Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments


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Introduction

Apartments 1 are becoming an increasingly popular form of dwelling in
urban areas. There are a number of reasons for this trend, including the
impact of both the urban renewal measures promoted by this
Department since 1986 and of the Residential Density Guidelines issued
in 1999, as well as smaller average household sizes.
The primary aim of these guidelines is to promote sustainable urban
housing, by ensuring that the design and layout of new apartments will
provide satisfactory accommodation for a variety of household types and
sizes – including families with children 2 - over the medium to long term.
The guidelines are intended to replace the “Guidelines on Residential
Developments in Urban Renewal Designated Tax Incentive Areas”
published by the Department in 1995. Those guidelines were framed in
the context of Section 47 of the Finance Act 1994 which required that a
house or apartment in a designated urban renewal area would not qualify
for residential tax incentives unless it complied with the minimum
standards set out in the guidelines. In the absence of any guidelines
with wider applicability, the 1995 standards were referred to in the 1999
Residential Density Guidelines. There is no longer any valid reason why
the scope of guidelines on apartment standards should be confined to
urban renewal areas. Moreover, there has been a general trend towards
larger average apartment sizes over the past decade. A number of
urban development plans, together with Planning Schemes in Dublin
Docklands and in Adamstown in South Dublin, now specify minimum
floor areas for apartments which are significantly higher than those
contained in the 1995 guidelines.

Recommended Internal Design Standards

The research study commissioned by the Department indicates a
general need to increase the minimum floor areas as originally specified
in the 1995 guidelines, particularly with a view to meeting the space and
amenity needs of families who choose to live in apartments.
Accordingly, the Appendix to this document outlines the recommended
minimum space standards and dimensions for apartments.
However, even with these increased recommended space standards, it
would not be in the interests of sustainable development if all apartments
barely met those standards. Accordingly, both planning authorities and
developers should take appropriate steps to ensure that a significant
proportion of apartments in a proposed scheme exceed the minimum
standards.

Shared circulation areas

Shared circulation areas should be well lit, preferably with some natural
light and ventilation. The apartment building should be navigable by all
users, including people with buggies. Internal corridors should be kept
as short as possible, with good visibility along their length. Acoustic wall
and ceiling treatments should be considered. Entrances to apartment
buildings should be clearly identified and welcoming; hallways should not
be unduly narrow.