Triumph of the Triangle

 â€œGreat cities are not static, they constantly change and take the world along with them.” Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser

Important cities are defined by the geometries of their cores. Washington DC is organized around its central rectangular mall; Rome by St. Peter’s Square; Venice by the trapezoidal Piazza de San Marco, Beijing and Moscow by their respective giant quadrangles. They all evolved and changed for the better as they grew from small towns to powerful metropolises with global influence.

In modern Philippines, it is the Makati Triangle that has defined progress in the capital metropolis and arguably, the whole country. The center of the premier CBD (central business district) of Metro Manila, is framed by grand Ayala Avenue, urbane Makati Avenue and stately Paseo de Roxas.

It has been this way since the district morphed in the late 1940s from one of Manila’s first international airports into today’s international center for business and commerce. The old Nielson Tower still stands (now nearing its latest incarnation as a Michelin-star level restaurant) but the surrounding hectares of tarmac and cogon have turned “from grass to glass.”

Towers of concrete, steel, aluminium and modern curtain walling have filled each of the surrounding quarters with the drama of global transactions and the hustle and bustle of local and regional business. Each decade from the 1950s, onwards to the new millennium, has seen edifices reaching higher and providing more and more conducive settings not only for commerce now, but also for lifestyle, shopping and residential functions of contemporary Filipino lives.

The triangle around which modern Makati grew also changed with the times. Within it today are two landmark structures, the 1960s Makati Stock Exchange and the elegant 1990s Tower One, headquarters of the Ayala Group of Companies. The rest of the area is occupied by the old air terminal and the Triangle Gardens, which has become a lively and magnificent setting for urban events, al fresco dining and aromatic café culture.

Most of the Ayala triangle’s changes have been on the Ayala Avenue edge, at the base of the geometric frame. In keeping with the times and the surrounding city growth, Ayala Land is embarking on completing the next phase of a master plan for the triangle. This involves a second tall tower rising from a base of elevated greenery.

I met last week with Mel Ignacio, project development head for Makati at Ayala Land Inc. She briefed me on this new phase of the triangle’s development, which she emphasized is limited to just the northern tip of the triangle. This will only cover only about 12% of the total area of the triangle.

Tower Two, as this pinnacle of modern architecture is currently referred to, will be complemented by a swanking new hotel. This is actually a state of the art avatar of the erstwhile Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which is soon to give way to a mixed-use residential complex.

This tandem of office skyscraper and hotel, explained Mel, will serve to activate this end of the triangle and connect it with other nodes like that anchored by the green Zuellig Tower on the Urdaneta Village side, as well as the established arrondisement of Salcedo Village on the opposite edge.

Ms. Ignacio also shared the other improvements aligned with this master plan.

She elaborated that these connections are part of the ever-improving network of pedestrian-friendly wide sidewalks, elevated pedestrian bridges and underground links. The district has the most integrated system of mobility covering vehicular and ambulatory routes at par with the best cities in the world.

Coming into central Makati, one need only park in one facility and soon literally walk to everywhere, if one is so inclined—from EDSA on the south, to Gil Puyat Avenue on the northeast, to Arnaiz Avenue on the southwest. This again is an urban character defined by a triangular geometry that signals robust growth and transformation.

Back to the central Ayala triangle, the Ayala Triangle Gardens, Mel Ignacio expounded: This central predominantly-open space will be conserved as such and improved with more retail and enhanced landscape design. It will continue to serve as an urban oasis at the heart of Makati CBD. Ayala Triangle’s generous open space, according to Ms Ignacio is also what makes this site unique and valuable “… it is thus in our interest to ensure that this sense of openness is maintained and enhanced.”

The new tower additions will also come with a civic space at its base, which will flow from the open green into a lower garden surrounded by a veritable valley of green growing from each level of the podiums of each or the two. The site will have an open air amphitheatre for shows and performances, and retail to further complete the experience in the Triangle, including cafes with outdoor seating. Ignacio adds, “We will also improve some aspects of what we are already offering – pedestrian and jogger-friendly paving, good area lighting, and enhancement with public art pieces.”

The building of these towers, according to Ignacio, will mean some relocation of existing trees. This work will be done by professional arborists and experienced landscape contractors. Tree management has already commenced and carefully 50% of the affected trees will be relocated within the gardens, with the other half to Circuit Makati, Ayala land’s newest enclave by the Pasig River. The balling out of some of the trees will start soon, says the Ayala executive, as it is best to relocate trees before the rains come to ensure a higher rate of success.

The changes to the Ayala Triangle start with the landscape, and ends with the cityscape improved. After the two towers are added and the surrounding streetscapes adjusted and improved, the continuity of green vistas and permeability will not be compromised. The triangle’s development on this northern tip serve to strengthen not just greenery and pedestrian links but, most importantly, it will activate this side of the Makati CBD with urban vibrancy, creating a new convergence point at the Makati Avenue-Paseo de Roxas intersection.

There is much to look forward to at the Ayala Triangle. Artist impressions shown here with this article delineate the real estate giant’s intent to re-imagine the original CBD geometry as a nexus of sustainable urban living. The development of the triangle is a testament to Ayala Land’s confidence in the continued growth and progress of the country. It will be, Ignacio declares “…a triumph of the Triangle, and a solid base that will help ensure the district’s and the nation’s continuing prosperity.”

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Feedback is welcome. Please email the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com. For more information log on to: www.makeitmakati.com.