As you read this, I am currently reviewing an 85-unit apartment building to be built on the Hudson River facing Manhattan. To maximize the real estate potential and the view, the building’s shape is extremely irregular and confusing, causing all sorts of weird shapes in the apartments.
Apartment (or condo) living poses a question for all Feng Shui students: do I read the main complex, or do I read the individual unit? The answer is not easy, for you need to read both, which is why reading an apartment, even a small one, is as complex as reading a house.
The answer is not easy, for you need to read both, which is why reading an apartment, even a small one, is as complex as reading a house.
In other words, you need to analyze and correct the unit where a person lives using the Five Elements, Ying & Yang, and Eight Trigrams techniques that we learn in our programs and online classes. In addition to that, you also need to read the overall building where the unit is housed.
Think of it in these terms: if your foot hurts, you check the foot first, but you also check the rest of the body to find out where the problem originates. In the same manner, if you live in an apartment, your energy is affected by both the unit where you live, and the overall complex itself. This is more so if the apartment is oriented differently that the main building (a.k.a. facing a different direction).
Even if an apartment looks perfect from a Feng Shui standpoint, it is usually a good idea to check out the whole complex before you move in. For instance, are there a lot of vacant units? Is turn around there significant? Do other tenants suffer poor health? Are their finances in good/bad shape? If so, then these are all signs that unforeseeable problems could come from the main building, and these problems will probably affect you in a similar adverse manner just as they do your fellow neighbors.
In the case of the apartment building I am reviewing, each side has a different orientation (which counts as four buildings), and almost every apartment on eachfloor has a different shape and layout, so to evaluate them all individually would take a very long time. But since the building is still under design, single units are not being evaluated yet. They will be evaluated only upon the request of the individual renter (so keep this in mind if you are ever renting an apartment or buying a condo).