Principles of Identity Building in Mixed-Use Housing Developments

Throughout Utah and the United States, the number of residents living in multi-use housing complexes is growing rapidly. As urban real estate gets increasingly expensive, apartment sizes are shrinking and people are living in smaller, more densely occupied spaces.?

Despite the fact that people are living and working in closer proximity to each other than ever before, apartment-dwelling can be isolating, with people less likely to know or interact with their neighbors than in a suburban neighborhood.?

The way we think about and design mixed-use complexes can play a significant role in promoting social and communal interaction between residents. Part of this role involves designing buildings that give residents a sense of identity and connection to their home and neighbors. A well-designed mixed-use development that focuses on community-building and identity can create a rich, meaningful experience for its residents, giving them a place to not only reside but thrive socially and emotionally. At the core of this goal is an approach that merges the demands of urban density with innovative design strategies that prioritize interaction, identity, and connection.

At VCBO, our designers consider a multitude of factors when they design a new mixed-use development. However, they have found that many principles carry through our projects to impact how people feel about our buildings and how they use them to live, work, and build a community. Designer Joseph Briggs and architect Patricia Kunkel of our multi-family sector share some of the strategies they utilize in each project in order to create the best possible urban residences.?

Street Presence

A person’s first impression of a housing complex is the facade. It defines the building’s character and its relationship to its urban context. The most successful facades have a cohesive design and a visual identity that carries throughout the complex.

Joseph and Patricia explained that despite the benefits of a cohesive design, you often see apartments with seemingly random materials applied throughout the facade. Sometimes, this is just bad design, but sometimes it is in an effort to make the building appear more organic by breaking up the massing.

“There are good and bad ways to handle this,” Joseph said, describing how they select materials that appear cohesive while still offering visual contrast and interest. The design choices made here will have a large impact on how people perceive the building. For example, red brick might evoke feelings of charm and coziness, while sleek metal and glass windows feel contemporary and high-class. These different material choices will have a different effect on how residents feel about their homes and whether they want to live there.?

Materials are not the only aspect of street presence. Scale, landscaping, entrances, and art installations all play a role in how people perceive a multi-use complex before ever entering. Careful attention to these details can make a complex both distinctive and beautiful, attracting and retaining residents at the same time.?

Thoughtful urban design helps blend the architecture and its surroundings together. At Paperbox Lofts, a covered walkway helps improve the pedestrian experience at the street level. These types of spaces connect the apartment to the rest of the environment, helping residents relate to the space and warming the urban landscape.?

Resident-Focused Design

“We have to consider how the building sits within the rest of the neighborhood,” Patricia said. Considering the availability of amenities and nearby recreational opportunities impacts what features designers decide to implement into the complex. Many people living in urban areas will not have easy access to parks, recreation centers, gyms, and other community amenities. Part of an architect’s job is to consider how the building can help meet residents’ needs amid the wider context of the city.?

Mixed-use developments have the unique advantage of blending residential, commercial, and recreational spaces within one site. This integration allows for vibrant, self-sustaining communities where residents can easily access shops, cafes, and essential services without leaving their neighborhood. By carefully selecting tenants for commercial spaces within the building—such as a locally owned coffee shop or a fresh produce market—developers can build symbiotic relationships between residents and businesses, creating a “village” feel within a city.

Architects can also look for ways to incorporate local artwork, support neighborhood events, or partner with community organizations, ensuring the development is more than just a building but a true extension of the community. These initiatives help residents feel connected to their surroundings, making the development part of the city's social and cultural fabric.

As designers, we also pay attention to the specific types of residents to which the complex will cater. When VCBO designed the West Village Housing Complex, a married and graduate apartment-style student complex on the University of Utah campus, we knew that many of the residents would have families with young children. The university wanted to ensure there was plenty of outdoor space for playgrounds and children to play. While stakeholders initially desired large, open fields, our design team steered the client toward connected courtyard buildings with more intimate outdoor spaces.?

These areas still provide enough space for playgrounds, picnic areas, and lawn space, but they also insulate families from the nearby busy roads. This design was specifically geared toward the intended residents of the complex, whom we researched and spoke with before construction began. We take similar considerations for other mixed-use housing developments—considering whether the residents will be working professionals, students, families, etc. Certain populations might find community through a first-floor bar, while a more relaxed restaurant lounge is better suited to foster interaction between others.?

Common Spaces & Amenities

As private living spaces become smaller, common areas are increasingly vital. These spaces can serve as extensions of residents’ homes, allowing them to gather, socialize, and build relationships outside of their personal units. A diversity of common spaces—from quiet nooks to more lively event rooms—provides opportunities for different types of interactions, encouraging both spontaneous encounters and organized gatherings.

To foster a deeper sense of community, design should go beyond just offering space and instead program these areas to support community-oriented activities. Weekly movie nights, cooking classes, or even group yoga sessions provide intentional ways for residents to connect and create lasting friendships. In addition to building a social network, these activities can lead to a sense of accountability and support, making people feel part of something greater than themselves. Whether apartment administration wants to make these activities part of their amenity offering or leave it up to the community to spearhead, well-designed common areas are essential to create places where people want to spend their time.?

While multi-use developments often use amenities like lounges and fitness centers as a way to attract tenants, many apartment dwellers will tell the all-too-familiar story of ill-equipped gyms and sad, empty common areas.

“We’re seeing an amenity war where mixed-use complexes are adding more and more extravagant amenities to attract residents,” Joseph said. However, these amenities can often drive up rental prices without adding equal value. Part of our job as designers is to consider factors such as the availability of surrounding community amenities, features offered in the individual apartments, and the resident demographic to create spaces that will actually serve to better the lives of urban dwellers.?

Amenities should also be multi-functional, adapting to residents’ evolving needs. For example, a lounge can double as a work-from-home space, and a communal kitchen might transform into a spot for hosting cooking demonstrations or potlucks. By designing amenities that are both attractive and genuinely useful, developers can create an environment that meets residents' real-world needs, making these spaces true assets in their lives rather than mere checkboxes.

Placement and design helps increase the usefulness of these facilities. Paperbox Lofts features a private park in the central courtyard between the buildings. The community clubhouse is located beside the park, with large doors that open up to the outside area. This blending of indoor and outdoor space helps to make the location more useful and also provides residents with better access to private outdoor spaces.?

The Paperbox common spaces were oriented toward the public park as a means of making the amenity also a function of the park's safety, putting eyes on the space. Because of the placement at the center of the complex, the park is more secure, as many apartments look down to the central park area. VCBO applied the familiar concept of “eyes on the street” to this design, the idea that areas that are open and visible provide more safety. Shielded from street traffic but in view of all residents, the park is a space residents are actually comfortable using.?

Working Within Urban Constraints

Many architecture firms can create a beautiful apartment building with unlimited space and budget, but urban lots are often strangely shaped, squished between surrounding buildings, and located in areas difficult to move and use large building equipment. However, to the experienced designers at VCBO, these challenges also offer the unique opportunity to create something memorable that integrates into the fabric of the landscape and forms its own true identity.?

The Zephyr, a new multi-family building in downtown Salt Lake City, is born from these constraints. The two bridges that have become the complex’s main architectural feature were thought up as a creative solution to meeting the space needs of the apartment’s residents while also designing a constructable building that fit within the space. More than a simple feature, the distinct gathering spaces located on these bridges give the building an identity and make it recognizable compared to everything else being built right now.

The bridges provide amenities and make use of what would otherwise be wasted space. They provide residents with the opportunity to get together with a larger group of friends than what would fit in an individual apartment or private deck.

Conclusion

Through the layout, amenities, and integration into the surrounding neighborhood, mixed-use facilities have the ability to create their own unique identities with the residents who live inside them, offering community and a sense of home.?

About the Contributors

Patricia joined VCBO after studying architecture at Rice University.? During her studies, Patricia won awards for academic performance as well as for design innovation and professional merit.? When not working on building projects she enjoys writing and playing music.??

Joseph believes in a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to design and applies his various skills to explore creative and considered design solutions for the built environment. Before returning to school in 2009, he worked as a graphic designer for 15 years and brings a skilled eye to his projects. Joseph’s specialties range from planning and urban design to multi-family residential and mixed-use design. He is passionate about creating beautiful, engaged projects that contribute to a better urban and individual experience.

Bri has been writing the Column for VCBO since 2023. She enjoys the chance to talk to industry professionals and learn about their passion for architecture and design.