LITERATURE

REVIEW

APARTMENT
 Apartment

An apartment is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments
may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).

The term "apartment" is favored in North America, whereas the term "flat" is sometimes,
but not exclusively, used in the United Kingdom and most other English-speaking areas and
Commonwealth nations.

Some apartment-dwellers own their own apartments, either as co-ops, in which the
residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in
condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public

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spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are
sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit or section in
a building. In some locations, particularly the United States, the word specifically connotes a
rental unit owned by the building owner, and is not typically used for a condominium.

The word unit is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business
suites. The word is generally used only in the context of a specific building. E.g., "This building
has three units" or "I'm going to rent a unit in this building", but not "I'm going to rent a unit
somewhere."

NEED OF APARTMENTS

 Higher land value

 Inconveniency of services like water supply in individual level
 Inconveniency of construction work in individual level.
 security and privacy
 Increase in population
 migration to city
 trend of parent-child unit eliminating the extended family concept ment building, especially if
it consists of many apartments for rent.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH RISE APARTMENTS

• Two entrances/exits, front and back
• Laundry, water, heating, telephone, cable, electricity facilities common, parking, air
conditioner, extra storage, garbage disposed in trash containers, provision of fire escape and
lifts because of the no. of stories
• Space must be simple and universal for variety of lifestyles
• Balconies for asthetic purpose , visual extention of living space, outdoor sitting area, green
area, extra storage space

AMENITIES & SERVICES:

PUBLIC FACILITIES:
• water supply
• laundry and drier

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• electricity
• surface drainge
• garbage and drainage system
• pedestrian and vehicular lane
community facilities:
• telecommunication
• park and playground
• multipurpose hall
• security
• healthcare & recreational spa
commercial facilities:
 market & stores
 bank
 entertainment sector

TYPES OF APARTMENTS:
A. According to vertical movement

1.Central corridor:
Most economical type of high-rise apartment. Max. Gross floor area with minimum number of
of stairs and elevators. Orientation as major factor for light.

2.Point block
Point block is schematically a square or near square..Apartments are planned along all sides in a
ring pattern around the core. Its radial expansion is limited. It can take many shapes (having
own inherent limitations)

3.Multi core
A rhythm created with numbers of point block types. It is used to satisfy variety of factors like
site condition. It provides a sense of seclusion and improved surveillance. Undeniably costlier
than central corridor and point block system

4.Exterior corridor system

Apartments can have two exteriors zones due to form of access. it is Logical if use is in
moderate climate as for cross ventilation. It is not an economical type of housing-each
apartment carries twice the amount of corridor cost of central corridor scheme

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5.Skid stop system
Skip-stop- apartment have 2-3 levels with half floor differences. It is two story apartment with
interior stairs. The Stair- the connector between various levels plays a relatively minor role as an
aesthetic element. There is two level living space for an aesthetic pleasure.

B. ACCORDING TO DESIGN
1. Simplex apartments
• Most common and simplest type.
• All the components are in one level.
• Size varies from Efficiency up to Multi-bedroom unit.
• Simplex and most economic to built.
• Simplified circulation.
• Planning can be followed in High-rise as well as in Garden Apartment.
• More floor area due to corridors and stairs.
• The type is usually blend with other type

2.Duplex apartments
• located on two levels.
• Living, dining and kitchen on one level and sleeping on upper level.
• Separation of sleeping and living provides greater privacy.
• elimination of corridor and elevator as the economic factor.
• Both levels can have through ventilation.
• Need of interior stair – sever problem for handicapped and elderly people.
• Has more prestige and values than other.
• Expensive than conventional

3.Triplex apartments
• Located on three different levels.-
• Functions are similar to that of duplex type
• Restricted to most luxurious hi-rise apartment.
• Greater privacy and livability.-
• Interior staircase most be provided

4.Efficiency apartments
• One large space-living, dining, sleeping, kitchen and toilet.
• Apartment for single person, newly married couple, elderly etc.
• Referred as “STUDIO APARTMENT" when efficiency units increase.

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• Often less than minimum area is provided for subsidiary functions

C. ACCORDING TO NO. OF BEDROOMS

 Single
 Double
 3 bedroom
 4 bedroom

APARTMENT TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS

A living room in Avalon Riverview North, a New York City luxury apartment building.

Apartments can be classified into several types. One is a Studio, efficiency, bedsit, or
bachelor style apartment. These all tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents in
a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room which is the
living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central
room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room.

Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a
separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc.
apartments. Small apartments often have only one entrance/exit.

Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a door in the front and
another in the back. Depending on the building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly
to the outside or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location,
apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a

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tenant usually moves in with their own furniture. A garden apartment has some characteristics
of a townhouse: each apartment has its own entrance, and apartments are not placed vertically
over one another. However, a garden apartment is usually only one story high and never more
than two stories; they are often one-bedrooms and almost never more than two-bedrooms.
Some garden apartment buildings place a one-car garage under each apartment, with
pedestrian entrances from a common courtyard open at one end. The grounds are more
landscaped than for other modestly scaled apartments. (Alternately, "garden apartment" can
refer to a unit built half below grade, putting its windows at garden level).

acilities may be found in a common area accessible to all the tenants in the building, or each
apartment may have its own facilities. Depending on when the building was built and the
design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electricity may be common for all the
apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant
(however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal to split a water bill among all the tenants,
especially if a pool is on the premises). Outlets for connection to telephones are typically
included in apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed separately
from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are extra also. Parking space(s),
air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental
leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each apartment. On or
around the ground floor of the apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a
location accessible to the public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit typically gets its
own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment buildings with a full-time
staff may take mail from the mailman and provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or
some other location accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for
each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or three-flats, or even four-
flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger
buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or Dumpster. For cleanliness or
minimizing noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an
apartment.

Art Deco block

In some parts of the world, the word apartment refers to a new purpose-built self-
contained residential unit in a building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained

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unit in an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an
apartment is commonly called a loft.

An apartment in the Philippines.

When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family member,
the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though these (sometimes illegally)
created units are often occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members. In Canada
these suites are commonly located in the basements of houses and are therefore normally called
basement suites or "mother-in-law suites."

In Milwaukee vernacular architecture, a Polish flat is an existing small house or cottage

that has been lifted up to accommodate the creation of a new basement floor housing a separate
apartment, then set down again; thus becoming a modest two-story flat.

In Russia, a communal apartment is a room with a shared kitchen and bath. A typical
arrangement is a cluster of five or so apartments with their common kitchen and bathroom and
their own front door, occupying a floor in a pre-Revolutionary mansions. Traditionally a room
is owned the government and assigned to a family on a semi-permanent basis. Nowadays it's
possible to "privatize" your room by paying a large sum of money to the government; then you
can legally sell it.

APARTMENTS AND MULTI-UNIT HOUSING

Apartments are dwellings that are stacked vertically as well as horizontally. Multi-unit
housing includes clustered and row, or terrace, housing. Both dwelling types offer additional
challenges and opportunities for passive and sustainable design compared with individual
dwellings.
Apartments are in a different category from domestic dwellings in the Building Code of
Australia with stringent demands placed on fire and noise separation. Issues of privacy and
overlooking and consideration of the role of private and common spaces are inherent in multi-
unit and apartment design and it is important to understand their relationship to both passive
design and social aspects of sustainability.

SOME DESIGN ADVANTAGES

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 There are some inherent advantages to building with shared walls and floors as, overall,
there will generally be proportionately less building envelope per dwelling and each dwelling
may have a smaller external area of wall or roof exposed to heating and cooling loads from the
environment. Passive design principles can be applied to these building types to great effect
provided the constraints of fire and noise separation are addressed early in the design process.
The same passive principles apply of maximizing cooling air movement and excluding sun in
the hot months, trapping and storing heat and minimizing heat loss to the external environment
in cooler months. A variety of dwelling types encourages diversity in the social mix and offers
ultiple design opportunities for different sustainable strategies.

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Apartments and multi-unit housing are medium or high density buildings that generally fit
best in urban environments. There are some examples, mostly overseas, of developing clustered
dwellings on peril-urban or semi-rural sites where the strategy is to minimize the buildings’
physical footprint and release more land area for vegetation and social amenity. The density of
apartment and multi-unit housing developments make them well suited to urban environments
and they should be located close – ideally within walking distance – to shops, playgrounds,
parks and other amenities. This improves social amenity for the residents and contributes to
minimizing motorized transport use, reducing greenhouse gas emissions (and road traffic
accidents). Apartment buildings can include services that support and encourage an active
community such as gyms, swimming pools and also facilities such as laundries and community
rooms.

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Alongside ‘passive design’, ‘passive surveillance’ should be a watchword in multiunit
dwelling design. A pedestrian dominated environment can be intrinsically safer than one
dominated by motor vehicles, but care must be taken to ensure that there are no places that
allow hidden loitering. The individual design of all higher density dwelling units should adopt
the principles and recommendations contained in the fact sheets on Safety and Security.

STREETSCAPE
There is nothing more alienating than rows of houses hidden behind two meter high fences
blocking passive surveillance of the street from the dwellings whilst giving passers-by no sense
of whether the homes are occupied or not. Healthy communities are ones in which positive
social interaction is encouraged and this can be facilitated by appropriate design, e.g. Fences
low enough to talk over and placing mailboxes in shared community spaces that are conducive
to casual conversation and have seating that feels safe and protected. Spaces for informal social
interaction may be set in common areas that are outside, as well as indoors. As well as being
pleasant places to share drinks and chat, attractive garden environments can be places for active
participation, managed directly by residents.

SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES
The extent of landscaping associated with these dwelling types varies considerably,
ranging from environments dominated with hard surfaces with very limited plantings to leafy,
substantial vegetation surrounding and dominating the immediate external environment. There
are many opportunities to integrate sustainable landscaping practices into medium and high

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density developments (particularly as appropriate management can be maintained through
strata and community title corporations), including:
 Low water use vegetation.
 Water sensitive design.
 Community produces gardens.
 Green roofs, roof gardens and living walls.

TRANSPORT
It has been said that the quickest way to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ is to build ‘A’ right next to
‘B’; sustainable city advocate Richard Register calls this ‘access by proximity’. Higher density
Dwellings can place more people close to shops, schools and other daily destinations with
greater economy than conventional low density sub-divisions and make public transport more
economically viable.

ACCESSIBILITY
As with all modern homes, higher density dwellings need to be healthy and adaptable.
In the case of apartments and most multi-unit dwellings the need for ‘vertical circulation’ can be
a dominant consideration. Although apartment buildings can be designed as
‘walk-ups’ this results in access problems for all but the most able people – any of whom may
themselves be disabled at any time by a vehicle accident or illness. The provision of lifts
addresses the issue of access but they add costs and require additional operational energy.
They also have on-going running costs that can be quite high. Lifts should be selected for their
energy efficiency. In multi-storey housing the stairs should be ‘future-proofed’ by being
designed to readily accept ‘stair climbers’ or similar devices. Every effort should be made to
design lift and stair areas as attractive places and not just as utilitarian spaces. When making
landings for walk-up apartments ensure that they are wide enough for people to stop and chat
whilst allowing others to pass.
 Regard all common areas as potential social space, including stairs and stairwells.
 Make private balconies and outdoor areas as generous as possible.
 Consider using the roof area for a green roof (for environmental reasons) or accessible
roof garden (for both environmental and social benefits).
ORIENTATION
Although it is not always possible to obtain optimum orientation in more urban, higher
density environments, the correct positioning of apartments and multi-level dwellings can
greatly assist passive design and cooling.

PASSIVE DESIGN
Just as with individual homes, incorporating the principles of passive design in
apartment and multi-unit housing:
 Significantly improves comfort.
 Reduces or eliminates heating and cooling bills.
 Reduces greenhouse gas emissions from heating, cooling, mechanical ventilation and
lighting.
Whereas the passive design of a single dwelling on its own block usually (but not always)
benefits from an un crowded aspect in all directions, the massing or clustering of multiple
dwellings can contribute to improved environmental performance and the comfort of their
occupants in a number of ways, including:

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  Creation of courtyards that can provide shelter from inclement weather or create
suntraps in cooler weather.
 Enabling more dwellings in multilevel buildings to have solar aspect.
 Providing shade to adjacent dwellings that assist in reducing overall energy use. Passive
design is design that does not require mechanical heating or cooling but in apartment
buildings this is not always easy to achieve. Homes that are passively designed take
advantage of natural energy flows to maintain thermal comfort and multi-unit housing
can also do this with good design. With apartments, various building code requirements
can impact on strategies for passive design, for instance, thermal flues for passive
cooling can induce fire pathways and be contra-indicated, thus needing particular
attention to be paid at the design stage.
When it is necessary to use mechanical ventilation this should be designed to be as energy
efficient as possible. It is always possible and is advisable to provide passive ventilation to
habitable rooms – open able windows can be very effective.

SHADING
Shading should be dealt with according to the same principles that apply to detached
homes.
With multi-level buildings it may be desirable to use shade to protect the whole façade
but the practicality of this depends on other aspects of the design. Balconies and shade
structures may be used rather than reliance on eaves.

PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING

Where it is possible to maintain good solar exposure, passive solar heating of
apartments and units should be easily achieved. Where there are difficulties with aspect, as is
often the case in tight urban environments, design to first principles, bearing in mind that both
east and west sun can be used for solar gain and that in many Australian climates it may be
beneficial to have southern aspect during the hottest months.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
Photovoltaic panels are less cost effective on apartment buildings as there are more
dwellings per site area compared with the roof area available to carry the panels. Nevertheless,
the provision of PVs can be very worthwhile as the energy captured can be used to offset the
energy use and other running costs of community or strata corporations for common areas and
services. Incorporating PVs into the fabric of the building as functional cladding helps to
amortize the investment in them by giving them multiple functions. Solar hot water systems can
be used for multiunit and multi-level buildings but consider the use of heat pump systems. A
good service engineer can be very helpful when it comes to establishing which kind of hot
water system is really the most cost and energy efficient for a given project.

FIRE ISSUES
Fire regulations may determine outcomes that seem to be less than ideal from a
sustainability perspective. It may not be possible, for instance, to ensure that all bathrooms and

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wet areas can have both natural light and ventilation. Given the short occupancy periods of wet
areas generally, and the tight constraints on space planning typical of the kind of denser
dwelling type represented by apartments, the trade off from resorting to mechanical ventilation
may be justifiable.
Light wells and atriums need careful design consideration if there is to be any attempt to
use them as part of a passive design strategy. It is advisable to explore this sort of issue early in
the design process and discuss options with both service engineers and building certifiers.

THERMAL INSULATION
The Australian Building Code has only recently begun to demand thermal insulation in
apartment buildings. Consider building with insulation in excess of the current code
requirements to improve building performance and ensure that the building remains
Competitive in its thermal performance during its anticipated lifetime.

THERMAL MASS
Multi-storey buildings often require dense concrete cores, particularly for elements like
stair and lift wells. Multi-unit dwellings demand good fire separation that is often most
economically and effectively provided by using concrete construction whether pre-cast, in-situ
or as block work. In each case the high density concrete elements can provide excellent thermal
mass. Its situation in the core of an apartment or as party walls in well insulated houses is good
placement for thermal mass and should be incorporated as such into the overall design strategy.

WINDOWS AND GLAZING

Double glazing is advisable for all climate zones. As well as providing thermal
insulation it provides additional acoustic insulation that can be a real asset in denser, urban
environments.
Open able windows require careful consideration in multi-level buildings and there are often
regulatory controls over the extent to which windows may be opened. Consider using vertical
sliding sashes for maximum control over ventilation options (the extent of low or high opened
area can be adjusted to suit weather conditions and individual comfort requirements).

CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS
There are many constructions systems available for apartments and multi-unit buildings
ranging from frames to load bearing walls. Having decided on a general approach, whichever
construction system it is should be reviewed against the Your Home checklist to ascertain what
might be achieved in regard to passive design.
Materials
Materials selection should take into account embodied energy, waste minimization,
indoor air quality and impacts off-site.
Appliances and lighting
Most apartment and multi-unit housing projects have a main developer who has
purchasing powers unavailable to individual home owners. This power can be used to
preferentially purchase energy and water efficient appliances and fittings.
Storm water
Storm water can be captured and stored in underground tanks but it will necessarily
only be an adjunct to the overall water supply whereas the roof of an individual dwelling in
many parts of Australia can shed enough water to provide a significant part of that home’s

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required supply. The amount of water shed by the roof of a single dwelling with a floor area of
260m2 can be the same as that shed by the roof of a compact apartment building with a dozen
or more dwellings within its envelope on the same footprint.

Grey water and Black water

Capture and treatment of grey water and black water may be more economically viable
for larger developments on the basis of a collective system. However, there is a threshold at
which such systems become economically efficient and this should be clearly established before
proceeding with design.

Landscaping
As with individual dwellings, the landscape should be considered as much as possible
to be integral with the building. Multi-unit developments often have high car parking demands
that may conflict with the provision of a sustainable landscape. A preferred design strategy
must be to de-emphasize the car and emphasize the pedestrian domain. If roads and driveways
are inescapable, then they should be designed to be multi-user friendly, perhaps with surface
treatments and designs that favor pedestrians over wheeled vehicles.

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