Residential Design
Creating the spaces that people live in, raise their families in, and grow old in, is a tremendous responsibility. Housing is also the essential building block of a neighborhood, and therefore a key ingredient for a successful, living, urban environment.
Our clients work with us because of our deep knowledge of this building type. Handel Architects has over 42,000 units built, under construction, or on the boards; we work at all scales in both the for-rent and for-sale markets.
Services We Offer
- Feasibility studies
- Planning and programming
- Full service architecture
- Unit planning and layout
- Full service interior design including selection and detailing of all finishes, and furniture selection


We create value through innovative design.
Our work sells and rents at the top of the market in cities around the world. Handel Architects-designed buildings hold $/SF sales records in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Manila.


We are unrivaled in creating efficient floorplans and innovative unit plans.
As a worldwide leader in residential design, we have a deep understanding of what works and what does not. Clients come to us because of the amount of time we spend in the planning stages of our projects; residents like our buildings because they offer new ways of urban living.

We are committed to equity in access to affordable housing.
Our firm has over twenty years of experience assessing the opportunities for affordable residential developments, and working with not-for-profit entities such as Habitat for Humanity. In New York City alone, we have over 5,000 units of affordable housing built or construction.

We are redefining student housing.
Our student housing experience includes buildings for private campuses such as New York City's Cornell Tech campus and Columbia University, as well as public institutions such as the University of Toronto. Our intrinsic approach is to create spaces that are stress-reducing and nourishing for students while fostering academic achievement and providing space for off-line discourse.


We improve the way seniors live.
We're at the forefront of urban senior living, and understand how to optimize a senior housing program for high-rise construction. We’re able to leverage our hospitality experience to senior communities through careful programming and planning as well as design of interior amenity spaces.