A very interesting theme, my friend @storiesoferne. Beauty is a topic of reflection that is of the utmost importance for everyone dedicated to designing, regardless of their area of expertise. Personally, I believe that there is beauty even in what for many may be called ugly, but in the end, your own experiences, level of education, and personal tastes always come to the fore. Here in Venezuela, there is the following popular saying: "Between tastes and colors there are no authors", which means that no one has the authority to aesthetically qualify something or someone, that is, what is beautiful for me may not be beautiful for others.
A simple design but with a powerful visual concept
The Bauhaus had a lot of influence on my professional development and I particularly like minimalist design, but minimalism that is not to be confused with design poverty. So of the three buildings, I prefer the building of the EuroTours Travel Company in Austria. Its simple design, but with a great sense of aesthetics and a brilliant concept involving the company's mission, catches my attention. The EuroTours Travel Company building is created not only to house offices but to generate admiration because its design stands out from the rest of the boxes, as you describe the room buildings in Jordan, which is finally one of the most widespread urban concepts in the world for its simplicity of form and ease of construction. Notice how each floor is divided by a strip of windows and the floor above is differentiated to resemble the deck area of a large ship.
During my career, I also understood what you call "client-dictated designs" and it is logical that the client determines what he wants and even establishes the guidelines. There are clients who are very intelligent and also have excellent taste. These aspects influence so much that the final design is probably enhanced by that additional guidance, concluding in a beautifully proportioned piece, however, I have also come across clients who do not even know what they want and also want to direct everything in real-time, which in the end constitutes the worst experience and the resulting piece lacks all grace and is very faded. The latter I have long refused to do. I ask all my clients for a briefing on their requirements before starting any project and I also encourage them to tell me about their particular preferences, which helps the result to be a professional design, but with all the characteristics of the beauty standard that the client handles.
This is much appreciated my friend @charsdesign. Certainly, when it comes to the subject matter of beauty, we both are constantly presented with a myriad of challenges due to the close relationship between our professions: architecture and graphic design. Producing authentic beauty in our proposals, presentations, and projects typically becomes easy when our clients are surely pleased with our visual inclinations. On the contrary, problems do happen when their personal masterpieces get bombarded by unwanted criticisms from others, sometimes going to the extent of being disrespected, degraded, or ridiculed. These occurrences not only devalue the customer but also directly impacts the original creators of these works. A depressing reality indeed!
Moreover, because the design principles of the Bauhaus Movement (precursor of modern design) have positively influenced your career, I'm not surprised by your great choice of the EuroTours Travel Company in Austria. This building's concept and architectural character lean more toward the international style, exhibiting simple geometric shapes, rounded corners, flat features, and long lines of windows, without the need for elaborate ornamentation - prevalent in the said edifice. Similarly, the urban architecture of the city of Amman in Jordan likewise reflects this distinctive application of its design principles: low-cost, practical, and efficient.
Finally, I'm delighted that in your years of professional dealings with various works, you found a practical and non-stressful solution to counteract the so-called "client-dictated designs". In fact, I also follow your effective method of requesting project briefs or orientations from clients to provide me with some ideas of what they envision for their dream buildings. At the end of the day, their ultimate happiness, satisfaction, and positive experiences are what matter the most. 👍😊