An Untapped Wealth of Knowledge: Why Strata Managers Should Have Earlier Involvement in High Density Building Design Process

Within the high-density property development industry, only one sector can claim to fully understand the lifestyles and everyday behaviour patterns of the residents who call these apartment towers home. Surely you would expect their input and involvement throughout the design process to be invaluable and significant, right? Wrong.

Strata Managers are uniquely positioned to understand the behavioural trends, lifestyles, wants, and needs of residents, and by extension, the design requirements of the building itself. It makes sense that architects, developers, designers, and builders would want to pick their brains and mine their experience to provide the best product for homebuyers and residents, however, strata managers are currently engaged way too late in the design process, if at all.

With the guidance of an experienced strata manager, developers can create a superior final product, which will not only be better in the short term but will also minimise the need for future alterations and provide greater longevity to the build.?

A strata manager can help optimise the functionality of a high rise property, considering the often overlooked elements such as maintenance access, waste disposal, security, and the needs of the residents.

Specialised knowledge and experience

Strata managers offer a unique perspective on the needs and behaviours of the Owners Corporation post completion of the build and have the ability to think ahead in terms of functionality, security, liveability, and maintenance of properties/buildings.?

Their role is vital to ensuring infrastructure assets and services are running smoothly so that occupants can have a seamless and enjoyable living experience.

Yet, despite strata managers possessing this niche and valuable foresight, they are consulted far too late in the design process, if even consulted at all.?

Key areas of consideration include accessibility, security, waste disposal, and sanitation, all of which are essential to the effective operation of a property. Despite the day-to-day relevance of these areas, they are often considered lesser priorities by architects or developers seeking to focus on shiny facades and mood lighting.?

If certain areas in the design process are overlooked in earlier stages it can create havoc and disruption for owners who ultimately pay the cost of the poor design, reduced liveability and expenses associated with upgrading the property.?

Why strata managers should be engaged earlier

Although fixing broken tiles, waste disposal and window cleaning does not sound glamorous, they are all?important factors that must be considered in every design process.?

How a building looks or feels is irrelevant if it is not a liveable or functional space.?

Yet, it is sometimes difficult for an architect or interior designer to consider these issues in the first place as it does not fall within the realms of their day-to-day activities.?

This is where a strata manager's niche knowledge and insight could be extremely valuable.

Security, waste disposal and hygiene are often overlooked

The biggest myth in the business is that all buildings are secure. As far as site access is concerned, a common issue we encounter is that essential security details are commonly overlooked in the design process.

We experience regular occurrences of card readers installed in the wrong locations, unaccounted master keys in circulation, and doors unable to lock, granting building access to unauthorised persons. Fixing these issues is not only costly but also creates havoc and disruption for residents.?

Another issue we encounter is waste disposal, which is often inefficient and unsanitary in high rise properties. Waste is often required to be transported over large distances of common property, creating unsanitary outcomes. The need for bespoke low bin trucks is often a solution, however one that comes at additional cost.?

Anything that requires heavy labour input in Australia, is not a cost-effective way of getting things done. In one instance, we found the ongoing cost of holding to the planning permit of the site specific to the waste management plan would cost more than double the cost of selecting a private waste contract paid by the Owners Corporation to directly access and collect from bin rooms.?

Facade design features are often impractical, difficult to maintain, and clean. Anchor points are often misplaced and therefore aren’t useful. In some cases, modifications like installation of solar panels or other renovations render them inaccessible and useless.?

Working together with developers, architects, and designers to ensure a seamless experience for all

We speak for many of those in the industry when we say that strata managers would be excited to work alongside developers and architects in the earlier stages of the design process.?

Our role is very people-oriented, as we work with tenants, property managers, and owners daily, so we have lots of valuable insights to offer that may otherwise go unnoticed.?

We are responsible for ensuring that lifts continue to operate, building access works, and light switches switch on among many other tasks that promote the liveability of a high rise building.?

This behind-the-scenes type of work means that strata managers are experts when it comes to assessing the functionality of a property so that it is enjoyable to live in.?

If architects, developers, and strata managers were able to work together, this would save tedious hours of future building alterations. Pre-construction design leads to post-construction capability.?

Ultimately, it is the end-user experience that must be at the forefront of every design decision, and there needs to be more synergy between these two things.?

Final thoughts

With the demand side of the market actively redefining their concept of value in the home, the supply side is adapting and finding ways to understand and deliver these new and more mature buyer needs.?

We know the strata sector could contribute significantly to this process with very little or no additional cost to help make life easier for designers and vendors, buyers and residents, and of course ourselves.?

Architects, developers, and builders can add value, at very little additional cost, to the functionality and practicality of their high-rise residential building designs by engaging strata managers at the beginning of the design concept development stage.

In lieu of being given the opportunity of managing the building once complete, all good strata managers would be quite happy to provide that free expertise to the development team either at no cost or occasionally a fixed cost for design consultancy.

When assessing the knowledge, professionalism and capability of which strata manager to engage in their next development, working closely with the strata manager during the early stages can provide certainty around the end user experience purchasers and occupiers can expect post settlement.?

ENDS.

About High Rise Strata Management?

Highrise Strata Management commenced trading in June 2021 as a specialist Owners Corporation Management firm focusing solely on large Owners Corporations. The team at JFB Management Services established Highrise Strata after a successful 6 years administering their portfolio without a single lost management. We are proud to say that some of our buildings have remained loyal clients of our team of managers for over 15 years.

Through extensive management experience in the industry, the Highrise Strata Management team came to realise that the Owners Corporation Management needs of larger, prestigious sites across Melbourne were not being attended to with the care, dedication and high levels of customer service and relationship management they deserve.

Highrise Strata has a strong focus on education of our clients and stakeholders for the betterment of the industry as a whole. We provide ongoing education to property management teams we interact with, improving ability to read plans of subdivision and identify responsibility for repairs and maintenance between private and common property.?

This assists in not unnecessarily involving the Owners Corporation Manager in private lot matters whilst also giving the residential property managers we deal with the comfort and knowledge to be able to refer matters to the Owners Corporation for attention in a prompt manner where appropriate.

We emphasise the benefits of each lot owner having adequate insurance cover over and above the strata building insurance policies in place, advising our clients at each available opportunity to seek appropriate independent advice to ensure their varying individual needs are adequately covered.?

highrisestrata.com.au