AIA: Residential trends point to practicality as demand for design services slows

Dive Brief:

The American Institute of Architects released the results of its second-quarter Home Design Trends Survey highlighting the most popular home features and systems.

Homeowners moved away from home theaters and exercise rooms in order to embrace more practical "special function" rooms like outdoor living rooms (58%), mud rooms (43%), home offices (37%) and in-law suites (31%).

Despite slowing demand for design services, billings remained in positive territory during the second quarter with a mark of 54 on the AIA Home Design Survey Index, as did new project inquiries (56). The Midwest led the four U.S. regions surveyed by the Index with a score of 62.5 while the South was the only one to dip below 50. Scores below 50 indicate a contraction.

Dive Insight:

Demand for accessibility continues, particularly as members of the baby boomer generation adapt their homes to allow for continued use. Among the features called out in the survey were first-floor master bedrooms, ramps or elevators and grade-level entries, mostly through renovations. As an increasing number of new homes are built with aging-in-place in mind, the demand for those renovations will level off, according to the AIA. Energy-management and low-maintenance features, in addition to smart thermostats, also ranked high on the Index.

Although not included in this residential report, the AIA has also turned its attention to the health and well-being of building occupants in both residential and commercial projects by promoting the WELL Building Standard, developed by the International WELL Building Institute to complement green building standards focusing on structural sustainability with metrics to measure occupant health and well being.

In September 2014, the AIA launched its Design and Health Research Consortium and, in April of this year, announced its partnership with the IWBI. The AIA said it would work with the IWBI to train AIA members on the most recent health and design research and practices and give members a path to WELL accreditation. Earlier this month, Dodge Data & Analytics reported that almost 75% of U.S. architects are paying more attention to building health during the design phase. Thermal comfort, acoustics, social spaces and lighting are the features garnering the most attention.

On the heels of its mostly positive residential design trends survey, the AIA reported earlier this month that August billings at U.S. architecture firms dropped to a score of 49.7, slightly below the 50 benchmark, indicating a contraction in activity. This is only the second time this year that the ABI has dropped below 50. As part of the release, however, the AIA said that the number of inquiries and contracts were on the upswing, which should result in growth in design services, billings and construction spending in the future.