Your office in a garden

MANILA, Philippines - Property developers began to incorporate green gardens — be they vertical or horizontal — into their designs, in an attempt to bring balance to areas where people work and live. Today, the disciplines of city planning and landscape architecture have become critical tools in designing habitable urban spaces.

Landscape architecture has evolved into a multi-disciplinary field that includes elements — from botany, horticulture, fine arts, architecture, industrial design, earth science and ecology. It doesn’t just concern itself with the aesthetics of laying out plants; it also incorporates the concept of sustainable development.

“The garden and the building should not be viewed as separate entities. They should be seen as one: the garden complementing the building,” says architect Efren Aurelio of E. A. Aurelio Landscape Architects (EAALA). 

“Gardens must be integrated into the overall design plan instead of being added as a mere after-thought or cosmetic touch to the building. Tenants will better enjoy and appreciate the beauty of a building’s garden if these are designed to provide a relaxing environment that minimizes the harsh ambience of concrete structures.”

Aurelio knows what he speaks of having designed the gardens of the newly built Zuellig Building in Makati City. The 33-story glass office tower at the corner of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, is the first high-rise office building in the city to be pre-certified at Gold level by the US Green Building Council for the Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design (Core and Shell) (LEED-CS) program. The developer aims to upgrade this certification to Platinum, putting the Zuellig Building at parity with the world’s best green office structures.

For the Zuellig Building, EAALA created three gardens located at separate locations within the property. There is a 2,500-square-meter private garden that flows seamlessly into the lobby, a two-tier landscaped terraces on the second and third level of the retail annex, and a Sky Garden on the 32nd level.

“A garden designed for a LEED building requires consideration of many aspects in its planning and construction. Environmental sustainability is of prime importance,” Aurelio explains. “Water conservation, for instance, is highly stressed, such that devices are introduced underneath the soil to avoid water wastage. Plant species and types are carefully selected so that they will suit each micro- environment. Even landscape materials, such as stones and tiles, are scrutinized to enhance compatibility with the environment.”

The varying locations of the three gardens in the Zuellig Building necessitated designs that specifically address the needs of the public and the users of the building. Aurelio says, “There is a unifying theme in designing the gardens. The building is modern and sleek, and the landscape gardens try to complement this, especially in the choice of hard and soft materials, and in their layout.”

Architectural and landscape patterns and forms of the lobby garden engage the building layout and its surroundings. The transition from outdoor to indoor is accentuated by a serene water feature flanking the entrance.   In the retail pavilion where the garden is connected to the food court, ample space is provided so that people can sit and mingle while remaining connected with the green expanses of the Ayala Triangle and Urdaneta Village.  The Sky Garden has a bigger deck area, planted with tall bamboo trees that complement the ceramic frit pattern of the floor-to-ceiling glazed panels of the building’s curtain wall. It is suited for social gatherings.

“Ideally, the design team of any property development — the design consultant, architect and landscaper — should work together to come up with a cohesive design that is functional, up-to-date and responsive to local conditions. With the lead taken by the Zuellig Building, we foresee future developments using LEED standards in their planning and construction design and methodologies, highlighting a concern for the environment.  High quality and standards will become the norm in many future building endeavors,” Aurelio said.

The firm E. A. Aurelio Landscape Architects was founded in 2007. Its team of landscape designers and architects have worked on projects such as the Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu, the redevelopment of Greenbelt Park in Makati City, Paradise Cove in Fairways and Blue Water and Regency Lagoon, both in Boracay, the Sea Breeze Verandas at Anvaya Cove in Bataan, SM Grass Residences in QC and SM Wind in Tagaytay.