F-ACADL-01

AD 107 – ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 7

PLATE No. 1 – MIXED USE COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL & OFFICE COMMUNITY URBAN DESIGN

Site
The land is located on the East bank of Calumpang River, near Calumpang Bridge in Batangas City,
Philippines. It ranks high among the city’s most suitable sites for development because of its
proximity to both the city centre and modern poblacion expansion, as well as due to its location on
the eastern bank of the river. It has the strong potential of becoming a valuable addition to the city
centre, thanks to its singular right-bank location as the river flows through Batangas City and the
robust scale of the project, and as an attractive and comfortable place to live, work and spend
leisure time.

Programme
Mixed used zone containing ground floor area (GFA) of 120 000 sqm above the ground with
regulation following ongoing transformation of the area´s zoning plan. The proposals are required to
produce a minimum 8-page A3 booklet presenting a general volumetric and urban design for the site
and references outlining the overall master plan for the project.

Objective
The main goal is to create a new central city district, in conjunction with the downtown already
emerging on the western bank of the Calumpang, and to join it to the severely underdeveloped
northern bank. The proposal aims to find a functional and suitable masterplan concept with
outstanding architecture, designed landscapes and public space.
Given the project’s location and scale, that it has the strong potential of becoming a valuable
addition to the city and an attractive and comfortable place to live, work and spend leisure time.

Submission requirements
Design presentation consist of a minimum eight (8)-page A3 booklet presenting the following:
- Present proposed concept and general volumetric and urban design for the project
o Mandatory outputs – each as at least one individual A3 page:
• Description of architectural and urban intent for the scheme in either visual (mood board,
visual art, drawing or similar) or written (essay) form, capturing the atmosphere of the design
intent
• Urban design plan (scale 1:2000)
• Concept explanation composed of text, sketches and schemes
• Two aerial volumetric views (without any architectural details)
• Programme distribution scheme (Residential, Office, Retail) together with Calculated GFA,
Built-up area and Building´s height

Evaluation criteria
• Urban design concept
• Public space concept
• Massing concept
• Participant’s experience and references
• Meeting master plan criteria for required achievable GFA (in square metres)

STRATEGIC GOALS
Business objectives for the proposed concept are driven by several strategic goals, where we are
looking for feasible and adaptable concepts to guarantee the future success of our project.

Goal #1 – Creative approach

You are expected to develop a specific concept and convince us of its merits. While functional and
effective, the design should also deliver added value to differentiate your vision from the others’. You

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should keep our preferences in mind, while also adhering to the measurable requirements outlined
in this brief.

Goal #2 – Expanding the new city centre

A new, modern city centre is being developed and expanded on the Eastern bank of Calumpang
River. This project should develop the west bank of the River and create a newly-built, present-day
city centre to complement the old historical Poblacion on the West
Goal #3 – Car free zone
Because our goal is to create a safe, comfortable environment for the families that will live in this
neighbourhood, the neighbourhood within the blocks should be reserved exclusively for pedestrians
and cyclists. While convenient traffic accessibility and parking is also an important concern, these
two functions should not overlap.

Goal #4 – Environmental sustainability

Pay special attention to the environmental impact of its developments, preferring environmental
friendly and sustainable concepts. Modern trends in environmental engineering should be
implemented to your proposal.
Rainwater retention is a very important aspect, which should be implemented in the landscape
design. Toward this end, you should consider using rain gardens, polders and similar means for
retaining rainwater.

FIGURES (HARD CRITERIA)

Maximum usage of available GFA provided in the masterplan regulations and the ability to transform
it most efficiently into net saleable/leasable areas are musts.
• Effectivity (ratio of residential NSA to residential GFA without area of loggias) of above-ground
residential floors should be at least 72% for low-rise residential buildings (up to eight storeys) and
66% for high-rise buildings
• Effectivity (ratio of office NLA to office GFA) of above-ground office floors should be at least 85%
• Effectivity (share of retail NLA to retail GFA) of above-ground retail floors should be at least 80%
• Expected GFA should be 120,000 square metres for the above-ground floors of new buildings
• Masterplan Criteria:
• Zoned mixed-use
• 120,000 square metres of GFA divided into three zoning-regulated blocks
o 48% Residential use
o 52% Office and retail use

RESIDENTIAL UNITS
This section will guide you through permitted and expected concepts for the residential part of your
design with defined hard and soft criterion. The information below will explain the anticipated
outcome and state limits and restrictions.

• ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN CONCEPT

• Functions (Hard Criteria)

1. Retail units are permitted in residential buildings only on the ground floors facing the main
streets/public spaces. Office space is preferred for the first and second floors of high-rise residential
buildings (above the ground floor) to raise the number of storeys and enable better views from the
windows of the residential floors above.

2. Residential living areas either surrounding the inner courtyards or facing the space between
blocks should be maximised, while keeping in mind the privacy of the residents in ground floor
apartments adjacent to the streets. Parterre retail units should be size-flexible and placed only in
spaces where a high number and frequency of people, so facing the main streets / public spaces.

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3. An area-efficient entrance lobby (with no reception area or security guard station) is required.
There should be a bicycle storage room (accessible from the lobby), letter boxes accessible both
from the lobby and inside and a place for a bulletin board with public announcements.

4. Another chief focus should be to maximise sellable areas on the ground floor. Ground-floor
residential units in low-rise buildings should preferably have gardens. The privacy and security of
residents living in them should always be kept in mind, with windows a minimum 2 metres from the
ground whenever the unit looks out over public space

5. Above-ground floors should only be residential, except mentioned in Item no.1.

6. Storage areas, cellars, garages and other parking should only be on the below-ground floors.

7. Every residential unit should have its own balcony, loggia or terrace. You should take into account
that GFA does not cover the floor space of balconies and terraces (while loggias are included in the
calculation of GFA).This should be considered when seeking to meet the first goal of maximum
permissible areas.

8. There is no preferred vertical corridor building type for this project. Your design should be
convincing that it adopts the right mixture of views, effectivity and unit size.

•Dimension#1–Height(HARDCRITERIA)

1.Every zoned block has its own height limits based on ongoing changes in the zoning master plan.
Zoning regulations limit maximum general height and the maximum height of dominating structures,
and also where such dominating structures can be placed.

2.Typical height for residential storey is 3.12 metres(floor to floor), while it may be higher on larger-
area flats offered on the highest residential floors. Retail areas should have ceiling height of
3.5meters(carpet to ceiling) and office areas of 3.0metres (carpet to ceiling). These heights can be
locally lowered in technical rooms, hallways, bathrooms and other service areas.

•Dimension#2–Depth (HARDCRITERIA)

1. Building depths should maximize effectively, while also fulfilling expected project layout criteria
and, more importantly, meeting local daylight norms for flats without creating an unfeasible amount
of ateliers.

•Distances between buildings(HARDCRITERIA)

1.The space between buildings should meet local norms for daylight in residential units. You should
take into account the key selling features façade distances and views are and the crucial design
criteria they constitute.

2. The minimum distance between two glazed facades facing each other (bedrooms,livingrooms)
should be 25metres.

• Parking (Hard Criteria)

1. Underground car park or semi-underground car park is allowed.

2. Maximise underground parking to minimise outdoor parking. Please avoid parking stacker
systems.

3. Consider in the ideal number of access points to main roads a) comfort, b) hard costs, and c)
feasibility of stakeholder approval in the development

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4. Include enough parking spaces to meet both local norms and commercial requirements. The
project should not depend on using other car parks and parking spaces.

• Target segment (Soft Criteria)

1. The design should create an appropriate mix of residential units with a wide product variety, since
the targeted segment will cover a large spectrum of potential residents.

2. Ranging from first buyers (singles, young couples and people seeking an investment) interested
in smaller units (mostly 1-2 bedroom apartments) to those seeking a family-friendly neighbourhood
near the centre (mostly 3-4 bedroom apartments).

3. Top floors should offer penthouses bigger than 4 bedroom apartments.

4. All units are classified as upscale to luxury.

• Preferable views (SOFT CRITERIA)

• Because of the project’s location, the objective is to maximise views of the historic poblacion and
the new downtown. It is recommended for buildings adjoining the waterfront to maximise the number
of terraces facing the river´s direction.

• Simplicity in approach and concept (SOFT CRITERIA)

• Simple yet smart concepts with efficient repetition in concept and layout. The best possible, typical
floor plan should be prepared in terms of the final product.

• Residential unit mix and areas (Hard Criteria)

TYPE PERCENT NSA LOGGIA/BALCONY PARKING
AGE /TERRACE SPACES
1 bedroom 20% 35 – 40 sqm 10% -15% of apartment area 1.1 per
apartment
2 bedroom 40% 45 – 55 sqm 10% -15% of apartment area 1.1 per
apartment
3 bedroom 20% 78 – 85 sqm 10% -15% of apartment area 1.65 per
apartment
4 bedroom 17% 100 – 115 10% -15% of apartment area 2.2 per
sqm apartment
5 bedroom 3% 140 – 160 Terrace – 20-30% of 2.5 per
sqm apartment area, separate apartment
loggia for master bedroom

• The apartment mix is considered soft criteria. Although the aim is to achieve more or less the unit
mix stated above, changes of +/- 5 percentage points are acceptable. The proposed design should
define the best location of residential units in terms of their views, noise pollution and distances
between volumes. Large-sized apartments should be located at the best spots within buildings (top
storeys, with gardens, good views, and good orientation to surroundings).

• Designs are welcomed that are flexible and allow future non-conflicting alterations were demand to
later change.

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• Undesirable layouts (Hard Criteria)

• You should strive to avoid designing residential units whose layout result in below local norms for
levels of daylight or sunlight in living rooms and bedrooms.

#2 OFFICES
This section of the Brief will guide you through permitted and expected concepts for the office part
for your design with defined hard and soft criteria. The information will explain the anticipated
outcome and state limits and restrictions.

• ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN CONCEPT

• Sizing (Hard Criteria)

1. The optimal size of office property ranges from 17,500 to 40,000 square metres of leasable area.

2. Should the architectural concept call for more than 40,000 square metres, vertical divisibility into
individually sellable properties (including below-ground floors) would be a requirement.

• Visibility (Hard Criteria)

• Buildings should have good visibility, easy navigation to them and likewise easy way finding within
them. These should be priorities in the design

• Floor plate (Hard Criteria)

1. In low-rise buildings (up to 10 storeys), the preferred floor plate is 2,000 – 2,500 square metres of
office leasable area.

2. For high-rise buildings (over 10 storeys), the figure is 1,200-1,600 square metres

• Exterior (Hard Criteria)

• Rooftop terraces are allowed for either top storeys or wherever beneficial for the architectural
concept, while in all cases loggias or balconies are not allowed

• Staircases and cores (Hard Criteria)

• Staircases and vertical cores should never be placed on the facade of the building, nor in a way
that would limit maximum use of daylight

• DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Building areas and ratios (Hard Criteria)

1. At least 80% total efficiency (office leasable area excl. terraces to total above-ground GFA)

2. At least 85% typical floor efficiency (office leasable area excl. terraces to total floor GFA)

3. One tenant parking space per 45-55 square metres of office leasable area

4. One visitor parking space per 350-500 square metres of office leasable area

5. One square metre of underground storage space per 50-75 square metres of office leasable area

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• Functions outside of offices (Hard Criteria)

1. Ground floors should be reserved for small retail units alongside necessary technical rooms and
amenities

2. There should be at least one canteen or full-service restaurant inside the entire office
development with an 800-square-metre seating area, adjacent 400-square-metre kitchen space and
200-square-metre storage

3. The entire office development should have at least one café unless an adjacent residential
building has a café designed inside

4. Non-specific retail units should be designed in other ground floor spaces divisible into 50 to 200-
square-metre units

• Typical floor (Soft Criteria)

1. Each floorplate should be divisible into four units per vertical elevator core with the option of units
ranging from 250 square metres

2. Typical floor composition

a. 35% - open space offices

b. 20% - cellular offices (4-8 workstations per unit)

c. 10% - meeting rooms

d. 35% - other areas (toilettes, corridors, one reception area per tenant, server room,
kitchenettes, storage)

3. Office space should be designed to efficiently seat one person per 8 square metres of office
leasable area

4. Typical height for any storey is 3.85 metres (floor to floor), or alternatively 3 metres (carpet to
ceiling)

• BASIC TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Superstructure (Hard Criteria)

1. Concrete structure cast in-situ, other structural materials (steel, wood) to be used only if
necessary for specific architectural purpose

2. 8.1 x 8.1-metre preferred structural grid

3. Round columns are preferred in open space areas. None of the columns should hinder flexible
furnishing of the space.

•Façade (Hard Criteria)

1. Typical 2.7-metre wide façade segments(option of internal partitioning of 1.35metres each)

2. One openable window (or opaque part of the façade) for every 2nd façade segment

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3. External blinds not preferred

4. Durable, low-maintenance materials(composite aluminium,glass,stainless steel, fair-faced

concrete)

•Roofing (SoftCriteria)

1. Non-publically accessible roofs either green or covered with white gravel

2. Publicly accessible roofs designed with greenery, seating and illumination

•HVAC (HardCriteria)

1.Two-pipe FCU system for cooling and two-pipe floor convectors for heating as a preferred solution,
or alternativelytwo-pipechilledbeamsandtwo-pipefloorconvectorscombinedwithtwo-pipe FCUs for
rooms for high thermal gains (meeting rooms, server, rooms, corner offices)

2.Fresh air supply designed for a minimum of 50 cubic meters of fresh air per person each hour at
full occupancy

3. Gas boilers should be coupled with heat pumps to reduce gas dependency

4. AHU sand chillers placed on the roof

•Electricity/Data/Lighting(HardCriteria)

1.LED lighting used in all offices

2. Lighting fixtures with adjustable light colour temperature above work stations

3.Backup diesel generator or servers and building emergency systems placed on the roofs

4.Common server room for data providers in the building basement

•Operational (SoftCriteria)

1. Each building should be designed to be operationally independent of other properties

2.Taxi/courier drop-offs in front of the building not obstructing the entrance to the parking garage for
visitors/tenants

3. Each leasable unit should be equipped with its own utility metering

4.Increased clearance close to the parking garage entrance allowing cars up to 2.75 meters high to
drive in

• SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS

1. All buildings should be designed with a strong accent on sustainability and respect for the
environment, use locally sourced materials and utilise current technologies to reduce the
construction’s environmental footprint, although “gimmicks” and yet unproven technologies should
be avoided.

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THE SITE

GOODLUCK!!!

Prepared by:

AR. EDMON C. MENDOZA, UAP, RMP

Faculty, BS ARCHITECTURE

Noted by:

AR. MANOLO I. MERHAN, FUAP, ASEAN AR., INT’L ASSOC. AIA, FRIA
Program Head, BS ARCHITECTURE

Approved by:

ENGR. JOAN M. VILLANUEVA

Dean, CENAR

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