Definition of apartment

1: a room or set of rooms fitted especially with housekeeping facilities and
usually leased as a dwelling
2: a building containing several individual apartments
A brief history of the apartment
Alice Bradley

12 Jul 2016

From sky-high penthouses to the humble unit, apartments are a major part of

the property landscape in Australia.

The origins of apartment living can be traced back to Roman times. Here’s a look at
some of the first apartments from around the world.

Traditional Roman insulae

In the great cities of the Roman Empire, urban congestion necessitated communal living
and individual houses were reserved for the very wealthy.
The ruins of an insula in the suburb of Ostia in Rome, Italy. Picture: Wikimedia Commons
An insula was a kind of apartment building that usually consisted of a ground floor
occupied by a shop with living spaces upstairs.

Insulae could be up to six or seven storeys high, and because of safety issues and the
extra flights of stairs, the highest apartments were the cheapest to rent.

Parisian apartments
A more luxe version of the apartment first appeared in Paris and other large European
cities during the 18th century.

In the typical Parisian apartment building in the 18th century, the size and financial
means of the tenants decreased with each successive storey.
This 18th century apartment building on Quai aux Fleur in Paris is typical of the era. Picture:
Getty Images
These apartment buildings typically featured mansard roofs and garret rooms.

Architecture: Around the world in 10 houses

New York tenements

The rise of tenement living in New York City began in the first half of the 19th century
when many of the affluent residents moved further north and thousands of immigrants
arrived seeking a better life.

The population of the city almost doubled each decade between 1800 to 1880 and
buildings that were once single-family dwellings were divided into multiple living spaces
to accommodate the rapidly growing population.
An illustration depicting an eviction in the tenement district (Lower East Side) of New York
City. Picture: Getty Images
Often cramped, poorly lit and lacking proper ventilation, New York’s first apartments,
known as tenements, housed almost two thirds of the city’s population by the early
1900s.

The Stuyvesant building located at 142 East 18th Street, is generally regarded as the

first upscale apartment building in New York.
Unlike the tenements, the Stuyvesant apartments were built for the middle class and
boasted private toilets.

Scottish tenements
Dating back to the Middle Ages, the buildings we now recognise as tenements in
Edinburgh were built by the burghers. These wealthy folks decided to build up rather
than out so they could stay within the safety of the city walls.

In Glasgow, tenements arrived in the 19th and early 20th century to house the growing
workforce during the Industrial Revolution.

Some of these, particularly those in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, were demolished in
the 1960s due to poor living conditions and replaced with newer towers.
This 1840 tenement building in the Gorbals area of Glasgow was torn down in the 1960s.
Picture: Getty Images
Many of the tenements built in the 19th century are still standing standing in Scotland,
and have in recent years become highly valuable and sought-after due to their large
rooms, high ceilings and ornamental features.
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Australia’s first apartments

Apartments took some time to take off in Australia, and were actually legislated against
in Queensland in 1885 to “prevent overcrowding and urban degradation in cities and
towns.”
Today the oldest surviving apartment building is said to be Fawkner Mansions in St
Kilda, Melbourne, which was built in 1910. Melbourne Mansions in Collins St were built
in 1906, but have since been knocked down.

Both apartment complexes were built for the wealthy and featured elevators and a
concierge.

Fawkner Mansions, at 250 Punt Road,is said to be the earliest surviving block of flats in
Victoria. Picture: National Trust Database

In the postwar years, the dominant apartment type were three or four-storey walk-up

flats. Unlike the earlier apartments, these flats were targeted towards low-income
workers.

Apartments came back in vogue in the 1960s in areas with limited geography and
coastal views, like Sydney and the Gold Coast.

In other cities, apartment building was mostly restricted to public housing. A large

number of high-rise housing commission flats were built between the 1950s and 1970s
in Melbourne, under instruction from the Housing Commission of Victoria.
In the 1990s apartments became mainstream again, and spectacular views were no
longer a prerequisite.

Abandoned office 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Apartment house, also called apartment block, or block of

flats, building containing more than one dwelling unit, most of which
are designed for domestic use, but sometimes including shops and
other nonresidential features.

Unité d'Habitation, apartment house, Marseille, France, designed by Le

Corbusier, 1946–52.
© Wayne Andrews/Esto
Apartment buildings have existed for centuries. In the great cities of
the Roman Empire, because of urban congestion, the individual house,
or domus, had given way in early imperial times to the communal
dwelling, or insula (q.v.), except for the residences of the very wealthy.
Four stories were common, and six-, seven-, or eight-story buildings
were occasionally constructed. Another type of apartment existed
in Europe in the Middle Ages, consisting of a great house or mansion,
part of which was subdivided into smaller sets of rooms in order to
house the servants and other retainers of an important person. In
contrast to these “apartments,” which were simply personal suites
within great houses, the apartment house as it is known today first
appeared in Paris and other large European cities in the 18th century,
when tall blocks of flats for middle-class tenants began appearing. In
the typical Parisian apartment building, the size of the apartments
(and the financial means of the tenants) decreased with each
successive story in a four- or five-story building.

By the mid-19th century, large numbers of inexpensive apartment

houses were under construction to house swelling numbers of
industrial labourers in cities and towns across Europe and in the
United States. These buildings were often incredibly shabby, poorly
designed, unsanitary, and cramped. The typical New York
City apartment, or tenement, a type first constructed in the 1830s,
consisted of apartments popularly known as railroad flats because the
narrow rooms were arranged end-to-end in a row like boxcars. Indeed,
few low-cost apartment buildings erected in Europe or America before
1918 were designed for either comfort or style. In many European
cities, however, particularly in Paris and Vienna, the second half of the
19th century witnessed great progress in the design of apartments for
the upper-middle class and the rich.

The modern large apartment building emerged in the early 20th

century with the incorporation of elevators, central heating, and other
conveniences that could be shared in common by a building’s tenants.
Apartments for the well-to-do began to offer other amenities such as
leisure facilities, delivery and laundry services, and communal dining
rooms and gardens. The multistory apartment house continued to
grow in importance as crowding and rising land values in cities made
one-family homes less and less practicable in parts of many cities.
Much government-subsidized, or public, housing has taken the form
of apartment buildings, particularly for the urban elderly and working
classes or those living in poverty. Apartment-block towers also were
erected in large numbers in the Soviet Union and other countries
where housing construction was the responsibility of the state.

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content.Subscribe today
Since World War II the demand for apartment housing has continued
to grow as a result of continued urbanization. The mid- or high-
rise apartment complex has become a fixture of the skylines of most of
the world’s cities, and the two- or three-story “walk-up” apartment
also remains popular in somewhat less built-up urban areas.

The most common form of occupancy of apartment houses has been

on a rental basis. However, multiple ownership of units on a single site
has become much more common in the 20th century. Such ownership
can take the form of cooperatives or condominiums. In a cooperative,
all the occupants of a building own the structure in common;
cooperative housing is much more common in parts of Europe than it
is in the United States. A condominium denotes the individual
ownership of one dwelling unit in an apartment house or other
multidwelling building. The increasing popularity of condominiums in
the United States and elsewhere is based largely on the fact that,
unlike members of a cooperative, condominium owners are not
financially interdependent and can mortgage their property.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Apartment house, also called apartment block, or block of

flats, building containing more than one dwelling unit, most of which
are designed for domestic use, but sometimes including shops and
other nonresidential features.
Unité d'Habitation, apartment house, Marseille, France, designed by Le
Corbusier, 1946–52.
© Wayne Andrews/Esto
Apartment buildings have existed for centuries. In the great cities of
the Roman Empire, because of urban congestion, the individual house,
or domus, had given way in early imperial times to the communal
dwelling, or insula (q.v.), except for the residences of the very wealthy.
Four stories were common, and six-, seven-, or eight-story buildings
were occasionally constructed. Another type of apartment existed
in Europe in the Middle Ages, consisting of a great house or mansion,
part of which was subdivided into smaller sets of rooms in order to
house the servants and other retainers of an important person. In
contrast to these “apartments,” which were simply personal suites
within great houses, the apartment house as it is known today first
appeared in Paris and other large European cities in the 18th century,
when tall blocks of flats for middle-class tenants began appearing. In
the typical Parisian apartment building, the size of the apartments
(and the financial means of the tenants) decreased with each
successive story in a four- or five-story building.

By the mid-19th century, large numbers of inexpensive apartment

houses were under construction to house swelling numbers of
industrial labourers in cities and towns across Europe and in the
United States. These buildings were often incredibly shabby, poorly
designed, unsanitary, and cramped. The typical New York
City apartment, or tenement, a type first constructed in the 1830s,
consisted of apartments popularly known as railroad flats because the
narrow rooms were arranged end-to-end in a row like boxcars. Indeed,
few low-cost apartment buildings erected in Europe or America before
1918 were designed for either comfort or style. In many European
cities, however, particularly in Paris and Vienna, the second half of the
19th century witnessed great progress in the design of apartments for
the upper-middle class and the rich.

The modern large apartment building emerged in the early 20th

century with the incorporation of elevators, central heating, and other
conveniences that could be shared in common by a building’s tenants.
Apartments for the well-to-do began to offer other amenities such as
leisure facilities, delivery and laundry services, and communal dining
rooms and gardens. The multistory apartment house continued to
grow in importance as crowding and rising land values in cities made
one-family homes less and less practicable in parts of many cities.
Much government-subsidized, or public, housing has taken the form
of apartment buildings, particularly for the urban elderly and working
classes or those living in poverty. Apartment-block towers also were
erected in large numbers in the Soviet Union and other countries
where housing construction was the responsibility of the state.

Save 50% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive
content.Subscribe today

Since World War II the demand for apartment housing has continued

to grow as a result of continued urbanization. The mid- or high-
rise apartment complex has become a fixture of the skylines of most of
the world’s cities, and the two- or three-story “walk-up” apartment
also remains popular in somewhat less built-up urban areas.

The most common form of occupancy of apartment houses has been

on a rental basis. However, multiple ownership of units on a single site
has become much more common in the 20th century. Such ownership
can take the form of cooperatives or condominiums. In a cooperative,
all the occupants of a building own the structure in common;
cooperative housing is much more common in parts of Europe than it
is in the United States. A condominium denotes the individual
ownership of one dwelling unit in an apartment house or other
multidwelling building. The increasing popularity of condominiums in
the United States and elsewhere is based largely on the fact that,
unlike members of a cooperative, condominium owners are not
financially interdependent and can mortgage their property.