Arden Botanical Village: At home with nature
In this congested concrete jungle called Metro Manila, we can only dream of having a home with a big, beautiful garden bursting with flowers and trees. We can dream, can’t we? But what if you could have not just a garden but a whole park right outside your doorstep?
Welcome to Arden Botanical Village, the first upscale residential village that property giant Megaworld is building inside its 251-hectare Arden Botanical Estate in Trece Martires City, Cavite.
Designed to be a sustainable estate, Arden Botanical Estate is a joint development of Megaworld and its subsidiary brand Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI), which are putting in P18 billion in the next 10 years to build an integrated lifestyle community township that boasts flower farms and gardens,Eugene Em Lozano, Megaworld first vice president, tells us, “With the success of McKinley West Village and Alabang West, Megaworld is bringing its expertise all the way to the south, in the area of Tanza and Trece Martires, Cavite, less than an hour away from Makati, an hour away from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), and less than 30 minutes away from Tagaytay.”
Arden Botanical Village covers all of 18 hectares of the estate and boasts 329 high-end residential lots ranging from 280 to 609 square meters. Lot prices in this exclusively gated village range from P18,000 to P22,000 per square meter.
For this dream village to become reality, Megaworld is working with renowned landscape architect and environmental planner Paulo Alcazaren. Arden Botanical Village is probably the first residential development to be masterplanned by a landscape architect who, with his competent team of dreamers, is out to challenge our imagination. It’s also the first development in the larger Arden estate. “It will prime the whole development, set the flavor, so we have to make good,” Paulo vows.
He relates, “We went to the site and flew a drone. What we realized was that the place is so blessed with natural features -- 100-year-old trees, different plant specimens, rivers and waterways. So, instead of going the usual route of bringing in architects, doing the masterplanning and bulldozing everything, we decided to preserve and highlight these natural gifts from the site and just build around the area.”
Hear this: Some cold, misty mornings, you wake up to the synchronized chirping of birds sitting on your windowsill. As darkness covers the earth, the sound of crickets rises to a crescendo to lull you to dreamland.
“Yes, you will only hear this in areas where there are lots of trees,” says Paulo. “Like this area of Cavite where Arden is, which is far from the industries and pollution.”
Making nature livable
Its catchphrase, “Making nature livable,” aptly describes Arden. “We highlighted it, preserved it, and designed it to be livable, offering a holistic wellness lifestyle (but more on this a bit later) for every Filipino,” Paulo shares.
It was a project too good for Paulo to pass up. “So the framework for the development is already there,” he discloses. “Here, we’re not starting from scratch. The distinctive feature of this village is you don’t have to wait for 10 years before the landscape matures. Here, it’s almost all there already. We found out that the best way to create a community is to work with what you already have. The philosophy of my company is to design with nature, not against it.”
We ask Paulo, “So, you’re not chopping down a single tree?”
He informs us, “We will clear some of the areas, but when we start planting the street trees, the whole village will have as many trees as when we first saw the site.”
Indeed, at Arden Botanical Village, nature is your backyard. Paulo tells us, “A good portion of the residential lots faces the park. The park is an extension of your backyard. Residents will be allowed a gate to the park so they have direct access to it. So, part of the restrictions for these prime lots is that residents are not allowed to build concrete walls. But the lot is higher than the park by over a meter, so even if there are people in the park, they won’t see you. There’s a fence, but we will be providing material restrictions.”
Paulo elaborates, “In any other city across the world, like in the best ones, you’re only 10 minutes away from a park. Here, you’re only five minutes away. What we’ve done is to arrange all of the lots around two large groves of trees and to highlight the water feature. We found out that water flows here, we kept that flow.”
That Scandinavian vibe
Arden Botanical Village exudes a Scandinavian vibe with its Scandinavian-inspired architecture characterized by simplicity, minimalism, and functionality without sacrificing beauty. Think natural materials such as wood and large panoramic windows that look out into the meandering fields and rolling hills.
“We aim for this village to take on this Scandinavian design -- very nice, clean lines,” Paulo describes. “And with those groves of trees, it’s actually cooler here than in Manila. And we’re maintaining that cool temperature even if we start filing up the place with homes.”
Why choose Scandinavia as the inspiration for this village?
“Because Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway) are the most livable countries with the happiest and healthiest people,” replies Eugene. “Since here, we focus on the wellness aspect of living, we want to transport that Scandinavian kind of happiness to the Philippines. We kept the grove of trees because that’s what you’ll find in Scandinavia; all of their recreational facilities are beside forests.”
It’s like you’re in a Scandinavian country. “Our vision is to transport people outside the Philippines,” Eugene asserts.
“That’s why we’re bringing in pine trees and thematic bridges,” Paulo chimes in. “We could only plant trees that look Scandinavian in silhouette, but they’re actually local, we did not import anything.”
The furniture/furnishings are all locally made, to empower our local artists and support local businesses.
The green areas make up 25 percent of the total development that spans 4.5 hectares. “That’s the largest I’ve ever worked on,” Paulo enthuses.
“We’re looking at a more sustainable lifestyle, as much preservation as we can,” declares Eugene. “We try our best to really preserve all these natural features. For every township that Megaworld does, it’s a chance for us to offer a more ideal design of urban planning to our clients. We show them there’s an aspect of nature -- walkable streets, bike lanes, everything has been better studied.”
He hastens to add, “The concept behind it is we try to preserve the lives of people, so whatever we put here, the purpose is to add another life to residents. We will not say you will live longer here, but the idea is how people can live longer if they stay here. So, instead of just bringing in tropical trees that are colored green, we’re bringing in flowers of all colors to activate the senses. Because more than the physical aspect, mind wellness is very important. Thus, we will likewise have a yoga deck and meditation grounds.”
A walk in the park
The central attraction of this garden village is the Centrera Park (Centrera is the Swedish word for “to the center”), which is surrounded by groves of mature trees, natural waterways and ponds, lush greeneries, parks and promenades, jogging paths, and lots of open spaces. Wellness being the main theme of this development, there will be beautifully landscaped walkways to inspire residents to walk and stay fit.
Part of the Centrera Park is the village clubhouse with carefully curated amenities that both residents and their guests can enjoy. For instance, there’s the natural swimming pool, now a popular trend in European communities. “It’s a hybrid pool with no chlorine, only filtered water using the plants. This is good for everyone because you don’t get any rashes from swimming,” Paulo assures everyone. “We’re using a natural water system and you will be swimming with the frogs.”
To encourage community bonding, there will be social grounds, treehouses, and playgrounds. “We also want to focus on the social aspect of living,” Eugene stresses. “We want the residents to step out of their homes and meet their neighbors. We will also have interactive water features for kids and their pets.”
Here, as you come in, the first refreshing sight you’ll see is the natural pond. “This will ensure that the rainwater is recycled, that it goes to the nutrition of the trees,” says Paulo. “This will encourage you to put up your own garden as all this water and low temperature will ensure that these gardens you start will thrive.”
Pointing to another distinctive feature of this village, Paulo gushes, “We’re putting up four bridges as part of the taming of the area. Going across the bridge is always a nice experience.”
For those looking to having a second home, Arden Botanical Village is it! “Our target markets include growing families, retirees, people living in Cavite,” says Eugene. “Because it’s a Megaworld township development, everyone knows it’s a good investment. Target date for turnover is December, 2023.”
A home with your own garden to grow? As movie legend Audrey Hepburn said, “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.”
