Do you have a wellbeing clinic at home? An oak-clad co-working nook or a private padel court? No? Well very soon your neighbours might. The world’s most successful, new residential developments are no longer just places to live but elaborate schemes to envy. Increasingly, residents with means want to live with an immediate connection to contemporary amenities — and people. That means workspaces to rival the office, hotel-grade spas and light, airy communal areas showcasing stand-out interiors and materials.
Gone are the days when a multi-unit housing project could claim to offer ‘premium’ hospitality with a solitary concierge desk and dingy business centre. Today, with the lines between home and work permanently blurred and ‘wellbeing’ a daily necessity, people want to live, work, restore and connect with convenience, like they’re living at the Standard hotel.
That’s why the entire first floor of the Eades, the latest project from Amsterdam interior design studio Nicemakers, is fitted out for co-working and wellness. And we’re not talking a glorified cupboard with a printer and power socket, or a couple of running machines. Residents have access to rows of bespoke desks with privacy screens, an events space and communal kitchen with a russet-tiled island and, on the wellbeing side, a gym, yoga studio and treatment rooms. Giving people space to breathe, move and work comfortably without feeling hemmed in is part of the design strategy at this 495-home scheme in north London. While cramming in apartments to maximise on returns might be tempting, the most sought-after developments give their modern amenities enough space to add value.
‘Hospitality-led design in the context of a branded residence like this means treating the building as a lived experience, not just a collection of apartments,’ says Lotti Lorenzetti, Nicemakers’ head of design. ‘A key principle of hospitality is generosity of space.’ That, and a liberal approach to design. ‘In the best hotels and members clubs, you feel it not just in the space and service, but in the interiors too. Deep seating, generous drapery, and a richness of texture create comfort, calm and ease, which makes a space feel genuinely welcoming.’
It’s a strategy that has also been applied at the Maple, an 800-home scheme and the first build-to-rent project completed at Related Argent’s £8bn regeneration of Brent Cross Town. Here, a focus on work and wellness has been paramount and the material choices have been as carefully considered as the spaces themselves. From the workspace, anchored by custom-built oak booths with tan leather upholstery, to the fitness studio and 25-metre swimming pool, this is five-star territory. ‘The coworking spaces here are so high quality, they have become a true office extension and replacement for residents,’ says Simon Kincaid, partner at Conran and Partners, the designers behind the scheme’s interiors. ‘It means they no longer need that second bedroom to serve as a study. They can live in a one-bedroom apartment but still have access to a professional, hospitality-led workspace just moments away.’ People want a valuable extension of their home.
In New York, One Essex Crossing on the Lower East Side is a longstanding example of a development where homes and amenities are given near-equal billing. Completed in 2021 as part of a vast mixed-use scheme, the 84 residences span an entire city block. The project, which is listed as sold out, features over 9,000 square feet of private facilities, including a coworking space, resident lounge, fitness studio, yoga room and a landscaped garden with outdoor grills and skyline views.
And at Casa Lamar, a 22-unit development in Madrid with interiors by Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola, hospitality-led design reaches dizzying levels. The 11,000 square feet of amenities include a 35m indoor swimming pool, spa, hydrotherapy circuit and full gym. Residents get access to a sommelier-curated wine cellar offering tasting events, a show kitchen for hire and a private cocktail bar. But, says Urquiola, high-end doesn’t have to mean brash. ‘With only 22 residences, the scale already suggested intimacy rather than excess,’ she says. ‘This is personalised luxury.’
No matter the scheme, location or price point, this commitment to personalisation will characterise the next generation of residential developments. According to Nicholas Gray, executive director at residential developer Native Land, residents want to feel seen. Early next year the company will deliver Opus, set to be London’s tallest prime residential development. ‘We have taken a considered and flexible approach to amenity design that reflects how people live today, rather than relying on long held assumptions,’ he says. ‘Our priority is to ensure that every resident, with their varied routines, interests and backgrounds, can identify spaces within the building that genuinely support their daily lives.’ Deliberate choices made at Opus include reducing the size of the pool to introduce a bouldering wall and a padel court in the restored Victorian arches, ‘recognising the shift toward more social forms of exercise’. There’s also a dedicated art studio.
As for the podcasting studio, private screening room and music room — complete with a baby grand piano? Once the realm of excess, amenities on this scale are no longer the exception to the rule.
