Latitude Corp Center: Cebu’s  first five-star green building

CEBU, Philippines —  The Philippine Green Building Council has declared a corporate building at Cebu Business Park, the first five-star green building in Cebu City under the  Building for Ecologically Responsible Design Excellence (BERDE) system.

The 24-story office building, Latitude Corporate Center, at the Cebu Business Park is now the first word-class green building in Cebu City, based on BERDE’s system of acclaimed global standard.

A joint venture development between Cebu Landmasters, Inc. (CLI) and Borromeo Brothers Estate Inc., Latitude Corporate Center is a P1.2 billion project built to attract tenants who are socially responsible including tailor-fit Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) offices, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), executive offices and enterprise offices.

Philippine Green Building Council executive director Christopher de la Cruz said BERDE’s certification is a reflection of an international standard implemented here in the Philippines.

With companies both foreign and local are putting “green building” as top priority in their requirements to locate offices, rating is also important.

BERDE is a tool to assess, measure, monitor, and certify the performance of green building projects above and beyond existing national and local building and environmental laws, regulations, and mandatory standards. It is recognized by the Philippine government, through the Department of Energy (DOE), as the National Voluntary Green Building Rating System.

Latitude Corporate Center’s green building design particularly highlights sustainable features of ample LED lighting, high-performance building envelope, operable windows for natural ventilation, rainwater collection system, stub-outs for fresh air provision, material recovery facility, plaza with tree sanctuary, live wall at main lobbies, 60 percent glass ration, and 20 percent vegetated green spaces. Its schematic building design follows a unique “stacked building blocks” form to mirror a minimal, elegant and timeless facade.

“Achieving the 1st five-star BERDE Certification in Cebu City shows our commitment to the highest industry standards to create more world-class, sustainable developments,” said Jose Franco Soberano, Cebu Landmasters Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Its architectural design was master planned by Philippines’ leading architectural firm, AIDEA Philippines, Inc.-the same firm that helped conceptualize CLI’s premier projects 38 Park Avenue and Abaca Resort Mactan.

The building is composed of 83 units with 35,000 square meters of gross floor area and leasable spaces ranging from 51 square meters up to 2,000 square meters, ideal for retail and office locators.