The colors of condominium living

Urban life is colorful and vibrant. People choose to live in the city because of proximity to work, and the varied options for shopping, recreation and culture. For the middle and upper strata of Filipino society, living in the city, until as close to a decade ago, used to mean life at the fringes, in what was considered sub-urban “villages.” Today, the reality is that city life is shifting colors, from brownish sprawl to green towers — high-rise condominiums.

Modern high-rise structures or skyscrapers originated in the West, in the concrete jungles of Manhattan and Chicago. They were generally office and commercial structures meant for businesses. The color of business was and still is gray. Millions of gray flannel-suited men in the ’50s and ’60s commuted in gray trains from suburbia to gray office buildings clad in gray granite and glazed with gray-tinted windows.

Twenty-first century metropolitan Manila now has many of these drab corporate towers but what is filling the skyline in and around the various central business districts of our tropical Gotham are condominium towers. These are basically vertical “villages” with residential “units” stacked in a race to the heavens; all aiming to provide those who dwell in them a life close to urban paradise.

Rising way above billboards and blight, these towers are as varied in character, form, and shape as the colors of a rainbow. Listed below, are the diverse positive attributes of modern condominiums in the plethora of architectural combinations now being offered by real estate developers. Colors are used to head this list, not as a political statement but as a reflection of the lifestyles engendered by these castles of conviviality.

Yellow

“Hindi ka nagiisa.” You are not alone when living in condominiums. Depending on how exclusive your condo is, you are living with from several dozen to several hundred families; in single or any number of towers in a consolidated complex. This architectural reality makes for better security compared to a traditional horizontal subdivision. Your cars and your property (residential unit) are safer. Visitors and service personnel are better screened. Akyat bahay, unless you’re the target of the Mission Impossible team, is not a worry.

Your children are safer, too — no dangerous streets to cross getting to the park. In condominiums, the park is replaced by an elevated garden and green, with playgrounds (indoor and outdoor ones in more current developments), pools and private parlors to host larger parties than can be accommodated in your units.

Pink

There are no “U” turns in condominiums. Trusted developers never turn back on buyers, delivering the units on time, and making sure the recreational, landscape and architectural amenities promised come true. Many of the best developers also assist owners in forming management associations to ensure continued maintenance for these properties.

Condominium life also puts occupants in the pink of health. Most will have swimming pools and gyms. Many now include spas as well as yoga studios. Larger complexes will include a jogging path and the very large ones have actual green parks on the ground with full clubhouse facilities. A number of exclusive condominiums are adjacent to, or are even part of golf course developments. If you want, you can lose a lot of weight by climbing up and down your 45th story unit every day. Seriously, the health options are plenty.

Condominiums are also healthy because their water supply is always monitored and kept safe. Garbage is never a stinky issue, because all you do (after segregating them, of course) is dump them down the garbage chute. Plumbing is easily serviceable in condominiums because of access panels for pipe chases in each floor. Finally, no one urinates along your driveways in condominiums.

Green

Expertise and intelligence (galing at talino) in sustainable design are what condominium architects, interior designers, lighting designers, landscape architects and engineers use to create these modern structures. Not only are these towers handsome to look at, the design teams all have proven track records in green design.

New condominium towers are properly oriented to minimize the effects of sun and rain (always check where your windows are facing (morning or afternoon sun) or if they have adequate sun-shades and overhangs for weather protection. Despite these initiatives, good interior design and architecture also ensure ample natural light to minimize power consumption.

The best developers also commission landscape architects (the greenest of design professionals by the very definition of their title). They design green roofs for modern condominiums and elevated gardens and swimming pool decks. These landscape amenities mitigate heat buildup, produce oxygen, filter pollution and provide visual and physical relief.

Blue

You’ll never feel blue living in condominiums. There is nothing to mar your views of the city from your elevated vantage points in a condominium. Your disposition will take a sunny yellow color if you step down to the amenity decks of most condominiums — filled as they are with options for leisure. In some cases you can just take an elevator to lower floors where there are shopping malls and supermarkets. You need not go to another palengke any more for your needs.

Blue is also the color of water in the pools. Most of the best condominiums have infinity-edge resort-type pools designed by landscape architects. These also include wading pools for kids and some even have Jacuzzis and artistic fountains to visually and aurally entertain.

Orange

The advantages of living in condominiums are many and other than the colorful array of plusses mentioned above, you need to remember the 3Cs of condominium living.

The first “C” is comfort. Condominiums have high creature comfort levels. You are above the noise and mayhem in the streets. You can park underground and take an elevator up to your floor with the least amount of distractions. You are assured of power, water, fire protection, and peace of mind.

The second “C” is convenience. Many condominiums have amenity levels that contain a veritable country club with all the facilities mentioned above. Many are connected to full-blown shopping malls, supermarkets, food courts and restaurant enclaves. Many too will have laundry services, kindergartens or crèches, tutor services, fitness centers, convenience stores, and even bookshops. The ultimate convenience is that a good number of these condominiums are part of mixed-use complexes or districts where you can literally walk to work or take an elevator down to you office.

The third “C” is community. It is easy to make friends in condominiums. The opportunities for social interaction are many and varied. Children can have play dates without the need to commute them across town. The lobbies and communal areas, as well as elevators, yoga studios and gyms, are other spatial sites for interaction. Finally, being close to city centers also means being close to cultural and entertainment venues where socializing is at its finest and urban life its most vibrant.

So with all these advantages orange you glad you chose to live in a condominium?

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.