Experts' collaboration essential to provide maximum benefits while controlling costs

These issues are particularly true of high-rises, which are the most complicated residential type, as condominiums take two or three years to construct while requiring higher up-front investment by developers, who can only recoup their funds after transferring assets upon completion. 

Therefore, designing these residences demands multilateral collaboration among experts from various fields possessing in-depth knowledge. 

Architects who design the structure work closely with experienced contractors, who can recommend new ways to keep construction costs down by using certain types of building designs and internal systems. Architects also have to work alongside interior designers to align the structure with interior functions. 

Thus it can be seen that developers have to assemble a talented team from many fields to work together seamlessly.

Seeking opportunities and forecasting customer demands are the primary responsibility of the marketing and design team. Besides managing these core deliverables, this team finalises the business model of each project, which will be the framework around which architects and interior designers work both in terms of design and cost calculations to ensure that results meet the core objectives. 

Architects will occasionally take the lead in challenging projects, such as those where condominiums with small units (about 24 square metres) are sold at prices exceeding Bt100,000 per square metre. As this size and price point are uncommon, they are less readily accepted by consumers. However, we have seen these types of residences in places with exorbitant land prices such as Hong Kong and Japan, where people are able to adapt easily to smaller living spaces. 

The challenge to these designers, then, lies in determining ways to maximise all the living requirements of residents in these compact units.

Developers are always seeking new types of construction materials that reduce labour requirements and construction time while increasing quality. However, incorporating these new materials in their projects requires developers to win over consumer acceptance. 

Back in the early days of lightweight concrete blocks, most consumers lacked confidence in them, and contractors were unaccustomed to working with the material. As their use did not initially gain traction in the market, this made it difficult to achieve economies of scale in their production, and made them more expensive than the conventional bricks that were the industry norm. 

However, the industry gradually shifted from using bricks to lightweight concrete blocks. This demonstrates that developers have to muster courage and conduct extensive research to gain acceptance. 

Acceptance, then, is a matter of introducing a new and unfamiliar experience, or even prices that consumers are unaccustomed to. Today, we are seeing the growing use of cement fibreboard wall panels, which do not sound as solid as lightweight concrete blocks when they are knocked. But what is gained is a material that is easy to construct and maintain with a smooth and neat surface.

In addition to interiors and materials, architects can generate benefits for residents by making the most use of the natural environment and elements within the project, such as locating and orienting buildings to create a wind channel that allows cooling breezes to run throughout the premises all day. Designing units that encourage cross-ventilation also creates a comfortable home that reduces energy use.

Last, designing a project is about finding the optimal point that brings the greatest benefits for consumers while keeping construction and operational costs as low as possible. This requires architectural designers to heed the advice of seasoned contractors who know the best ways to build the best buildings at minimal cost, as well as understand various regulatory limitations to improvise and devise creative designs that maximise the use of space. 

Examples of regulatory requirements include the maximum and minimum sizes of fire-escape staircases, elevator sizes, and even the appropriate width of individual residential units, and the distances between pillars so that the structure is strong.