Designing for the service charge

Every design decision creates a recurring cost. Pumped water features, extensive glazing, imported plant, long private road networks — each is a commitment made on behalf of owners who were not in the room.

We produce an indicative service charge alongside the concept design and test it against the target buyer's income band. If the number is uncomfortable, the design changes, not the assumption.

Low-maintenance is not the same as low-quality. Robust paving, native planting on drip irrigation, and simple mechanical systems usually read as more considered, not less.

The communities that still look good after ten years in Egypt are almost never the most elaborate at launch. They are the ones whose running cost matched their residents.