Ideally, it should be a "no smoking" building with a designated smoking area maybe at the TOP of each tower or the top of ONE tower ON THE ROOF.
Public spaces above the garage should include picnic tables, live plants and a play space for children. The top of the garage should ONLY be accessible to residents from a door in the towers, not directly from the garage.
I did contemplate putting a bunch of tables and vending machines there and make it accessible to the public but I think that becomes an attractive nuisance and interferes with the security and welfare of the residents. So I eventually concluded the vending machines should be on the ground floor of the garage next to the stairwell and elevators so residents can easily access them, the public can easily access them for enhanced sales and so food stays fresh but there isn't a conflict between these uses.
Exactly how to configure the roof area: I do NOT know. That requires additional research.
But I am clear I do NOT want the roof of the garage to be a smoking area. It will impact units with windows facing that direction which is a problem given the expectation of using passive solar design and being able to hand-wash dishes and clothes and open a window for ventilation and to keep humidity down when drying clothes.
The need for ventilation via a window or possibly even a fan in the bathroom that blows out through an outer wall is the reason I do not expect there to be residential units on the interior wall of the second floor. That section will be public bathrooms shared by the entire building, a laundry room and space for similar functions, like a boiler or whatever.
One possible solution for hot water is individual "instant" tankless hot water units in place of an individual hot water tank or shared hot water tank. But there may still be need for mechanical stuff somewhere and the windowless inner wall on the second floor is the best spot for stuff like that.
Also, there SHOULD be AT LEAST one public bathroom on every floor so that you always have access to a toilet and shower nearby if you have company, if your bathroom has plumbing issues temporarily etc. But the public bathrooms do not need to be evenly distributed across all floors. It's fine if there are, say, four public bathrooms along the windowless wall shared by the garage and then only one or two on the two floors above.
Distribution of bathroom placement may logically impact where you place rooms with ONLY a sink and NO bathroom and rooms with a half bath but no shower or tub. It does NOT need to be a cookie-cutter design where every floor has the same layout. In fact, that's probably NOT desirable.
It may also be fine to group bathroomless units near a single bathroom AND the elevators/stairs so it takes little more time and effort to go to another floor than to use the bathroom on that floor.
The very top of both towers is potentially a spot for solar panels to help ensure the building has power under all circumstances. Even so, there should be plenty of space for a "grown ups" seating area where it's okay to smoke, have a beer and play cards with other residents.
Maybe two picnic tables, a long bench, fencing or plexiglass to make it safe, a trash can and a cigarette disposal canister.
Public spaces above the garage should include picnic tables, live plants and a play space for children. The top of the garage should ONLY be accessible to residents from a door in the towers, not directly from the garage.
I did contemplate putting a bunch of tables and vending machines there and make it accessible to the public but I think that becomes an attractive nuisance and interferes with the security and welfare of the residents. So I eventually concluded the vending machines should be on the ground floor of the garage next to the stairwell and elevators so residents can easily access them, the public can easily access them for enhanced sales and so food stays fresh but there isn't a conflict between these uses.
Exactly how to configure the roof area: I do NOT know. That requires additional research.
But I am clear I do NOT want the roof of the garage to be a smoking area. It will impact units with windows facing that direction which is a problem given the expectation of using passive solar design and being able to hand-wash dishes and clothes and open a window for ventilation and to keep humidity down when drying clothes.
The need for ventilation via a window or possibly even a fan in the bathroom that blows out through an outer wall is the reason I do not expect there to be residential units on the interior wall of the second floor. That section will be public bathrooms shared by the entire building, a laundry room and space for similar functions, like a boiler or whatever.
One possible solution for hot water is individual "instant" tankless hot water units in place of an individual hot water tank or shared hot water tank. But there may still be need for mechanical stuff somewhere and the windowless inner wall on the second floor is the best spot for stuff like that.
Also, there SHOULD be AT LEAST one public bathroom on every floor so that you always have access to a toilet and shower nearby if you have company, if your bathroom has plumbing issues temporarily etc. But the public bathrooms do not need to be evenly distributed across all floors. It's fine if there are, say, four public bathrooms along the windowless wall shared by the garage and then only one or two on the two floors above.
Distribution of bathroom placement may logically impact where you place rooms with ONLY a sink and NO bathroom and rooms with a half bath but no shower or tub. It does NOT need to be a cookie-cutter design where every floor has the same layout. In fact, that's probably NOT desirable.
It may also be fine to group bathroomless units near a single bathroom AND the elevators/stairs so it takes little more time and effort to go to another floor than to use the bathroom on that floor.
The very top of both towers is potentially a spot for solar panels to help ensure the building has power under all circumstances. Even so, there should be plenty of space for a "grown ups" seating area where it's okay to smoke, have a beer and play cards with other residents.
Maybe two picnic tables, a long bench, fencing or plexiglass to make it safe, a trash can and a cigarette disposal canister.