tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011655232093163642.post2521062415590225885..comments2024-01-14T06:16:50.475+13:00Comments on Cities Matter: Flat Out - Reflections on Apartment LivingPhil McDermotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06869744647213369964noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011655232093163642.post-3643835196916734852013-04-11T14:55:54.776+12:002013-04-11T14:55:54.776+12:00Living in an apartment can be a good thing especia...Living in an apartment can be a good thing especially if you are in a good location. You can make your stay warm and good for the family by doing some remodeling. There are many affordable ones just like <a href="http://www.iknow-scotland.co.uk/edinburgh/edinburgh-city-centre/flats_apartments/" rel="nofollow">cheap edinburgh apartments</a> that you and your family can live in. It is important that the price is reasonable. Always check the furniture and the quality of the structure for your safety.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011655232093163642.post-2220195003635147422013-03-27T22:31:38.753+13:002013-03-27T22:31:38.753+13:00Years ago I had the idea of a "personal mini-...Years ago I had the idea of a "personal mini-lift"...kind of like the vertical version of a PRT (personal rapid transit) system. Think of: A cylinder that only takes one person, and shoots up (in a tube) to your apartment, directly, and without any intermediate stops. It would not use cables but instead wheels (easy done for a light, narrow structure like this). It's position would be on the outside of the building. The effect? You walk to the lift and travel quickly and privately to your apartment, for when you're traveling by yourself (which would be most of the time, I assume). Otherwise you use the conventional lift inside the building.<br /><br />Without going into details, these lifts would actually be cheap to make/operate, and have a high productivity relative to their cost (because they transport people quickly). For me, anyway, they would do a lot to make the idea of apartment living more attractive. I wouldn't want to have to constantly get into a slow lift to "escape" and have to get cosy with strangers all the time, especially when I'm prior settled into my private zone.Andrew D Atkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04492591375757227409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7011655232093163642.post-2029646148936454982013-03-14T20:32:26.950+13:002013-03-14T20:32:26.950+13:00Apartment living can be great, and it can be crap....Apartment living can be great, and it can be crap. Just like suburban housing. There is no black and white! <br />The problem with apartments is the economics, especially in NZ. A developer would struggle to build and sell a 2 bedroom 70 square apartment in even a low value suburb in Auckland for anything less than 380-400K, if he or she wanted to make a reasonable profit (say 20%). Would he / she get 380-400K for such an apartment in say Glen Innes, when you can still buy a detached house on a full section in the neighbourhood for 400-450K???? Probably unlikely. So not much apartment development will occur, and the planners' dream will become a housing affordability nightmare. <br /><br />With all due respect to Ms Hulse, and the planners, there HAS TO BE be trade offs. If apartments are to be built, then usually design / quality will suffer (except perhaps in very high value locations) because the economics dictate it. That's why most apartment developments in Auckland have been crap. Its not usually because the developers don't know what good design is, its because usually good design kills the feasibility of a project.<br /><br />Some planners argue that good design can be realised at lower development costs, but to be frank that's garbage. Lower costs will always demand budget cuts, whether its in material quality, design articulation, amount of glazing etc. etc. <br />Mattnoreply@blogger.com