Page 12 - Decor & Lifestyle 2025 Issue 1

LIFESTYLE

DESIGNED FOR CONNECTION:

How Modern Estates Are

Building Community

here was a time when estate living And the best architecture isn’t defined Driven by new urbanist thinking,
meant one thing: separation. A by how it looks – but by how it makes which favours density, diversity,
Tlifestyle measured by privacy, people feel. and walkability – and supported by a
silence, space. But increasingly, that growing understanding in community
version of luxury feels outdated – From Isolation to Ecosystem psychology – modern estates are
untethered from the deeper rhythms of There’s a shift underway – a soft being shaped around the needs
what it means to live well. reimagining of what home means, and of the whole human, not just the
where it begins. homeowner.
We are social creatures. We need more
than security. We need proximity. Not just inside the walls, but along the Not everyone wants a village. But
Familiarity. The kind of quiet recognition pavement, in the greenbelt, across the most of us want some kind of
that grows between neighbours who table in a shared workspace or at the connection.
borrow sugar, water each other’s plants, edge of a play park.
and wave at each other’s children. A light social fabric that holds without
What we’re seeing is a move from binding. That supports without
Today, the most sought-after spaces isolation to ecosystem. From residential surveillance. That gives space, but
aren’t just beautiful. They’re human. design to relational design. never lets us feel invisible.

10 | DÉCOR & LIFESTYLE Issue 1 2025