Distinct Spaces for Building Connections

One of the most appealing aspects of urban living is convenience. But often this ease and convenience is hard to find in residential buildings. It’s great to live in an exciting neighbourhood with access to daily necessities, but what if those necessities were integrated into where you live?

At Rize, we have been focusing on programming and thoughtful design for shared spaces for residents. From curating thoughtful retail strategies to shared courtyards and coworking stations that can be spaces for meaningful interaction.

Building on the concepts introduced in our previous thinking piece, The Vertical Village, we want to dive deeper into shared amenity spaces for residents and the future of commercial retail at Rize.

Breaking bread can mean so much more

A shared amenity space has the potential to be a centre for social activation for residents. With the right programming from a management arm, these spaces can become more festive and bring people together. In The Vertical Village, we explored the world of Finland’s Fika and other mid-day food break concepts from Spain to the Philippines. But social programming can only work if developers commit to the idea of shared amenities as an integral part of developments.

For Rize, we are inspired by the kitchen and co-working concepts at Urby and Treehouse, residential developments that see the importance of community and build for it. We see the potential for bringing cultural practices for food sharing as part of the future of social programming for rentals and condos. From Sunday dinners to cooking classes, having spaces for residents to create memories beyond trivial interactions in hallways or elevators are important. 

But this isn’t only for shared kitchens, but also for well-designed outdoor spaces where residents can celebrate important milestones or curated lobbies for different types of activations. From Linea to The Independent, and our future developments – we want to integrate several shared spaces for residents. Whether it’s a shared rooftop or various flexible spaces for working and gathering with family and friends.

More Than Convenience

We believe that retail is a social catalyst – spaces for more than just a quick run down for a missing ingredient. Commercial retail can bring convenience with the right mix of businesses, but also add vibrancy not only to the residential building but to the neighbourhood at large. This is our goal for Rize developments – bringing a thoughtful curated retail strategy that gives independent retailers a home.

Beginning the evolution

We are bringing our curated retail strategy to our first purpose-built rental project Comma Fraser. This project sits at the heart of Fraserhood and we are lining up unique commercial retailers that bring added vibrancy to the neighbourhood. Our upcoming Surrey community, Passages, will bring a community-based approach to curating the retail and amenity spaces.

Watch this space as we continue to build for the community across Metro Vancouver and beyond.