Cindy Ross, Design Manager at Genesis Builders Group, shares her thoughts on designing homes for today’s homebuyers.
For more than 20 years, Genesis Builders Group has been bringing its expertise, innovation and beautifully crafted homes to Genesis Land communities in Calgary and Airdrie. As the home-building division of Genesis Land, Genesis Builders Group is known for its superior customer service and thoughtful, intentional designs.
“Designing a home is like a giant puzzle, with a lot of different pieces to put together,” says Cindy Ross, who serves as Design Manager with Genesis Builders Group. “It’s not just about creating a floor plan; it’s also about meeting building codes, working around various constraints, getting approvals, and meeting customer expectations. But it’s always so exciting to try and do that for people—to create something that someone wants to live in and enjoy.”
Here, Ross shares some insights into her team’s design process and gives us a sneak peek at what to expect from Genesis Builders Group in Logan Landing.
Doing the legwork
When coming up with home models for a new community, Ross and her team rely on collaboration, innovation and a great deal of thoughtful study to determine what design elements will work best. “We get information from different spots. We do market research, analyzing what’s trending and what’s going on within the community and surrounding areas,” says Ross. “And, of course, we get our salespeople’s input on what homebuyers are actually looking for.”
But, Ross says, there’s an additional component that makes her design team especially effective at creating designs that appeal to a wide demographic. “Our team members all have very different backgrounds and cultures, and many of us are at different stages of our lives as well, so we’re all bringing something unique to the table,” she explains. “It’s good to have that diversity, because we can all draw from each other’s knowledge and experiences.”
Adapting to evolving needs
Ross herself has a great deal of experience in the homebuilding industry. Having worked at Genesis Builders Group for 11 years, and with other builders before then, she’s had a front-row seat to the evolving needs and wants of homebuyers.
“Multigenerational living is a particularly strong trend these days, and it often presents a challenge for designers,” she says, “because you have to balance communal living spaces with additional private spaces and make them all fit within a certain square footage.”
But the Genesis Builders Group design team has made it easy to adapt to the needs of large families by working flexibility into their home designs. “Our standard floorplans can be converted to accommodate three or four bedrooms,” Ross says. “We also offer dual master bedrooms upstairs, which is good for multiple generations living under one roof.”
Building quiet spaces in different places
Carriage suites are another way to bring additional living space to multigenerational households. Featuring all the amenities of an independent apartment suite, a carriage suite— also known as a laneway home—can be a comfort to homeowners who want to have their aging parents or older kids nearby while still maintaining a level of privacy. “We offer carriage suites in Genesis Land’s Bayside community in Airdrie,” says Ross, explaining that homeowners in some parts of the community have the option of adding one of these self-contained suites above their laned, triple-car garage. “There are so many uses for a space like this. And if homeowners don’t want to use it as a place for their kids or parents, it’s also ideal as a rental suite, studio space, or quiet home office.”
Creating homes for all stages of life
From floor plans to optional carriage suites, Genesis Builders Group is known and appreciated for its adaptable design solutions and varied product offerings. While single-family homes are a mainstay in Genesis Builders Group’s portfolio, the company also designs and builds townhome and duplex products, some of which it will be bringing to Logan Landing, the highly anticipated southeast Calgary community currently under development by Genesis Land.
“Genesis Builders Group will be doing the street townhouses in Logan Landing,” says Ross, adding that Genesis Builders Group’s best-selling Alicia model will be among the available townhome designs. “It’s a three-storey product, so the garage and entrance are on the same level, and then you go up to the main living space, then up again to the bedrooms. Sometimes it’s nice to have that division because it helps with noise management, especially if you have young kids.”
Getting ready for Logan Landing
In addition to townhomes, Genesis Builders Group will be building single-family houses in Logan Landing. “We’re all really excited about this particular community and can’t wait to get started on our two show homes.” says Ross. The first of these show homes is a model called the Mateo. “It’s a larger home, and it has an upper-floor loft that overlooks the great room below,” says Ross. “Of course, homebuyers have the option to close that open-to-below area and add more bedrooms if they want to.”
The second show home is also adaptable to a buyer’s needs. Called the Calaria II, this spacious model features four bedrooms and loft space on the upper floor, as well as a flex room on the main floor that can easily be changed into a bedroom with full bath if needed. “It also has a full-height fireplace in the living room, which adds some drama to the home,” says Ross.
Making the most of every location
While a full-height fireplace undoubtedly makes a dramatic statement, so, too, can other thoughtful design elements—especially ones that work to enhance a home’s natural surroundings. “In Logan Landing, we want to take advantage of the Bow River view, so we’re making the windows in our homes as big as possible on certain lots,” says Ross. “That way, homeowners can look out and see the nature around them.” Whether it’s Logan Landing, Bayside, or one of the many other neighbourhoods Genesis Builders Group builds in, Ross and her team work hard to ensure the homes they design meet the needs of their customers while enriching each community as a whole. “No matter where we build, we always want to make sure we’re putting our best foot forward,” she says.
