Years back, websites to rent one’s home have not existed as they do today. Recent promoters have started to create high-raise condos with a target public that compounds a mix-max of Russians, Middle-East nationals, Europeans, Americans, and other foreigners, with some saved money to invest in what they expect to be good investments. But, voilà, aesthetic reality strikes. Guided by a not balanced moodpboard of references, and a please everyone flair, the interior design of some of these beautifully made buildings shines by its mediocrity. Like an AI generated result of a prompt which can well be something like “Create an interior design for a condominium targeted to foreigners in - insert South-Eastern Asian city - here”. The AI will be confused as per what aesthetic to generate. Will locals also buy property there? Likely yes. So it becomes this wanna be western, but also middle-eastern, kind of Pinterest reference board of the 5 first results when you search “Interior Design rentable units” on any image browser.

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My take on that can be that stakeholders at these promotor companies have thought the renders equal reality. And maybe the renderings have not been the most qualified to really show what kitsch reality the capital has been committed to. Hundreds of units go on sale at a cost for promotors, after low results of realised sales. Oh, no, that MDF wanna-look olive tree wood has not really pleased the customer. Oh, no, that luminaire which looks straight purchased from an antique shop next to that low key IKEA light which was on sale doesn’t look that good. Oh, no, that Louis XVI style canapé next to the curved shaped bar in travertine marble has not paired well with the polyester deep green moquette covered walls. And the list goes on, and on.

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When it comes to outdoors amenities, atemporality shines by its absence. The fact has been that curved, and creatively shaped pools don’t work. For many reasons. The fastest route from A to B when in the water will always be a straight line. So your fellow resident who will want to swim, as part of a healthy training, will be barely able too trace a long enough line that they can reproduce again, and again, without hitting one of these curved walls. Want to jump in the pool? Watch out to do it in a perpendicular enough way that you don’t hit another side of the curved outline of the pool. Curved pools have looked good in the early 2000’s in the Riviera Maya, and Punta Cana. They have made a buzz in magazines all over the world, but since the 2010’s, there’s a back-to normal signature craze with infinity pools, and straight lined swimming pools, that make perfect sense, and offer a great return on investment thanks to the most conservative rule in man made design: atemporality. This can be easily ensured by two factors: minimalism, and symmetry.

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Yet, another thing makes more difficult the sale of some condominiums. The textured styles on walls, and pavements. Those 4 shades of blue mosaics on swimming pools have looked so mid century design in low cost motels in California. Reminds of the empty pool in Karate Kid, and just gives an impression of a DIY swimming pool, where maybe the constructor has not found enough mosaics of the same colour to complete the work, and has bought them of 4 different shades of blue that have been in stock (some of these trends, have sadly gained that status after real life anecdotes like this one). And, last, but not least, condominium logos drawn inside swimming pools, and other designs such as marine animals.

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Condominium logos need to have a separate section on their own. Some promotors, after they raise millions to create enormous new constructions seem to avoid to spend enough time on the graphic design, so that it helps to leverage their creation. Maybe they hire one of the cheapest freelancers. Maybe they launch themselves in the adventure to create a logo on their tablet.

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Maybe it’s a friend, or a close relative who has learnt how to use Photoshop, whatever that has meant, and whichever level has that person gained. And that’s how one ends up with logos that scare out of the entrance of the condominium. Many will become massive several meter wide letterings at the entry of the building. Plus, reproduced several times inside the living spaces. Some will end up wrapped in golden vinil, some will get LED lit. And some will get both.

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So, since no Design tribunal has yet been created, and good taste can vary from one person to another, it will remain hard to determine the criteria necessary to consider a project buildable. The truth can be that the amount of materials, and resources dedicated to the construction of new buildings can well be more conscious of the impact that aesthetics will get on revenue. And if atemporal design, minimalism, symmetry, and a rule of no use of fake materials to look like others (like plastic that looks like wood, and more), the return on investment, and the valuation of these condominiums can well be a safe value for the years to come. Until then, the ones that go on sale can well be prepared to show discounted prices, and not fully booked dates, compared to competitors that will have chosen the way of clean design, and aesthetics, and will have even saved money over unnecessary atrezzo that has once wanted to impress money making foreigners."