Finding Success With Tricky Multifamily Floor Plans

Many people adore conformity. For others, sameness is anathema. For them and like-minded developers and designers catering to them, unusual floor plans can offer unusually rich opportunity to create living spaces departing from the ordinary in intriguing ways.

Pete Reeb, principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting in San Diego, regularly consults builders and developers on floor plans. He sees creative promise in tricky “shells.” “The vast majority of home builders try to make floor plans as efficient and functional as possible,” he says.

“Some builders will purposely design floor plans that are somewhat funky or unusual or unique to make those floor plans stand out . . . The trend toward more individualization and personalization of space means people don’t necessarily want cookie-cutter floor plans that are very rectangular rooms or open. A lot of the builders see that as a positive. Particularly as you go up higher in price, there’s more wanting to have that sense of individualization.”

Several Chicago residential towers provided designers the chance to tackle thorny layouts and turn the residences into settings that wring every advantage from their uniqueness.

727 West Madison

This 44-story oval-shaped glass tower includes units on the oval’s ends. The severity of the curve ensures these residences boast amazing skyline perspectives, but feature challenging, somewhat triangular floor plans. Designers FitzGerald & Associates Architects placed the living room and kitchen against the window arc, segregating the bedrooms and baths down a private corridor. Developer Fifield Cos. selected the unit as a model and enlisted interior designer Michael Richman to group the furnishings to showcase its possibilities.

”With the amazing 180-degree views afforded by the elliptical shape of the building, we knew we had the opportunity to offer a truly exceptional residence,” says David Friedman, president of F&F Realty. “Fortunately, they came up with a floor plan that has won over renters with not only unparalleled views, but also secluded private space that provides true separation uncommon for an apartment of its size.”

Trump Tower Chicago

The configuration of master closets in a one-bedroom Trump Tower condominium gave would-be buyers the uneasy feeling the bedroom was larger than the living and dining area.

Enter commercial interior design firm Mary Cook Associates (MCA), which is often called on to fix layouts that don’t work. MCA borrowed space from a closet to create a home office. Result: a one-bedroom plus den. Brokers and buyers were so delighted with the change the Trump organization replicated it in every one of the tower’s units with that identical floor plan.

“Understanding who we are designing for, where they live and what that means to how they live is the driving force behind our performance-based interiors,” says Mary Cook, founder and president of the firm. “The night before the official grand opening of the one-bedroom redesign at Trump Tower, a buyer stopped me while walking through the unit and observed that it was as if the unit was designed specifically for a single, professional male. Of course, he was right, as that was the anticipated buyer we designed for. His response? ‘Well, it absolutely influenced me because I bought two units – one for each of my sons!’ This is exactly the kind of outcome that makes our approach to design so valuable.”

Asbury Plaza

At the 32-story apartment tower in Chicago’s River North enclave, absence of windows made floor plan layout problematic. Developer The Habitat Company huddled with architects to sculpt floor plans fully leveraging strategically-placed balconies. The innovative solution ensured natural light floods both the living spaces and the bedrooms of each residence.

“Asbury Plaza is the perfect example of getting creative with an unusual floor plan to address the fact the units don’t actually have windows,” says Maureen Vaughn, vice president, marketing and communications at The Habitat Company. “By incorporating a balcony, or balconies, at strategic locations to allow natural light to flood in, not only does it make the lack of windows less apparent, but it also offers great views of the city from every single unit, which is something not every property has.”

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