Putting on the green
Putting on the green
Posted:11:43 PM (Manila Time) | Mar. 25, 2004
Inquirer News Service
THESE days, when it is considered good business to turn agricultural or idle land into real estate developments, we can thank our lucky stars that some developers out there still think in terms of “going back to nature” or greening barren space. Otherwise we’ll have nothing but malls and shopping arcades and concrete jungles to rattle our nerves.
The latest in Ayala Land’s (ALI) real estate projects has its sights set on the refreshing and healthful color of green. It has been given an exotic name to evoke images of serenity and peace-”Serendra.”
Developers call it “suburban living in the city.” And to achieve this goal, ideas were culled from all over the world.
Greening team
The team finally chosen to put the greening concept together consists of the Santa Monica-based architectural firm of Moore Ruble Yudell (MRY), and the firm of landscape architect Mia Lehrer. MRY is noted for the way it handles densities, its use of curvilinear and serpentine elements to mark the relationship between one area and another. Mia Lehrer has extensive experience in tropical styles and uses this to complement overall architectural designs.
And so it is that the sought-after image-suburban serenity-is gradually emerging in an urban locale, in Bonifacio Global City. The suburban amenities here include proximity to Makati’s business district; accessibility to schools, churches, a mini haven for shoppers, and well-secured premises; and most of all, a lot of green space. It is this closeness to nature that best describes and distinguishes Serendra.
Some projects like to stress the elegance of their buildings and interiors, “putting on the Ritz” as the saying goes. Serendra can also tote up its elegant points, but is literally more down-to-earth about it, “putting on the green” instead.
Good business sense
So this 12-hectare property has set aside 2/3 to create a really green environment. While some businesses seem impervious to nature-friendly practices, this one believes that when you enhance nature, you are likely to increase profits, too.
It will take at least five years before this “suburb in the city” is ready for occupancy but there is a scale model and an architect’s perspective to give interested parties an idea of what to expect. The “2/3″ allotted to the environment will consist of lush landscaping of large canopy trees, wide spaces interspersed with what ALI calls “intimate clusters of gardens.”
There will be theme gardens and flower patches, fruit orchards, and beds of kitchen herbs. Vine-covered trellises will provide beauty and shade over pathways along buildings, inviting people to ride less and walk more. There will be pools and little streams for play and sports that will serve as water catchment as well.
While sports facilities are inevitably part of overall plans, ALI promises residents that in several other ways, they “will know once more what it’s like to walk and run freely on lawns and gardens.” Other environmental considerations include a waste disposal system, which ALI officials believe will be more effective when residents themselves can input their own ideas.
Promoting neighborliness
Residents are assured that this will be a low-density development, which means that overcrowding in any section will be avoided for safety’s sake and to make it easier for children to play near their homes and residents to interact with each other. One way to ensure this is by having low-level parking spaces that will make it unnecessary to leave cars on the streets.
Serendra departs from other ALI developments by doing away with the individual lot and house scheme like those in Forbes Park and Dasmari¤as Village. The high-rise buildings in this project are not the skyscraper types, to allow a feeling of neighborly closeness, a feeling not always possible when a home is in a truly tall structure.
Real estate developers who “put on the green” in their projects know it makes good sense, simply because they are dealing with land, one of Nature’s most precious resource. And it must be enhanced and protected if it is to continue being useful to humans.
E-mail the writer at dorisnuyda@yahoo.com.
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