room with lit backdrop, orange booth and low tables
Photography courtesy of New City Properties.

May 31, 2024

Words: Jen Renzi

5 Residential Developments Designed for Community Connection

Residential developments from New York to Prague, market-rate to luxury, are devised to foster tenant community—and respect their surrounding ones.

Check Out These Community-Focused Rentals, From New York to Prague

Overline Residences by Morris Adjmi Architects

  • room with lit backdrop, orange booth and low tables
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • entrance of rental building with covered ceiling
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • exterior of redbrick rental building
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • interior dining space with city view and greenery on walls
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • exterior of redbrick rental building surrounding by nearby greenery
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • living room with tv, armed couches and blue carpet
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.
  • room with lit wall panels, orb lighting and orange booth seating
    Photography courtesy of New City Properties.

An angular footprint and distinctive stepped profile lend this redbrick rental building dynamism while creating interstices for communal and private terraces and verdant paths that steer residents to the nearby BeltLine greenway and surrounding Old Fourth Ward district in Atlanta. The latter’s industrial vernacular informed the materials palette—masonry floors, patinated-steel paneling, rough-hewn timber—of the interior amenity spaces.

378 West End Avenue by CookFox Architects 

  • outdoor patio with large statue and benches
    Photography by Alex Ferrec.
  • swimming pool with slatted wall panels and ambient light
    Photography by Alex Ferrec.
  • living room with orb lighting, tables and seating
    Photography by Alex Ferrec.
  • exterior of complex with terra-cotta paint
    Photography by Alex Ferrec.

A 1915 edifice with terra-cotta cresting was renovated, restored, and then expanded via a modern brick addition and a below-grade excavation that allowed for a squash court, saltwater lap pool, recording studio, and more. The New York luxury condominium’s ground-floor public spaces are likewise a hybrid of classic and contemporary, from the garden terrace with sculptural stone benches to the lounge with vintage-inflected furniture and painterly carpet.  

Brunson Terrace by Brooks + Scarpa

  • outdoor courtyard with flowerbeds and view of walkways
    Photography courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa.
  • closeup of window
    Photography courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa.
  • exterior facade of rental building
    Photography courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa.
  • center of rental complex with view of play structure below
    Photography courtesy of Brooks + Scarpa.

Connecting with and protecting nature, the affordable-housing complex in Santa Monica, California, orients apartments around a semipublic outdoor “room” with drought-resistant vegetation and colorful play structures. EV-charging stations, a living roof, an under-sidewalk infiltration system for stormwater runoff, and recycled, locally manufactured interior finishes such as formaldehyde-free MDF and FSC-certified oak make it net-zero to boot.

Iconik by Edit!

  • dining area with black chairs and table and artwork
    Photography by BoysPlayNice.
  • view of balconies and garage below
    Photography by BoysPlayNice.
  • upstairs observation deck with view of the city
    Photography by BoysPlayNice.
  • exterior facade of multistory rental building
    Photography by BoysPlayNice.

A single low-rise in Prague looks like two, courtesy of staggered rooflines and different tones of ceramic-tile cladding, a device that suits both local building regulations and the scale of the surrounding secessionist gems and old factories. Its oversize windows are veiled for privacy by way of balcony railings, airy loggias, and, on the left-hand facade’s lower levels, aluminum slats mimicking the site’s previous street-front.

T46 by Fesselet Krampulz Architectes

  • exterior facade of rental building with multiple balconies
    Photography by Roland Halbe.
  • stairwell with concrete stairs and skylights
    Photography by Roland Halbe.
  • bathroom with green wallpaper, mirror and sinks
    Photography by Roland Halbe.
  • living room with wooden paneled walls, blue couch and geometric rug
    Photography by Roland Halbe.
  • dining area with long wooden table and bar with dark cabinets
    Photography by Roland Halbe.

Perforated, corrugated aluminum sheeting tempers the glazed facade of and forms cantilevered balconies on this mixed-use building in Vevey, Switzerland, which stacks five apartment floors atop two commercial ones—including the firm’s own studio—and emphasizes well-detailed construction, use of ready-made materials, and efficient floor plans. Interior finishes juxtapose exposed concrete and custom terrazzo pavers with timber and exuberant tilework.

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