Courtesy of James Law CybertectureThe Bandra Ohm, a residential high-rise in Mumbai, is offering the latest extravagance in luxury condos: a private balcony swimming pool in every unit.
The 30-story tower will have about 100 units that will all have their very own crescent-shaped balcony pools enclosed in acrylic (the material used in large aquariums), the Wall Street Journal reports.
James Law Cybertecture, the Hong Kong based firm building the Bandra Ohm, is designing the building with private swimming pools in order to offer a whole new approach to the living environment of high-rise buildings.
Courtesy of James Law CybertectureIn fact, the entire building takes its inspiration from water. "The design concept of the tower is inspired by the ripple effect generated by water droplets, which is also known as the capillary wave," according James Law Cybertecture.
The ripple pattern creates an empty space in the center of the building, where the developers have built a specially designed clubhouse.
Courtesy of James Law CybertectureThis is not the first development that is planning to have a private swimming pool in every balcony. A 35 story building in Kuala Lumpur has a tagline that says: "94 Apartments, 95 Swimming Pools," according to the WSJ. In the Bahamas, a 34 unit Honeycomb building will have a private pool in every apartment.
But many are questioning if the private pools are worth it since they are usually quite small, and have a high possibility of spilling over. Plus, there's always the potential disaster of a leak.
The hassles of adding private pools to buildings also significantly increases the price - the Honeycomb's condos that are 5,800 square feet and priced at $15 million.
"If you're trying for a differentiator, that's a reason to do it," Dolly Lenz, a luxury real-estate agent in New York, told the WSJ. "But personally I wouldn't recommend the idea to a developer."