The Salzberg at Riverside Gate by Urbandale

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	Riverside Gate by Urbandale Source: Urbandale Construction

	Riverside Gate by Urbandale Source: Urbandale Construction

The sensitive design of this luxury condominium apartment is the solution for people who have always resisted apartment-living because they don't want to live in a box. And one of the main reasons for giving it a 5-Star Design Award is the architect's careful use of angles and protrusions to break up the typical rectangular box-like effect that most designers fall back on to create a feeling of space when it's tight.

The necessity for precise rectangular rooms doesn't arise in this case because there's ample space (1550 Sq Ft) to make something more unusual and interesting.

As we would expect for that size and price (), the Salzberg air-conditioned luxury condominium apartment by Urbandale possesses all the features and expensive finishes that a comfortably-off couple might need. (We could say much the same of any of the other condo apartments at 3590 Rivergate Way, but we've purposely chosen one of the smaller designs as being more affordable).

Most condo apartments built in Ottawa before the recent housing boom don't have central air-conditioning or in-suite laundries, and most built during the boom are either smaller boutique type downtown condominium apartments or more conventional ones of a similar size, or much bigger and more expensive ones full of eye-catching "tricks," rather than comfortable life-style features.

What the designers of The Salzberg have managed to do is turn an apartment into a comfortable home - instead of something you want to get out of.

Most of the rooms have 9ft ceilings. The foyer, with is cosy, dropped ceiling, runs off at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees from the entry, creating a more interesting entrance than the typical direct one that opens out into an area that immediately shows everything you have, and thereby diminishes it.

Both the entry with its coat-closet and the foyer have continuous granite flooring. The dining room is concealed behind the corridor wall on your left, while the master bedroom is concealed behind a door on your right. Further down the hall is the entrance to a spacious (12'6x19'5) Living Room with a hardwood floor that runs back and through a Dining Room which cuts across one end.

At the other end of the Living Room is a South-East facing balcony.

Swing doors from the corridor open into a wide (8ft) Galley Kitchen with ceramic tiled floor leading to a Breakfast Room. (All appliances are included).

The configuration of this 2-Bedroom/2-Bathroom suite embraces a central Living Room which separates the bedrooms on either side. The carpeted Master Bedroom has a bow window, a roomy walk-in closet, and a luxury en-suite bathroom with Roman Tub, double sink, shower stall and toilet. The second bedroom, on the other side, has its own standard en-suite bathroom - beyond which is located a Laundry Room that is not "pokey" nor a mere closet. Both bathrooms have marble floors.

As with most luxury apartment buildings, some exclusivity is provided by having only four apartments on each level, and two elevators.

Riverside Gate is a secure gated community with underground parking, in a central location north of Hunt Club Road, which is close enough to use it to circle or swiftly cut across Ottawa's outskirts.

Urbandale get top marks for not producing the usual floor plan divided into precise squares and rectangles like a Piet Mondrian cubist painting of the 1920s. They have created interest when most apartments are uninteresting, and produced gemutlichkeit, ("homeliness" or "coziness" or relaxed and informal comfort), whereas in most apartments you are always confronted by straight walls.

They also score by breaking up floors with different materials, textures and colours. And their 9ft ceilings, although recently popular, are still a rarity in condominium apartment living. So that not only has the architect counteracted dullness at floor-level, they have removed the oppressiveness of low ceilings and the boredom of straight lines.

And quite apart from that, the juxtaposition and shapes of rooms are excellent.

Considering the price, it would be easy to say that just about anything is possible in a condo apartment that size and at that price level. Perhaps. But good taste is something else again, and not all home builders possess it. Urbandale is one of a small group that do. Buyers should reasonably expect tastefulness, but don't often get it.

That they do with The Salzberg demonstrates that it fulfills all seven criteria on which our design awards are based.

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The sole aim of the HomesExplorer™ 5-Star Design Awards Program is to reward excellence in the new homes industry by awarding five stars for the best design or innovation in a particular category. Our 5 Star Rating is awarded solely for excellence in design or innovation. Quality of construction and service are for buyers to ascertain themselves.