Metropolitan Atlanta's recent trend toward in-town living has provided new opportunities for developers of high-density residential projects. Dissatisfaction with suburban sprawl and long commutes, the desire for proximity to work, cultural and entertainment destinations and the often prohibitive cost of single family dwellings are creating demand for multifamily living space in various core areas of the city. Midtown, Vinings and Buckhead are all experiencing a boom in townhome, mid-rise and high-rise development.

The development opportunities are challenging. Any given site will have its surrounding urban attractions, zoning controls, and existing neighborhood character. The urban attractions may be shops, restaurants, parks or simply a pedestrian-friendly environment. Zoning controls may offer both limitations and restrictions mixed with form-defining opportunities. The character of the neighborhood may be historic, transitional or in dire need of something, anything different. New residential projects, whether they be modern high-rises along the Peachtree Road corridor, infill townhomes in Midtown, traditionally-styled cluster homes in Buckhead or "new-retro" lofts, require a holistic, consistent development, design and marketing strategy encompassing location, amenities, exterior image and interior space concepts in order to be successful. The architect plays the pivotal role in coalescing development goals and marketing strategies with aesthetics to deliver a meaningful and profitable project.

Location, according to the old adage, ranks with location and location as one of the three most important factors in a profitable real estate development. The desirability of a property amongst Atlanta's piecemeal urban fabric and meandering streets may offer a primary marketing hook (proximity to shops, restaurants, MARTA or the highway) or lead to an emphasis on other amenities (24-hour security and controlled access). Either way, the site and the neighborhood will often suggest an image for the new structure. Given Atlanta's tension between a historic Southern town and a New World metropolis, the suggested image may be traditional or modern, worthy of reckoning or deserving to be discarded. The chosen exterior image, whether historical, contemporary or neo-industrial, must be congruent with the character and image being proposed for the interior spaces, whether classically-inspired, slick and modern or open and lofty.

Form Follows Zoning

As in-town real estate becomes increasingly valuable, it is imperative that architects and other design professionals provide more informed and thorough land-planning services to developer clients. Of primary concern is density, the amount of residential square footage that can be developed on a site. Typically, the developer's preference is to build profitably within the existing zoning classifications, avoiding costly, time-consuming and sometimes contentious efforts for rezoning or variances. In transforming a pro-forma from a spreadsheet into three dimensions, the architect pushes the envelope defined by floor area ratios, setbacks, transitional height planes and open space requirements to establish the form of the building and creatively turn perceived constraints into profitable amenities and interesting architecture.

The initial step in defining footprint and volumetric character is the determination of floor area ratio (FAR), the relationship between the gross square footage of a site and the residential square footage of the proposed building. The Zoning Code allows the addition of a percentage of permanent open space, typically adjacent rights-of-way, to the net area of a site to establish the gross area. Each zoning classification has a minimum and maximum allowable FAR. If a site lies in more than one zoning district, a possibility if two or more properties are assembled for the project, FARs must be calculated separately for each district. This can have dramatic formal implications, creating a dividing line through the building with a higher density on one side and a lower density on the other.

Atlanta's Zoning Code also ties minimum open space to the FAR, requiring more total and usable open space as the floor area increases. While seemingly counter-intuitive (more developed square footage leads to bigger footprint, which leads to less remaining site area available for open space), the Code permits balcony and terrace area to contribute to required open space. Thus, a relatively inexpensive and highly marketable amenity can both influence the form of the building and help the architect develop a higher density project.

Given the complexities of zoning, a suitable three-dimensional solution may be more complicated than a box or tower. An architect who can discern the opportunities within the constraints can shape an economically viable and architecturally interesting development.

Form Follows Cost

With the significant cost associated with the skin, it is important for the development, design, construction and marketing teams to work closely, recognizing a continual trade-off and compromise between image and expediency, character and commodity, and cost and marketability. This is where cues from the surrounding neighborhood, actual quality of materials, perceived quality in the marketplace and interior design philosophy all meet, preferably in a delightful blend and not a collision.

Brick either enjoys a traditional familiarity or provides a modern flair, but it always brings an air of quality and permanence. Exposed architectural concrete has a contemporary flavor and may allow faster construction in exchange for higher material cost and the need for skilled labor. Hard-coat stucco provides both a cost compromise and a marketing challenge due to the poor reputation of synthetic stucco in the eyes of homeowners throughout the Southeast. Operable wood windows are a popular selling feature and fit well with both traditional and contemporary design but are labor-intensive and can become impractical in high-rises where wind loads exceed normal manufacturing capabilities. Aluminum "storefront" systems offer great design flexibility and an industrial image. Curtain wall systems are consistent with slick, modern designs and are quite suitable for super high-rise construction.

The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system carries the greatest cost and image implications. Package HVAC units are cost-effective, but impact both interior design and skin since the units must be adjacent to the exterior wall (reducing available window area and sellable space) and require large louvers (an appearance challenge). Split systems offer interior design flexibility for the air handler location but require that the outside condensing unit be within a practical distance, a drawback in high-rise structures. A central plant, with cooling towers and boilers, is by far the most energy efficient over time but also the most expensive up front, and it makes individual energy consumption difficult to meter. Any system must be consistent with the interior design concept; "hard" ceilings throughout allow the use of less expensive duct material, but loft-style spaces require more attractive, more expensive and more carefully installed metal ductwork.

Structural systems also require integration with the building form and interior design, and they carry their own cost and image considerations. Townhomes can typically be stick-framed of wood. Mid-rise structures are usually steel and metal-framed, while high-rises are invariably concrete. Cost issues will arise if the structure is to remain exposed or if ceiling height is a valuable commodity; flat post-tensioned concrete slabs are more expensive and require extensive pre-construction coordination to pre-locate floor penetrations.

Not unlike the response to zoning, material and systems selection is an interplay of constraint and opportunity. Success is the product of a team effort with one eye on the overall design concept and one eye on the details.

Form Follows Marketing

Even while the building's footprint and volume are being determined and the project image is being considered, the interior design concept must be developed. Initial project concepts will include a target range of unit sizes, usually generated from market analyses, project location and perceived lifestyle trends. Once stairs, elevators and corridors are laid into a preliminary footprint, the sellable space can be divided accordingly. Usually the economy of stacking identical units from floor to floor comes into play; larger units are planned at the corners while smaller units are located in between. With the unit mix and square footages established, actual interior design - the transformation of marketing concept to reality - can begin.

So that accurate costs can be figured and accurate marketing media can be produced, unit designs are typically determined prior to advertising and sales. Style (traditional, modern, or lofty), amenities (garden tubs, separate showers, appliances) and level of finish (tile, hardwood floors, exposed concrete, custom millwork) are developed with construction cost inputs and with a consistency that supports the overall project image and marketing strategy. An iterative process of design and marketing feedback will unify the concepts and create a coherent product collection with logical price-points. A variety of "standard upgrades" (granite counters, lighting, marble tile) can be made available, especially if units are sold and not rented. Developers may also market the "shell" spaces, especially on upper floors, allowing buyers to discard the standard design, combine two or more units and produce unique custom plans.

A resurgence of in-town living will continue to present multifamily development opportunities, and success will be measured by both architectural quality and return on cost. The degree of success will be a product of the synergy of vision, and the experience and the knowledge shared by developers and marketers, builders and architects.

Jimmy Goldgeier and Mark McCarthy are with Loia Budde & Associates, Architects in Atlanta. They are involved in various multifamily projects throughout the Southeast.

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