Nuvali Evoliving a model for sustainability

By Marcos de Guzman Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE RESPONSIBLE fisherman is aware of the adverse effects of unrestricted fishing. Improper methods would yield a substantial catch but only within a very limited time and maybe never again. He knows that the ocean is his source of livelihood and therefore must be respected. No matter how bountiful, its resources can be depleted.

The same is true for the use of the land. A responsible developer would know the effects of overcrowding. Although full-scale building and development could yield great profits, it may be irresponsible because it might prove unhealthy, not only for the dwellers but also for the ecosystem that it supplants. Now that more people are concerned with the preservation of the environment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, homebuyers are beginning to understand the importance of sustainability.

The cities of tomorrow can only be viable if these are no longer based solely on the old ratios of efficiency and cost, but increasingly so, on its capacity to promote a healthy balance between mind and body. Such is the concept of “evoliving,” which has been defined as “the seamless weaving of life, nature and technology to secure a vibrant future and observance of responsibility, harmony and diversity, enabling people to live the way they choose.” This is the essence of Nuvali, an Ayala Land development project.

Nuvali is a 1,700-hectare development located in Sta.Rosa, Laguna and extending all the way to Calamba, envisioned to be the country’s next urban centre. Its gateway is the Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road, a striking landmark on your way to Tagaytay. It aims to integrate an assortment of land uses vital in support of a modern metropolis. This enterprise has a central business district with traditional office buildings, BPO campuses and retail centers, and boasting of several residential areas. Lot buyers have a wealth of options from the nearby residential projects of Ayala Land Inc., Ayala Land Premiere, Alveo Land and Avida Land, among others. There are also schools and institutional and civic areas operating in the vicinity.

Sustainability

Nuvali redefines urban living through sustainability, thus distinguishing itself from cities as we know it, which are mostly high-density urban centers. This much-touted sustainability is found in the ecologically-sound environment, while hosting a diverse but complete array of enterprises and activities integral to true community building. This will enable the whole development to be self-sufficient, reducing dependence on the big cities for services.

The villages within Nuvali have been purposely kept small and compact, ranging from 20 to 70 hectares, each one organized around a community center and planned along a modified grid network of roads. This approach ensures that each residence is not very far away from a transit stop, a convenience retail area, or a civic space. The proximity ensures more efficient traffic with several routes to the main highways. An efficient, privately managed transit system has been set up to reduce the residents’ dependence on private vehicles.

Ecological sustainability is assured through the maintenance of the wide expanse of open spaces and waterways ideal for nature to regenerate. These spaces allow for better air quality which whittles down to mean freer air flow, less artificial air-conditioning, and less noxious emissions. Water is used efficiently through rainwater harvesting and recycling with the option to reuse in non-potable applications such as irrigation and as a fire reserve.

Important role

Here, technology plays an important role through the use of double piping and filtration. A central environmental feature is the lake which is harnessed not only for esthetics but serves as the key for ecological balance and as the main reservoir for rainwater harvesting. Another significant feature is the tree-lined pedestrian and bike lanes which encourage walking and a healthier lifestyle.

The project also utilizes sewerage treatment plants enhanced with green wetlands for a more efficient sewer management, a proven waste management system from segregation at source to disposal. The use of bio-swales, detention basins and permeable surfacing helps recharge groundwater and reduce surface run off and will facilitate the cleansing and regulation of storm water outflows. This will be the first large-scale implementation of its kind in the country.

In the structures themselves such as the Evoliving Center, One Evotech, Solenade and the buildings of Abrio, Treveia and Avida Settings Cavite, Nuvali upholds the principles of green architecture, utilizing energy-efficient lighting fixtures, appliances and equipment, passive cooling technologies, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, low-emissivity glass, green materials and sustainable landscaping.

Over 100,000 trees had been planted or maintained to ensure good environmental air quality and less soil erosion, which eventually comes down to keeping the waterways even cleaner and improving the soil’s water-retention capacity.

We must learn to accept that we do share this world with other living things, many of which are at our mercy. The quality of life we maintain is theirs too, for better or for worse. We have a great responsibility on our hands, so what little we can do to keep the natural balance, we must.

6 developments that’ll make you say ‘cool!’

By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

IS YOUR developer suffering from agoraphobia, the fear of wide, open spaces? If so, then that developer is making life a bit worse for you. It might be time to set your sights for not only greener but more spacious pastures.

Open spaces are essential for “keeping your cool.” In a tropical, humid climate such as what the Philippines has, open spaces are effective for countering the effects of what Inquirer Property columnist and “green architect” Amado de Jesus calls the “urban heat island effect.”

However, if you own property in one of the open space-loving developers and projects listed below, then we have two things to say to you: Keep it, and stay there.

1. Ayala Land’s Anvaya Cove in Morong, Bataan. Its mango grove park alone (at a cool one hectare or 10,000 square meters) makes spending your days here all worth it. The park was built to protect half-century-old mango trees. In total, Anvaya Cove is all of 320 hectares of forested foothills of mango and narra trees --
most of which have been purposely left untouched.

2. Nuvali in Laguna. At 1,700 hectares, this upcoming Ayala Land metropolis in Laguna dwarfs the Ayala Makati CBD 10 times over, and if you do the math, its claim of 45 percent open space translates to a whopping 765 hectares. That’s space earmarked for bike trails, jogging paths, exercise stations, orchards, pocket parks, and various common amenity areas.

Nuvali is so large it can sustain itself as a nature sanctuary. And that’s what the developer intends for the development in favor of its nonhuman dwellers and endemic flora, which include the Philippine Bat Snake, flying lizards, the reticulated python, the short-nosed fruit bat, the large lamo tree, the small takip asin tree, Niog-niogan and the Binuang tree.

3. Filinvest’s Timberland in San Mateo, Rizal. Nearly half of this 677-hectare master-planned community will reportedly be dedicated to open spaces, including the 80 hectares of so-called Greenways sprawled all over the town. Greenways will include different nature and recreation nodes such as theme parks, lagoons, camp grounds, and horse and bike trails that can be enjoyed by the community’s existing and future residents.

Timberland Heights, on the other hand, offers themed communities, the biggest of which would be the 7,303-sq-m amenity area of the 40-hectare Mandala Residential Farm Estates 1. Here, you’ll find community amenities like a clubhouse with view deck and a swimming pool. Only 20 percent of the total development area of the Mandala Residential Estates 1 and 2 will be used for home structures, while the remaining 80 percent will be dedicated to open spaces or for farming activities of residents.

For its various projects, Filinvest has been maintaining low-density communities.

For instance, the residential projects Banyan Ridge, Banyan Crest and The Ranch have a density ratio of a maximum 20 lots for every hectare. For Farm Estates Mandala 1 and 2, the maximum ratio is just 7 lots per hectare.

4. Ayala Greenfields Estates in Calamba, Laguna. Only Ayala has enough land in hand to make 15 hectares into a nature park. Again, the property giant makes nonhuman dwellers co-equal stakeholders in Ayala Greenfields Estates, where 35 species and 21 families of endemic and migratory birds such as doves, woodpeckers, flower peckers, swallows, wagtails and shrikes consider their fly zones. In the nature park, humans can share the airspace with feathered friends, or just relax in the ambience of tree houses and picnic huts surrounded by gardens.

5. Megaworld’s McKinley Hill (Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City). Megaworld’s biggest live-work-play-learn community is an example of maximizing open space in a limited area. Sure, 50 hectares don’t seem like much if you range it against the land areas of other big-ticket projects, but when you consider the location (right at the heart of a congested Mega Manila), then McKinley Hill is an admirable feat, and it complies with the requirements of Presidential Decree 957, which states that 30 percent of a development must remain open and non-saleable.

So what can you see and do in 15 hectares of non-saleable open space? Priceless breathing space in a forest park, what else, and that’s a truly hard commodity to come by in a megalopolis.

The saleable area of McKinley Hill, of course, is where you’ll put your money in. It has its residential area with the high-end subdivision McKinley Hill Village, condominiums such as the Venice Luxury Residences, commercial areas such as the upcoming Venetian Mall, office areas (BPO office spaces in One, Two and Three World Square and the new Commerce and Industry Plaza), schools and embassies (Chinese International School Manila, Korean International School, British Embassy and Korean Embassy).

6. Celadon Manila (Manila). Going even smaller, Celadon Manila, the 6-hectare in-city development by Alveo Land, has nearly 2.2 hectares of green, open space and amenities. Alveo, an Ayala subsidiary, claims the open space is the largest in any residential development in Manila. Its 202-unit Celadon Residences (townhomes), has a density of just 48 units per hectare.

Celadon Manila presents a salable area of 19,651 sq m and a non-saleable area of 22,349 square meters. It is composed of three distinctive elements that characterize a cohesive urban ecosystem-retail (shops at Celadon) to be managed by Ayala malls, business (Vertex One) by Ayala Land Businesscapes and residential (Celadon Residences and Celadon Park) by Alveo Land.