For landowners and long-term owners
Residential buildings designed for the people who will live in them.
A residential building is someone's home for years. We develop apartment buildings and residential blocks around the people expected to live in them and the way the building will be owned and run, because both decide whether it is worth living in and worth holding.
Start with who will live there
Families, single professionals, sharers and older residents want different things from the same floor area: different unit sizes, storage, parking, outdoor space and shared facilities. A building designed for everyone suits no one in particular and ends up competing on price alone. Deciding early who the building is for makes the rest of the brief easier to write.
The location narrows the answer. Distance to work, schools, transport and shops determines who will want to live there, and that should drive the unit mix rather than the other way round.
What shapes a residential brief
Unit mix
The balance of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, set by the residents the location attracts rather than by a standard formula.
Layouts
Usable room shapes, storage, daylight and, where the plot allows, cross-ventilation. Small improvements here are felt every day.
Shared spaces
Lobbies, corridors, gyms, pools and outdoor space sized for how residents actually use them.
Parking and arrival
Parking, drop-off, deliveries and cycle storage planned together so that the ground floor works for residents and for the street.
Running costs
Cooling, lifts, facades and shared amenities carry service charges for decades. Designing them for maintenance protects residents and owners alike.
Privacy and noise
Separation between units, between the building and the street, and between homes and service areas.
Climate and comfort
In the UAE, comfort starts with the sun. Orientation, shading and the proportion of glass on each facade decide how hard the cooling has to work and how pleasant the rooms feel in summer. Balconies and outdoor spaces earn their place only if they are shaded and usable for a good part of the year; otherwise the floor area is better given to the interior.
Shared amenities follow the same logic. A shaded courtyard or a pool deck protected from the afternoon sun will be used; an exposed roof terrace often will not.
Built to be held
Some residential buildings are developed for sale, others to be held and let over the long term. The choice changes the building. An owner who will carry the running costs for decades has every reason to spend on a durable facade, efficient cooling and easy maintenance, and to choose finishes that age well rather than impress on the first day.
Whichever route a site takes, we design as though the building will be held. A building that is economical to run and pleasant to live in is also easier to let and to sell.
After handover
A residential building's reputation is set in its first years of occupation. How shared areas are managed, how service charges are set and explained, and how quickly defects are put right all shape how residents feel about it and what it is worth. Planning for management during design, with sensible plant rooms, access for maintenance and durable common-area finishes, makes that easier for whoever runs the building.
Where workforce housing fits
Residential development and workforce accommodation overlap, but they are not the same thing. Accommodation that employers provide for their workforce is regulated separately in the UAE and planned around the operation it serves. It is covered on our workforce accommodation pages, including large-scale accommodation villages.
Employers who house professional staff in ordinary apartment buildings sit closer to residential development, and the principles on this page apply to them.
Considering a residential building?
Share the site, the residents you have in mind and whether the building is to be held or sold.
Discuss a residential building