Using Art to Stand Out in Multifamily and Student Housing

Multifamily and student housing are ultra-competitive commercial real estate markets. Art is a powerful tool developers, architects and interior designers use to ensure their developments stand out! Art enhances the feeling of luxury and homeyness, helps increase foot traffic, provides wayfinding, and more. Read on to learn how you can use art to maximize the appeal of multifamily and student housing projects.

Nothing makes a place feel more like a home than art. Here’s how some of our clients used art in their multifamily and student housing developments to turn common spaces into homey places their ideal residents want to be.

HillTop

One art trend that helps add to the feeling of home is to create a gallery by staggering many small pieces next to each other. The developers of HillTop student housing in Austin achieved this with historic photography of UT campus. The arrangement also builds a community connection while vibrant pops of color add to the youthful energy of the space.

Modera Domain

To attract their ideal tenants, developers of Modera Domain residences in Austin, Texas wanted sophisticated art to complement the swanky social club vibe of the neighborhood. Starting with the colorful mural in the parking garage, artwork throughout the space is bursting with color and textures.

Talavera Lofts

The art package we curated for Talavera Lofts in Austin, Texas brings high design to mixed-income renters and draws interest from passersby. In this image, artwork framed by a hot pink, neon-edged, acrylic shadow box is strategically placed opposite a window facing a commuter rail to pique the interest of riders who see it on their commute each day.

HillTop

HillTop is located near the University of Texas at Austin in West Campus, one of the most competitive student housing markets in the nation. We curated an art package for HillTop that includes vibrant pieces visible from the street. A second-floor mural features a vintage image of Deborah Harry in a cowboy hat updated with electric colors. The colors of an LED light stick installation facing a first-floor window ebbs and flows for a super engaging effect.

Camden Downtown Houston

This lively mural wraps around the 9th-floor pool and aqua lounge at Camden Downtown’s signature property in Houston, Texas. The vibrant mural created by a local artist can be seen from a mile away, including from the upper deck of a downtown freeway. It creates an instantly recognizable landmark! The inspiration for the mural is cultures from around the world. The artist blends his global experiences with traditional elements of graffiti art to create an artistic representation of humanity as one.

Art is a fantastic way to execute wayfinding for multifamily and student housing. Through thoughtful execution, art can provide helpful landmarks that, in many cases, eliminate the need for signage. Here are some creative ways our clients used art to solve their wayfinding needs.

Floor Differentiation – There’s nothing more annoying than hopping off an elevator and realizing you’re on the wrong floor. Art is a great way to quickly differentiate floors without having to rely on the elevator display.

The Independent Luxury Tower

Developers of The Independent luxury residential tower in Austin, Texas wanted to create a neighborhood in the sky. They envisioned each floor to be like its own street or cul-de-sac. A unique piece of art was commissioned for every elevator lobby, creating a special space and ‘welcome home’ feeling for each floor’s residents.

HillTop Student Housing

The developers of HillTop student housing used artwork to differentiate study areas on each floor. Vinyl wall coverings of different legendary Austin music venues adhere to the building’s Austin-culture theme. And students can say, “Meet me in the Cactus Café room.” Fun fact: The higher the floor, the more prestigious the music venue featured on the wall, mimicking a musician’s rise in stature.

Multifamily and student housing developments are offering more and more amenities to entice new residents. But they’re of little value if people don’t use them. Adding visually stimulating, pleasing, and welcoming art to these areas can make them more inviting. Here’s how some of our clients used art to encourage the use of amenities in their multifamily and student housing.

Athletic Facilities, Villas at San Gabriel

The indoor basketball court at The Villas at San Gabriel student-housing residence in Austin features a double-height, custom designed wall graphic that gives a sense of excitement from being at the big game. Their fitness facility features floor to ceiling graphics from the local Cap10k race, bringing ties to the local community. Modern art on canvases in the gym lounge area lend a modern, energetic feel to the place.

Kids Playroom, Talavera Lofts

Art was used to create a child-friendly atmosphere in a kids playroom at the Talavera Lofts mixed-income multifamily housing in Austin, Texas. A local artist who works with recycled materials used candy wrappers and round wood cutouts to create art pieces that call to mind pieces of hard candy.

The Independent

The Independent luxury residential tower in Austin mixed commissioned, original artwork with cheeky prints to create a pleasing and welcoming atmosphere in various amenity spaces.

Business Center, Lenox Grand Crossing

At Lenox Grand Crossing apartments in Katy, Texas, art is used to complement the interior design of the business center. Art pieces match the period furnishings and use exact paint colors located elsewhere in the space.

Club Level, Modera Domain

Developers of the Modera Domain apartments in Austin, Texas wanted minimalist style and inviting common areas bursting with color and texture. The resulting art package includes dramatic tone-on-tone pieces on the club level. Pops of color complement the rich jewel-tone color palette and create vibrancy.

Mail Room, The Independent

Developers of The Independent in Austin wanted to turn the mailroom—which is usually hidden away—into a meeting place for neighbors. Treating the steel mailboxes like sculptural elements, they placed them in the middle of the main lobby. Behind them, a double-height, undulating wood sculpture lines the wall. The juxtaposition of all the different materials—the marble floor, the concrete building, the steel mailboxes, and the wooden wall sculpture— culminate in a feeling of grandeur.

Mail Room, Lenox Grand Crossing

Developers of Lenox Grand Crossing apartments in Katy, Texas took a utility room and gave it added elegance with this neon painting.

Art is a crucial detail for multifamily and student housing. The right art differentiates your property by enhancing luxury and hominess, increasing foot traffic, and more. Reach out now to find out what art can do for your development.