Santa Elena Nature Condos

Within the scenic area of Manila, picturesque metropolis South of the Philippines, one can see the rising of four skyscrapers furnished with spacious apartments. With the design of these high-rise towers, the architects are realizing a vertical concept for urban living. Their concept of a countryside villa is transposed into four high-rise towers (20-26 storeys), all situated in front of an impressive scenery of forests, lakes, lagoons and the famous Mount Makiling mountain range. Via a connecting base, these towers are literally anchored within these nature surroundings. Like living green structures, the buildings appear to grow right out of the landscape. Irregular balustrades resembling rocky ledges that divide the verticals and at the same time provide protective shade. 156 luxurious apartments are surrounded by lavish balconies that resemble gardens, elegantly blurring the boundary between inside and out. This generous sensation of being embedded right into nature, is underlined by vine-covered stainless steel nets and ample planting zones which restrict the views between the individual apartments. Additionally, this innovative arrangement has a positive impact on the climate, too. The public area on the Skydeck and at the ground floors with its generous cantilever have been designed based on the identical climatic parameters as the towers. Heat gain is reduced by orienting the building towards the main wind tides, producing a natural cross-ventilation, using façade-greenery and water-elements. Technical details strongly focusing on renewable energy e.g. rainwater storage and solar thermal water heating, contribute to a sustainable design.