A day at home in The Apollo Towers

The Apollo Towers are built for a household that wants most of an ordinary day within reach of the lift. Two ten-storey towers on the Hulhumalé beachfront hold a pool, a gym, a children's play area, a hall for occasions and two floors of shops and services. This is a day there, drawn from the developer's description and from the listing of the one flat Binga has let in the building.

Morning

The pool comes first for the early risers; one Binga listing in the building describes it as a rooftop pool. For those who prefer weights to lengths, the gym has separate locker rooms and showers for men and women, which means changing and showering before work without queueing for a single bathroom at home.

Breakfast is in the kitchen. In the furnished two-bedroom Binga let here, that was a modern L-shaped kitchen opening on to a bright open-plan living room, with a private balcony beyond it. Then the car or the motorcycle out of the two-level parking at the rear of the tower.

Day

The ground and first floors of both towers are commercial. The same listing describes an on-site supermarket, which removes a whole category of errands: the forgotten milk, the extra bottle of water, the thing needed for tonight's dinner. For anyone working from home, a shop downstairs is the difference between a break and a trip.

The listing also describes local schools, parks and mosques as a short walk away. Beyond that is Hulhumalé itself, the planned island across the bridge from Malé, with wider streets, parks and the beach.

Afternoon

For families, the children's play area is the building's best room. Apollo describes it in detail: defined zones for activity and for rest, a washroom inside the space, a small double-decker playhouse with reading tents, and desks for reading and colouring. It is somewhere to take a restless child on a wet afternoon without leaving home, and somewhere quiet enough for a book.

Evening

The developer places the towers facing the yacht marina, so the evening view from the right side of the building is boats and water. The multi-purpose hall takes care of the larger occasions: a birthday, a family gathering, even a meeting, the developer notes, without booking a venue elsewhere. Guests can park in the visitor spaces at the rear.

Who it suits

Small families and professionals, in the words of the listing Binga let; families with young children in particular, because of the play area. Couples and sharers who value a gym and a pool downstairs. Anyone who wants a supermarket in the building and a marina at the door.

It suits less someone who wants a quiet, purely residential building: the two commercial floors mean people come and go during the day.