NEW YORK: The five hundred and thirty-second entry for the seniors housing Global Awards for 2015 has been received.
The Canaletto building on City Road, which is built with public spaces at its heart.
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 London. Architects of new developments are creating self-contained villages with conference rooms, private cinemas and rooftop gardens.
They utilize 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 neighbors (see too few of them and you foster an atmosphere of isolation; too many and individuals fade into anonymity). New superdevelopments at King’s Cross, Stratford, Elephant and Castle, Old Street and Nine Elms are all devout practitioners of this resurgent architectural practice.
