As the weather warms and spring takes hold, engaging people outside of their building through innovative experiences and activations becomes key in retention. “Space and open-air amenities were more important than work-from-home amenities,” according to GlobeSt’s analysis of a 2021 RentCafe survey on renter preferences. At URBN Playground, we focus on programming that inspires connection with a focus on engagement beyond the built environment.

Covid-19 has underlined how critical nature is to our urban spaces, and city and building design trends are beginning to reflect that. As the world hunkered down and sheltered in place this year, the importance of nature became more clear to us than ever before.

Considering that approximately half the people in the world identify themselves as introverts, it seems only fair that their needs would be considered equally to those of extroverts when designing amenities for residential and work environments. At URBN, we let the quiet crowd know that we hear them -- giving them a voice in directing our physical amenities spaces and programs. Here are our tips on how you can cater to the needs of introverts in your residential and working spaces.

A growing importance has been placed lately on programming for mental wellness, in addition to physical wellness, since the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are our tips on how to run amenity programs that address mental wellness needs, both at home and at work.

With climate change at our doorstep, developers have been redesigning buildings with green elements that not only benefit residents, but that also are more sustainable and help reduce maintenance costs for developers in the long run. Here are 8 ways to make your building amenities more environmentally-friendly.

Here are some ways you can prioritize wellness in amenity space design, as we rethink the built environment for multi-family developments.

While it is natural to pay a lot of attention to and invest resources in an exquisitely designed lobby, aesthetics alone are poor substitutes for functionality. Well-planned lobby spaces combine both aesthetics and function to leave a lasting impression on residents. Here are our three recommendations to combine function and design and take your lobby to the next level.

Is there a way for us to build a sense of community despite our hectic schedules and demanding obligations? Is there a way for our kids to experience growing up with their neighbors? Is it possible to still form meaningful relationships with those that we share a street with? We’re glad you asked. Here are our three ways to build community living within residential spaces.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, health and wellness have never been more crucial. The pandemic forced most of us to work from home and removed many options for leisure and recreation. Furthermore, the stressors that we experience from work are now mixed with the responsibilities at home, whether it's being a parent, a partner or a working professional. Residents have a greater need to outsource household chores while maximizing time to recover or release stress.

One of the biggest changes the pandemic brought to our lives is the shift to digital. Almost overnight, our lives moved online. And what were emerging trends for multifamily residential that were still seen as nice-to-have luxuries suddenly became essential.

Having the latest state of the art amenities in your property accomplishes little if the amenities end up underused. Defining your property audience is quintessential in elevating the status of your property from mere brick and mortar to a place residents seek peace, security, convenience, and leisure - a place to call home.

When looking at the residential amenity landscape, you tend to see and hear advice along the lines of “the top amenities to invest in”, “how to select future-proof amenities”, and “trends in amenity programming”. What these approaches have in common in the tendency to see amenities as a single set of offerings for the overall population.

The living experience at a residence is a product of the available amenities and the environment accompanying the residence. This means that for developers, designing spaces and services in living spaces goes hand-in-hand: Designing for space involves being aware of and creating a specific mood or vibe when a resident steps into a space. Meanwhile, designing for services is about meeting the everyday needs of its inhabitants.

In the past, property developers used to boast state-of-the-art amenities, from swimming pools to well-equipped gyms and tennis courts. However, COVID-19 has rendered most amenities temporarily unusable. Daily activities we used to take for granted have been suspended or restricted for the time being.

It has been a year since COVID-19 first struck, and countries throughout the globe are still grappling to contain the spread of the virus. In December 2020, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “history tells us that this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life”..

When it comes to programming amenity spaces within a building, we think of several factors: residents’ preferences and needs, longevity (instead of following trends that may be short-lived), convenience, service-as-a-luxury, and sustainability.

Modern living has been redefined since the advent of COVID-19. Children are attending school virtually, with their parents within earshot, tuned into a work conference call. Conventional recreation and social activities became restricted and we’ve had to pick up new pastimes while being forced indoors.

Today’s smart homes invoke the same feelings and functions of yesteryears, albeit with new bells and whistles to make the present living experience even more enjoyable and secure, while being sustainable.