The crash of the housing market in 2008 gave birth to a new style of living – exclusive luxury apartments. Our culture’s mentality about renting apartments has shifted, as many stopped seeing rentals as a stepping stone towards homeownership and started recognizing the long-term benefits of resort-style living. Now, rental properties are experiencing a great deal of competition, and property owners are increasingly considering an apartment building renovation to differentiate themselves from other options in their community.
As an architect or builder, you’re likely looking for ways to help your clients maximize their budget while creating the greatest impact. Here are just some of the ways a tensile membrane facade can add functionality, prestige, and value to an apartment building renovation, so the property owner can attract residents who appreciate elite quality.
Updating Outdated Buildings
Curb appeal is a real thing in the real estate market – regardless of whether we’re considering sales or rentals. Older buildings often get passed up simply because of their outdated aesthetic. When you use a tensile membrane facade in your apartment building renovation, you can reimagine the building’s structural facade to transform it from ordinary to iconic. PVC membrane – mesh or solid – is often used in tensile facade applications due to its wide range of color options and digital printing capabilities.
From simply modernizing aging exteriors to creating a stunning piece of art, updating an apartment building’s exterior allows property owners to increase the rental rates of each unit and experience the profits of full-occupancy.
Increasing Energy Efficiency
The cost of heating, cooling, and lighting an apartment building is substantial, but incorporating a tensile membrane facade into your apartment building renovation project helps to reduce that burden and support “green” initiatives – a direct ROI for the property owner.
There are three key impacts to present to your client when explaining the value of a tensile membrane facade.
- It lowers the utility expenses in common areas because these shading solutions reduce the impact of solar heat gain and naturally lower internal temperatures by 10-150.
- It can be used as a selling point for leasing agents who will explain to potential tenants that they can expect lower energy bills and other significant benefits.
- It signals to the surrounding community that your client’s property is committed to environmental awareness – by lowering energy consumption and the impact on the area’s urban heat island effect (or the general warming that happens when an area has more concrete than natural landscape).
Maximizing Interior Comfort & Privacy
It can be challenging to explain to your clients that an apartment building renovation isn’t solely about exterior upgrades – and that it should also improve the interior experience. A tensile membrane facade allows you to offer a solution that addresses both of those goals.
Inside each apartment, residents will experience reduced glare and increased privacy, while still enjoying natural light and a beautiful view. The natural diffused light isn’t only more comfortable, but it also helps to protect residents’ furniture, artwork, and electronics.
Protecting Residents’ Vehicles
If your client’s property includes a parking garage, a tensile membrane facade makes an unsightly structure blend seamlessly with the rest of the property, while maintaining its open-air classification (meaning you won’t need to work new ventilation into the budget). This adds value for residents by protecting vehicles from the elements and adding a layer of security to the parking structure.
Are Tensile Facades Right for Your Apartment Building Renovation Project?
In the Tension Structures Division of Eide Industries, we specialize in design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation of structurally complex and creatively challenging commercial, government, and prototype design projects. Our expertise with tensile facade systems and tension structures supports architects, designers, general contractors, and building owners in their efforts to bring custom tensile membrane projects to life.
Explore the options for your next project by calling 800-422-6827.