Many residents of old apartment buildings are used to seeing their yard full of cars. However, in recent years, home buyers have been paying more attention to the apartment building environment and real estate developers are increasingly offering the underground parking model, investing additionally in the apartment building yard and adapting it to the needs of residents and the installation of green areas..
According to the results of a survey of buyers conducted by the real estate company Eika in the last two years, when choosing a home, buyers name the project environment as the third most important criterion after the operating costs of the apartment and sound insulation. Therefore, modern real estate developers pay special attention to the courtyard of an apartment building – here, recreation areas are planned not only for children, but also for older residents, and game, recreation and sports areas are separated. In addition to safe and colorful children’s playgrounds, attention is also paid to adult leisure – various game tables, table tennis, as well as volleyball and basketball courts are increasingly installed in the courtyards of newly built apartment buildings, where you can exercise and chat with your neighbors after a working day.
Saving time and money, a sports club can also move to the courtyard of an apartment building. Outdoor exercise machines have long been nothing new to residents of the capital, but exercising in the courtyard of a house has not yet become a habit for conservative Vilnius residents. According to Martynas Žibūda, development director of “Eika”, in order to encourage them and create as many sports and recreation areas as possible, a considerable area is needed, which is lost when installing a parking lot in the courtyard of an apartment building. “For example, to solve this problem, in the “Namų pynės” project in Žirmūnai, we will install a parking lot throughout the territory of the settlement – we will leave only a few above-ground parking spaces in the courtyard. This way, we will have more space for leisure areas, and in addition, it will be a safer and healthier environment for children to play, exercise and relax for adults,” says the representative of “Eika”.
A yard without cars can become a cozy living environment. The formed green areas create the impression of coziness and closeness to nature. Professionals – landscape architects – are increasingly being used to properly plan and design the environment of residential buildings. The landscape projects for the projects “135” and “Bajorų alėjas” developed by “Eika” were created by the landscape architect team “Terra Firma LT”. Team leader Ramunė Sanderson, who also designed the greenery of the Bernardinų garden, says that plants are very important in creating a quality environment for residents. “For example, we planned the landscaping and layout of the inner courtyard of the project “135” so that it would remain beautiful and colorful all year round and so that residents could enjoy the change of seasons. Small architectural elements placed in the courtyard create separate small spaces, and plants growing on vertical fences give the spaces coziness and privacy,” says R. Sanderson.
About the Eika group of companies
Founded in 1992, the company “Eika” is one of the largest real estate development and construction groups in Lithuania, successfully developing residential, commercial, public and other purpose building projects, creating a new quality of life and work. The company has already built more than 3,750 apartments and 320 thousand square meters of buildings. “Eika” has been awarded many times as the best real estate developer in Lithuania, and the company’s projects “Santariškių namai” and “Eika namai Pilaitė” have also become the best in Lithuania.