Radco Properties enlisted Ironwood Design Group for a refreshing amenity redesign of Radius, an existing apartment community. The multimillion-dollar capital improvement transformed Radius into a luxury urban living experience, conveniently located between Buckhead and Midtown Atlanta. Ironwood recreated the pool deck and community space, converting a dated amenities area into a fresh, modern site of luxurious relaxation.
The redesign was constrained by the limits of the existing space, but Ironwood employed creative techniques to transform an older design into a luxurious, contemporary space appealing to young professionals flocking to Atlanta’s thriving, urban core. Ironwood expanded the existing pool by adding resort-style features, including multiple chaise shelves for sunbathers and subtle bubblers to activate the space and neutralize streetscape sounds. Ironwood elevated the pool’s existing orthogonal rectilinear elements to “Bring an old design into the 21st century”, as Ironwood Design Group partner Sam Sampson explains.
The Radius project also presented a unique design challenge in its street-facing entrance, which offered the Ironwood team an opportunity to showcase the Radius’ fresh modern redesign to the outside world. In front of the leasing office, Ironwood placed a bright, contemporary sign to attract passersby, balanced with a verdant background of bright green boxwoods and frocked with a cheerful landscape palette of crimson loropetalum, forsythia and Japanese maples.
Around the pool, Ironwood added a firepit and an artful, contemporary bar and grill area which features a custom concrete countertop bordered by an Ipe hardwood and topped with a hand-crafted steel pergola strung with elegant bistro lighting. Nearby, spacious cabanas framed by billowing linen curtains invite Radius residents to enjoy the shade in bespoke luxury. The pool deck features contemporary furniture and lighting fixtures, hand-selected by the team at IDG.
In the patio area outside the leasing office, Ironwood created a biergarten-style outdoor seating area, topped by a stately steel pergola that references the pool deck and creates continuity between spaces.
A capital improvement project like the Radco Radius presented unique design challenges due to the realities of the existing space and the budget of the developer. “It’s really trying to figure out how to work with existing elements”, Sampson notes. For the Radius’ elegant facelift, Ironwood tapped a creative solutions-based approach to elevate an aging property into a luxurious, contemporary urban oasis.
