![Multifamily housing today: 7 exciting, inspiring innovations [AIA Course]](/sites/default/files/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-02%20at%2011.55.02%20AM.png "Multifamily housing today: 7 exciting, inspiring innovations [AIA Course]")
The multifamily sector is not showing any signs of slowing down. The U.S. market needs to add at least 400,000 rental units a year to serve the nation’s housing needs, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association (see: http://nmhc.org/Apartments-Economic-Impact/).
On the side of homeownership, U.S. Census data shows that three-quarters (76%) of condominium and cooperative units that came on line in Q4/2015 were sold within three months of completion (www.census.gov/housing/soma/).
The demand is being found not just in big cities like Fort Worth, Texas, Charlotte, and Nashville but also in second-tier metros like Charleston, S.C., and Harrisburg, Pa. San Antonio’s Broadway Corridor, Austin’s Riverview area, and Downtown Los Angeles, known as DTLA, are hot markets that have used local ordinances and targeted investment to create 24-hour dining and shopping zones to lure young professionals and growing families into these new residential enclaves.
Let’s look at seven novel approaches developers and Building Teams are taking to respond to competitive pressures and build more quickly and with more attractive offerings in new and reconstructed multifamily developments.
TAKE THIS FREE AIA COURSE AT BDCUNIVERSITY.COM
Related Stories
| Dec 2, 2014
First existing multifamily buildings to earn Energy Star certification unveiled
River City in Chicago is one of 17 existing multifamily properties to earn Energy Star certification, which became available to this sector on Sept. 16 via a scoring system for multifamily properties that Energy Star and Fannie Mae had been developing for three years.
| Dec 2, 2014
SPARK designs urban farming housing for Singapore’s elderly population
The proposal blends affordable retirement housing with urban farming by integrating vertical aquaponic farming and rooftop soil planting into multi-unit housing for seniors.
| Nov 24, 2014
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill-designed crystalline tower breaks ground in southwestern China
Fitted with an LED façade, the 468-meter Greenland Tower Chengdu will act as a light sculpture for the city of Chengdu.
| Nov 24, 2014
Must see: Plans released for underwater city that could house 5,000 people
The design centers around a floating, 500-meter-wide sphere linked to a resource center on the ocean floor via a 15-kilometer, helix-shaped path.
| Nov 21, 2014
Rental apartment construction soars to 27-year high: WSJ report
The multifamily sector is now outpacing the peak construction rate in the previous housing cycle, in 2006, according to the WSJ.
| Nov 18, 2014
New tool helps developers, contractors identify geographic risk for construction
The new interactive tool from Aon Risk Solutions provides real-time updates pertaining to the risk climate of municipalities across the U.S.
| Nov 14, 2014
What college students want in their living spaces
In a recent workshop with 62 college students, architects from Little explored the changing habits and preferences of today's students, and how those changes affect their living spaces.
| Nov 11, 2014
Renzo Piano's third building at London Bridge Quarter approved, will be built adjacent to the Shard
Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been granted planning approval for its residential building at London Bridge Quarter—a 26-story apartment tower dubbed Feilden House.
| Nov 7, 2014
Arts college uses creative financing to build 493-bed student housing
Many states have cut back funding for higher education in recent years, and securing money for new housing has been tougher than ever for many colleges and universities. A recent residence hall project in Boston involving three colleges provides an inspiring example of how necessity can spawn invention in financing strategies.
| Nov 7, 2014
Prefab helps Valparaiso student residence project meet an ambitious deadline
Few colleges or universities have embraced prefabrication more wholeheartedly than Valparaiso (Ind.) University. The Lutheran-based institution completed a $27 million residence hall this past summer in which the structural elements were all precast.
