Bring the Outdoors In

Jack Kittinger, business developer for Valley Crest Landscape Maintenance Inc. in San Diego, says he’s seen quite a few atriums and open-air settings on the West Coast. “They make their entry ways and common areas more organic,” Kittinger says. “They beautify and reconnect people in an urban environment to nature using natural elements.” During the summer, look for ways to connect the outdoors to the interior of your building.

Lobby for More Plants
One trend Kittinger notices in the hotel industry is the use of plantings and interior landscapes to create themes and section off large spaces into individual areas. Large palm trees, for example, can accentuate the height of convention halls or meeting areas, and can do the same for your lobby or function room. “They’re taking individual spaces and making them unique,” Kittinger says.

Mark Miller, CPM, Dimeo Properties in New Haven, Conn., always keeps fresh flowers at the concierge’s desk. “Plants are inviting, no two ways about it,” Miller says. “People like color. It’s soothing.” He positions plants strategically throughout the lobby in large planters, on either side of the resident directory, for example, to draw people in. Teak wood benches and tables compliment that plant life, encouraging residents to look upon their surroundings as a second home.

“Plants are always awesome,” concurs Susan Redmon, vice president of Madden Marketing & Design Group in Richardson, Texas. “Something living makes people happy.”

Dive into Your Marketing
Mini-models that feature plant life will help you close your sales. Use elements of the outdoors in the interior of your units. A ceramic tile floor inside the unit that mirrors the tile floor on the patio will tie the two together. Plants between buildings, in breezeways, or along the stairs will reduce the dense feel of communities.

Redmon says organic life can help finish a community, especially one that might be lacking a perceived must-have feature, such as a pool. Installing misters and comfortable beach chairs on your deck may be enough to placate the devoted sunbathers among your community. “It’s almost as good as a pool and works well for those who like to tan,” Redmon says.

While many urban high-rises lack the footprint for a roof-deck, look for ways to connect your patios to the outdoors. One element Kittinger has seen on patios are 6 x 3-foot flat carts on wheels where the flats are covered with living fountain grass. The carts can be placed in an appealing decorative arrangement or set aside for a larger gathering.

Hard Rock, Rock Hard
Fountains in the courtyard also will assist in creating a peaceful atmosphere as your residents will enjoy “listening to the water running,” Redmon says.

“Water features are becoming more popular,” Kittinger agrees, citing an increased influence of Asian elements in architecture, especially the principles of feng shui. He suggests the use of decorative hardscapes. Rock materials, such as decomposed granite, can help add interest to an interior passageway. Decomposed granite is a fine, stabilized material that is durable and comes in any color. When accented with aquatic plants, decorative gravel mixes well with your fountains. Kittinger reports having seen a patio where there was a 6-inch gap between the end of the patio floor and the wall. In the gap was fluorescent yellow gravel, giving the illusion that the patio floated. “The color worked perfectly with it.”

Kittinger also recommends specimen trees. Although typically found outside, trees help mark the entry way to a neighborhood association or a residential community. They send a symbolic message about the business, setting it aside from an iron gate.

When the winter holidays come, Miller keeps so many plants in his lobbies, he refers to them as "poinsettia heaven." During the summer, he wrestles with using live plants, which are more expensive, and silk flowers, which have no scent but also rescue more sensitive residents from pollen and allergens. Regardless, plants and organic features are important to the way Miller runs his buildings. “It’s a statement,” he says. “You can have a lobby with nothing but the more inviting you make your lobby, the more that says about how your building is maintained and run.”