The cleverly designed structural brace frames elevate the hovering commercial hub above the ground, creating an innovative architectural solution that promotes natural airflow throughout the space. This thoughtful elevation allows for the seamless flow of air, which is directed toward an inviting open-air southern courtyard. This courtyard serves as a vibrant outdoor dining area at ground level, providing patrons with a unique dining experience in a natural setting. It is beautifully enhanced by the presence of existing trees, which offer shade and greenery, contributing to a relaxed atmosphere. Additionally, the courtyard is flanked by community shops, fostering a sense of connection and engagement among both visitors and residents. This layout fosters a lively and interactive environment that seamlessly integrates nature and commerce.
Location: #1 General Ordoñez Street, Marikina Heights, Marikina City
Site Area: 892 sqm
Project Area: 1,200 sqm
Type: Commercial
An adaptive architectural intervention that promotes new urban life, based on a mixture of modern and industrial structures and the contrast between new and existing solutions. One East Commercial Hub in Marikina City proposes an urban solution while retaining the environmental memory of the place.
Creating a new, attractive commercial center with its own business and social infrastructure, this two-story retail development comprises six rentable spaces, featuring a prominent frontage with diagonal brace frames. The project riffs on the idea of following the site’s natural orientation while maximizing its building envelope within an 892-sqm lot. Hence, the spatial configuration centered on a simple, straightforward floor plan with a large, central courtyard that integrated the site’s existing trees as part of its indoor landscape. Paired with its suspended walkways and a strong presence of wood, this allowed space to seamlessly blend with its foliage-filled vicinity.
At street level, the project is identified by a series of diagonal steel brace frames that support the cantilevered shops above. The application of straightforward planning principles brings visitors directly either to the staircase or the courtyard. Traversing its U-shaped staircase brings visitors into a linear passageway that envelopes the entrances of each retail unit on the second floor. At the eastern boundary, this passageway eventually connects to a foliage-filled seating space tucked at its west.
The ideal provision of natural light and fresh air in architectural design hinges on the harmonious integration of three essential elements. First, the site’s inherent characteristics contribute to its well-ventilated environment, capitalizing on local climate conditions and natural topography. This foundational aspect allows the building to maximize passive ventilation strategies, ensuring that air circulation is both efficient and effective. Second, the structure’s impressive elevation of 10 meters creates a dynamic relationship between the interior spaces and the surrounding environment. This height enhances the visual impact of the building, facilitating the movement of air and light, and allowing for unobstructed views and a greater sense of openness. High ceilings combined with expansive vertical spaces create a feeling of grandeur while promoting air circulation throughout the area.
Lastly, the extensive use of glass in the building’s walls plays a crucial role in fostering a seamless connection between the indoors and outdoors. The glass façade allows for an abundance of natural light to penetrate deep into the interior, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day and promoting energy efficiency.
Additionally, large openings facilitate cross ventilation, which naturally cools the space and enhances occupant comfort. Together, these elements not only ensure that natural illumination and airflow pervade the interior but also elevate the overall aesthetic and functional qualities of the structure. The thoughtful integration of these design principles forms the core of the building’s construction, creating an environment that prioritizes both sustainability and the well-being of its inhabitants.
Demarcating the project’s rectangular siting is a mixture of wooden claddings and exposed dark steel frames, highlighting the sharp contrast with the form’s lightly painted concrete plaster. This creates clear boundaries between the project’s parking and rentable spaces. To maintain such boundaries, the introduction of new visual elements is carefully planned. This ultimately framed the project to simultaneously become a background and an identifying form that matches both its exteriors and interiors.
With a desire to blend seamlessly into the streetscape, One East Commercial Hub in Marikina City highlights the site’s existing natural features while maximizing both its architectural and practical characteristics. Wrapped in rectilinear forms with the unexpected touch of diagonal brace frames, this further props up the entire architectural character and structural integrity of the place while maintaining its original environmental identity.