gross ratio; maximize zoning floor area; provide variety of apartments on a floor and stack them vertically; create private and public zones within the unit and minimize internal circulation; spend money where people can see it, lobby, amenity spaces, bathrooms and kitchens. Creative designers will make sure the internal pressures are balanced with a proper massing and facade design. While these basic rules usually ensure a good project, sophisticated designers like to question preconceptions and conventional wisdom. For example, to minimize construction costs most developers prefer to use less expensive HVAC systems--such as PTAC heating and cooling units. Interestingly these units count as zoning floor area. By contrast, some pricier systems, such as heat pumps, leave ZFA intact. Thus, we have advised developers to consider a more expensive heating/cooling system because--when final calculations are done--conserving ZFA may more than cover the price premium separating the two systems.

Similarly, when residential developers evaluate an exterior wall system, they may be inclined to opt for a conventional thick masonry system, which is typically less expensive. But this apparently thriftier option can significantly reduce the net interior floor area realized for a given amount of ZFA. A thinner exterior may be the smarter investment.

Everyone knows that a double-loaded plan is more efficient than single-loaded. However at the North8 Condominiums, a loft-style complex in Williamsburg, we designed a "single-loaded" residential configuration. This strategy ensured every unit includes floor-to-ceiling windows with East River skyline views. With ROI in mind, the developer agreed that a conventional, double-loaded corridor design down the middle of the building--though less expensive--would not deliver as much value. North8 does not have a retail base and is purely residential where ground floor apartments are usually least valuable. Challenging this notion we designed the first two floors as duplex townhouses with a stoop and lawn backyard--turning a marketing liability into a positive asset. Blending townhouses with loft-style condominiums, offers homeowners "the best of both worlds." Those preferring apartment dwelling favor lofts; others opt for the privacy of townhouse living.

North8 also maximizes value by selling rooftop space as private roof terrace "cabanas," a relatively new feature in New York residential design. Our firm also worked with developer Steiner NYC to incorporate cabanas at 80 Metropolitan, a Williamsburg project at the comer of Metropolitan and Wythe avenues. The warehouse-inspired complex is topped by 24 rooftop cabanas available for purchase by homeowners.

When creating residential projects that incorporate retail components, developers will also maximize investment value by working with designers who bring retail experience to the task. Regrettably, architects specializing narrowly on residential projects often focus almost exclusively on the residential portion of mixed-use projects. Treating retail as an afterthought is an error that will dampen revenues for the long term. Developers also lose out when their design team consists of too many stand-alone players. To maximize continuity, to ensure a development process that flows smoothly, and to avoid jarring communication gaps, the ideal design partner has the capacity to integrate the separate disciplines of architecture, planning, development services and engineering. We live in an era when residential projects require much more than pleasing aesthetics to be successful. In today's economic environment, residential designers best serve their developer clients by coming forward with design strategies proven to maximize return on investment.

These days, developers cannot afford to do otherwise.

By NAVID MAQAMI AIA, LEED AP, NCARB PRINCIPAL, ARCHITECTURE, GREENBERGFARROW