By Bernard L Supetran
CAGAYAN de Oro City, the northern gateway of Mindanao, has been the choice of many urbanites from Metro Manila who want a unique blend of a bucolic countryside living and the comforts of modern living.
Dubbed as the “City of Golden Friendship,” it is endowed by rich bodies of water, majestic mountains, exotic indigenous peoples’ communities and a host of natural wonders. Fondly called CDO, it is the second top commercial city in the Land of Promise, with splendid airport and seaport facilities and urban amenities at par with the country’s best.
Now there is more reason to make this eclectic city your home in the south with residential developments, which offers green “rurban” living minus the madding crowd of the big city. Italpinas Development Corp. (IDC), a Philippine-Italian partnership which prides itself in being a sustainable real-estate firm, has made CDO its showcase for innovative green building technology in Primavera Residences. Situated at the uptown master-planned community Pueblo de Oro Township, Primavera is a twin medium-rise and low-density mixed-used condominium, which boasts of amenities, such as multipurpose hall, swimming pool, courtyard, fitness gym and roof deck to cater to residents’ active lifestyles.
The development has a general floor area of 9,007 square meters and 10,945 sq m for Towers A and B, respectively, providing ample space for comfortable living.
Deriving inspiration from the basic Filipino abode—the bahay kubo—it won the 2014 Asia Pacific Property Awards in Kuala Lumpur for its back-to-basics building systems. “I really like the bahay kubo concept. It has air vents on the sides, floor and roof for air circulation, plus a space that serves many functions. This, to me, is a great example of sustainable architecture,” said Romolo Valentino Nati, IDC executive chairman and COO.
An award-winning Italian green architect, he says that the architectural principles behind it, such as locally sourced materials, natural lighting, free flow of cool air and flood-resistant, are the best examples in designing 21st buildings in the country.
Primavera showcases green features, which both save and generate energy as façades are shaded by cantilevered ledges that protect windows from direct sunlight. The ledges’ dimensions and placement are optimized using parametric design software, taking into account the path traveled by the sun.
“At IDC, we advocate the so-called passive green design. Rather than installing expensive machines to keep a building green, we make the design itself incorporate green features. For example, we can add shades onto the design of a building so that the sun doesn’t directly hit it,” Nati pointed out.
A design-driven developer of sustainable properties in the country’s emerging cities, Italpinas’s projects tap natural-light illumination and ventilation by providing units the option to open windows on both sides to facilitate the free flow of natural fresh air.
They are also fitted with solar panels that allow them to generate electricity and save around 20 percent of power costs, and are adaptive to floods by having elevated floors.
Registered with the Philippine Export Zone Authority, Primavera is also a value-for-money alternative for long-staying guests with its home amenities compared to the traditional hotel.
Buoyed by the favorable market response to the new product, Italpinas will also develop Primavera City, a seven-building, four-phase green cluster, which will be the first of its kind in the southern Philippines. Each building will feature an array of photovoltaic panels that will generate energy and significantly reduce energy requirement for air conditioning.
With its sustainable design, the planned township was included by the Climate Technology Initiative Private Financing Advisory Network, among the top 10 Most Promising Clean Energy Investment Opportunities projects in Singapore in 2013.
IDC President Jose Leviste III said, “Supporting the growth of viable and attractive cities throughout the Philippines would not only reverse urban migration, but also spread commerce and resources more broadly to millions of Filipinos across our archipelago.”
He noted that this strategy will save on building costs and introduce more people to green design which has become more affordable.
Leviste, who also heads renewable energy company Constellation Energy Philippines, revealed that IDC has trained its sights on secondary cities, which are largely untapped markets that need to be provided with world-class options.
He revealed that, after the successful initial public offering, the firm will embark on other projects of similar environment-friendly concepts in Batangas, Oriental Mindoro and southern Metro Manila.