Highrise meets high art in Proscenium, Rockwell’s new cultural lifestyle hub

MANILA, Philippines - Imagine stepping out of your condo in your tux or long gown and walking just a few steps to see Yo-Yo Ma perform with a philharmonic orchestra. Or  comfortably strolling in your jeans to watch an artist like Elton John perform in a stage right next to your garden.
   That is one of the unique lifestyle offerings envisioned by Rockwell Land in its latest condominium  project called Proscenium, rising in a 3.6-hectare property right within Rockwell Center in Makati. Composed of five residential towers — with only four units per floor — the Proscenium will have  a 700-seater theater, a museum and library, an art gallery, specialty shops subscribing to the artisanal and the artistic, edgy cafes and unique restos right within its gated space. Imagine cascading waterfalls in drop-off areas, reflecting pools, private lawns, a game room and a state-of-the-art gym and you get the complete picture.
   Having mastered elegant high-rise living with their tribute developments named after Philippine greats in the art scene — Rizal Tower, Hidalgo Place, Amorsolo Square, Luna Gardens, The Manansala, Joya Lofts & Towers and Edades Tower & Gardens — Rockwell Land now shifts to creating a cultural hub right within its walls.

They say the mark of every country’s progress is a thriving art and culture scene, where creative pursuits are fostered by a society that encourages, patronizes, and celebrates fine art and talent. The new generation development of Rockwell Land, for its part, promises to build the Proscenium as the most desired address of the Metro’s rising culturati set, where a fine designed community expanse merges with the finest showcase of art and culture.

Starting with a revolutionary design aesthetic, marked by empirical architecture by the renowned Carlos Ott, impressive community planning revolving around an envisioned cultural center, and innovative approaches to overall form and function, Rockwell Land’s master planner, Walter Raleigh Stewart, responsible for transforming the Makati skyline with the Rockwell Center development some 17 years back, renews the developers’ commitment in uplifting its future residents’ life and style. 
  “We’re going to have a lot of people living in these areas, and they’re going to want to have some retail, restaurants, and establishments convenient to them. Those may be themed or may have a bias with the cultural environment, but at the same time it is a neighborhood, so we would have to look after providing a great, rewarding neighborhood,” says Stewart.  

By repositioning the large collection of art from the Lopez Museum, as well as the extensive collection of historical archives from the Lopez Library that will make up the venerated, mixed-use Lopez Center, currently under construction, and a 700-seater theater and multipurpose hall at its heart, the cultural blueprint of the Proscenium makes for a sound symphony of well-balanced living, heightened by the arias of its gleaming residential towers. It is high-rise living matched by high art.The Lopez family — headed by Oscar, Manolo, Gabby and Cedie Lopez-Vargas — will see to that.

Named after famous performance halls and cultural landmarks around the globe — such as the Kirov in St. Petersburg which is home to the finest ballets in the world, the Corral in Madrid, Spain which is the Castillan cultural and performing arts center, and Sakura which is Japan’s very own venue for its traditional performances and dance, closest to the heart of one of Rockwell Land’s dynamic founders, Ambassador Manolo Lopez, currently the country’s envoy to Japan — the Proscenium’s residential towers, just like its literal meaning, will provide exceptional living and lifestyle arrangements at the “forefront of its scenery.”  

“It’s rounding out the totality of how people live. Rockwell is not just a shopping center, it’s a community with a strong sense of identity. We want to bring all the other aspects of life,” explains Rockwell Land’s retail consultant, Colin Stephens. The Proscenium by Rockwell will be the future home of swanky designer boutiques, art galleries, and premium dining establishments and cafes, offering a curatorial experience to lifestyle and leisure. “It is retail that is centered towards the arts, that is really beyond traditional shopping. We want the different and the unusual. It’s a different experience which brings a different dimension to life,” adds Stephens. 

And with its masterful approaches to security, accessibility, and preventive design measures, the Proscenium by Rockwell provides a utopian approach to urban life. Not many people know that the Lopezes built an extensive P20 million flood control and river wall to protect against the natural elements given its proximity to the Pasig River, as well as precautionary procedures defending the area from brown-outs and water shortages.The Proscenium is a landmark in urban planning and cutting-edge construction technology, yet some things of value clearly remain the same.

“It will still be very Rockwell, where security is paramount in our design. It’s a 3.6-hectare property, a very large development. We will need to widen the streets and address traffic concerns, but we have always been known to solve problems even outside our properties,” explains Rockwell Land Corporation  president Nestor “Tong” Padilla. With his firm approach to traffic management and residential safety, Padilla promises privileged living in what would be the most desired real estate properties in the Rockwell tradition.

Yet, what seems like a novel concept and approach to modern urban living was drawn from an old pioneering vision. “It goes back to the time of the late Geny (Eugenio) Lopez Jr., who had lands under his office in then PCI Bank, and he thought of pretty much what Rockwell Land is today. He was way ahead of everybody. We hadn’t even started yet, we hadn’t even broke ground, but he was already identifying these areas,” reveals Padilla of the original blueprint of the whole Rockwell development, with art and culture clearly defined at its core, mostly due to its founding patron. In this sense, the Proscenium pays homage to the empowering relationship of the artist and the patron, the commissioner and the craftsman, from which has sprung countless cultural movements that defined human history.  

By offering a sophisticated and elegant living experience in a sound  location, the Proscenium by Rockwell reminds everyone how to live.