NEW YORK: Architects are returning to the utopian idea of housing projects as self-contained communities where residents are able to interact in social spaces.
The buzzword du jour in residential property is “placemaking” and it’s happening all over the world. Architects of new developments are creating self-contained villages with conference rooms, private cinemas and rooftop gardens. They utilise techniques used in creating public spaces like theatres and sports arenas, carefully analysing the flow of human traffic through a building. In a residential setting, this allows architects to manage things like which entrance a tenant will enter a property through and how often they’re likely to bump into their neighbours (see too few of them and you foster an atmosphere of isolation; too many and individuals fade into anonymity).
“We want to bring communities into the sky,” says…