One Corporate Center
54 storey high including the basement levels.
Along J. Vargas St, right beside Antel Global Tower.
Construction stage: excavations! no cranes yet.
No renderings yet, no idea how many floors above ground.
But this will be an office tower.


ok, here now is the rendering...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid162/pcc6b51dbd45f375c2d30bd1446940274/f4bd37d9.jpg

hahaha...nice start for this thread.
I wish this is nicely designed, and not just a boring glass box. 54 floors is quite tall for this part of Ortigas:okay:

If there are any renderings out there, please post them:)

Quite tall... so it can be considered part of the strange "Ortigas phenomenon" :colgate: where tall buildings are built at (or near) the outskirts of the CBD.

seems like. this is right next to where the flyover is. so it's indeed on the outskirts. we're having an inversed dome here. where San Mig Plaza can be considered the bottom of the clusters.

Is this right beside Antel? Will they stick to each other? or will there be a podium of some sort? Is it right in a corner lot? Who is the contractor, the architect, the developer, etc etc. Are the units for sale or lease? Answers man! We need answers!!!!

hahaha...i can see your rage man. take it easy. i have no idea yet. i haven't seen the rendering. based on the excavations works, it seems like it will be positioned side by side with Antel. It's gonna be an office tower, so there's no preselling going on.

Is this right beside Antel? Will they stick to each other? or will there be a podium of some sort? Is it right in a corner lot? Who is the contractor, the architect, the developer, etc etc. Are the units for sale or lease? Answers man! We need answers!!!!

Calm down Wally :D Actually I haven't heard anything about this..the name is very off the recycled bin :lol: won't help me in google search.

Where'd you find this francis man 'cause this one sounds cool. I reckon there's maximum 5-8 floors underground, so it's at least 45 floors?

So this is the project I was talking about in the ortigas thread. There are no signs in place. It's a nice corner lot, in between antel and the flyover. Good luck to them. Are you involved in any way francis?

wow great news francis! looking forward to see any renderings of this project. this is a good sign because lease in the ortigas area is cheaper than makati, and hopefully will see office buildings rising in the makati cbd also!

hmm, no. i just make it a habit to interview the people involved in the construction. :D i gathered all my guts to do it tho. but that's the only way to know what's going on.

good work , man.

that's a hobby. hehe...including sneaking thru buildings. :D

hmm.. .so bustero would you know anything more than what francis has said?
@francis, a very risky, but cool hobby;) have you conquered Ortigas buildings yet? Queetz said before they had less security than Makati..

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=102942

according to queetz this building would be to the left of Antel in this photo

Based on memory, the lot beside Antel would be a curved corner lot. That would mean the building would probably be shaped like Insular Life in Makati City (curvy building). Also, at 45 to 47 storeys, I hope it doesn't stick to the 38 storey Antel. Even though the height is different, having glassy buildings stick together is not so pleasing.

I'm willing to speculate this project belongs to Amberland Corporation. Amberland tends to have a very low profile (never mentioned in the news, real estate publications, etc) but manages to erect Ortigas buildings with very little internet marketing or high profile pre-selling, including the very tall and beautiful One San Miguel Avenue tower. Plus the name of the project seems consistent with how they name their pass projects as the name of this project is quite simple and generic (One San Miguel Avenue, Prestige Tower and Tycoon Centre which replaced their defunct "Corporate Tower"). Ortigas is Amberland's specialty and they never seem to venture out of that business district. We haven't heard from them for a while so with their buildings filling up, I think its time for them to build a new signature Ortigas tower.

Of course, this speculation needs to be confirmed by Francis or someone local... ;)

Oh yeah. that must be it Wally. I heard the foreman said ****land. I actually asked him 3X. And I forgot it nonetheless!!! It probably is Amberland or Timberland (does that exist tho?). Im pretty sure it has a -land in it. I will try to talk with the engineers next time. The foreman was actually holding a vicinity map of one of their projects, which seems to be a residential project also within Ortigas. He doesn't seem to know a lot. He directed me to the project engineers who were sitting on one corner. Pero naunahan ako ng hiya. Hahaha...meron pa naman pala ako nun.
So anyone who is working at Ortigas could help us on this.
And the lot is indeed a curved lot, but not so curvy. the lot is real huge. it would still be possible to put up a huge square building within the lot without reaching the brink of the lot.

I think Timberland is a clothing brand:D

hmm... how about checking the classifieds if theres news about this? but thats probably gonna appear when its done eh?

hahaha...that's what i thought of when he said ***land, so i asked again. Amberland nga malamang. sorry po. When he said ***land, a certain residential subdivision came into my mind. so i asked again. mahina lang siguro boses niya. or bingi na talaga ako?

I guess this will not stick to the sides of Antel.. coz Antel has glass on all four sides.. above its podium... so it may stick to Antel only upto the podium level... and yeah.. that corner is not as curved and the lot is not as large too....

nice update though..:D I hope this rises up as a beautiful landmark.. :D

Thanks for the info...wally:) I agree with Paul, i dont think it will stick to Antel like what happens in Makati. It will be very close though (but not physically attached) like other Ortigas buildings such as Raffles Corporate Center, Wynsum Corp Plaza, Orient Square, etc...

I've not hear anything about this, It's a big project easily over 50000sq.m. if your estimates are correct. I saw the lot early this year and was asking about it. I'd be surprised if it was Amberland as they would probably build the second tower of Tycoon Center first. There are a lot of -blank- land named developers but of course we are just speculating. I'll snoop around, a building this big stay hidden forever.

bump.

Check out the latest issue of Blu Print. There's a rendering there. Its gonna be an interesting building, once its completed...

Cool, finally some publicity. I'd like to see it for myself... if Blu Print I can find. :D

For God's sake somebody get the BluPrint magazine and scan the bloody rendering! This project is quite exciting and we need as much info as we can... :drool:

:lol: Locals? Wally will even pay for it through wire transfer:D j/k

Well... I guess detailed description will do for the moment before scans appear:D

oh, sorry guys. i haven't visited the forum for about 3 days. ill buy a copy tomorrow. anyway, what do you mean latest copy? you mean march copy?

Would you know who did the rendering , we can trace it from there as well. Am very curious about this , such a large project with no fanfare, perhaps it's not a spec building!

ok, now i got it. very interesting. it's an all glass and steel tower. with 202m in height. but it claims itself to be the country's tallest. there's very little advertisement on the mag...

pls check first page of the thread.

:eek: Thanks Francis!!:) It looks pretty cool...im not so sure about its shape, but the glass is nice.

One Corporate Center

ok, here now is the rendering...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid162/pcc6b51dbd45f375c2d30bd1446940274/f4bd37d9.jpg

OMG!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!! :omg:

WTF!!! OMG!!!!
:eek2:

THis is f*cking spectacular!!!! One kickass office tower!!! SWEET!!! Thanks so much Francis! We need constant status update as this is one funky project!!! :happy:

It will be the tallest in the country? :? but it only says that its 202m, even GT is taller than that!

Oh btw, here is more proof to support my speculation that Amberland Corporation is the one building this office tower.

http://www.emporis.com/en/cd/cm/?id=111468

Philip H Recto is the same architect for Amberland's masterpiece project, One San Miguel Avenue. :cool:

It will be the tallest in the country? :? but it only says that its 202m, even GT is taller than that!

Yes... that is a series of confusing information. But nevertheless :cheers: to the building. That's massively cool, first time I remember we have two cylindrical buildings proposed (Icon & this one):D

I like it a lot, even more so that it's a 200m skyscraper and not a box;)

I was wondering, if that spire (or is it?) will make it the tallest like this building brags?

And finally, this is the first office skyscraper to be built in recent years.

Well...the only office skyscraper to be built in recent years:D

Robinsons Cybergate... well that's only a high-rise:)

Wow!!! One of the most modern looking scrapers for Ortigas.

hmmm...cool down guys. and it seems like that spire will make it the tallest. let's hope this will be built. so Amberland has the money eh? This must be worth several billions of pesos. im guessing the face shown is the only curvy part. the back side is supposed to face Antel. But the rendering does not show of Antel. So there must be ample space between these two. Plus the lot is real huge. As of now, the area is completely fenced. So I could not peek into the construction area anymore. One month ago, i could see a bulldozer doing the unearthing for the 9 level underground basement. I just wonder if PB Com has higher GFA than this one.

Ey Wally, you owe me Php200 for that photo. :D haha...kidding. I was reading the cover page of that same magazine days ago, but none of the main features catched my attention. Kaya di ako bumili. Nun sinabi niyo lang na me pic dun ang OCC, kaya ako bumili. Diretcho na yun sa archive box ko. Hehe...

202 m?...tallest?....how abouts petron megaplaza? G.T. Tower?PBCom?...how is 202m taller...so its the spire is it?

One Corporate Center
54 storey high including the basement levels.
Along J. Vargas St, right beside Antel Global Tower.
Construction stage: excavations! no cranes yet.
No renderings yet, no idea how many floors above ground.
But this will be an office tower.


ok, here now is the rendering...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid162/pcc6b51dbd45f375c2d30bd1446940274/f4bd37d9.jpg
francis latest ba yung rendering................

ha? bakit Aragon? me bagong rendering ba? sa March issue ng Bluprint ko na scan yan. nagbago ba ng rendering?

202 m?...tallest?....how abouts petron megaplaza? G.T. Tower?PBCom?...how is 202m taller...so its the spire is it?

Petron Megaplaza is 210m. GT Int'l is 217m, PBcom 259m.

Further more look into the facade, one can see that it was the same guy from OSMA that made this:D The schrizoprenia (sp?) look :)

holy sweeeeeeet!!! this is awesome!! I wonder how it'll look in Ortigas though...

who's the developer or the owner...? is it the architect himself?

Amberland according to our conspiracy theorists:D

what did you say? lahat ata ng project nila me "One" in it. When I talked with the construction guy (foreman ata) he was holding a flyer. Nakita ko (nasilip) na me rendering dun ng isang residential tower. Location is in Ortigas. Di ko lang masyadong naverify, kasi busy yung mama. So yung nakuha ko lang na info ay yung mga na share ko na dito....

take note din ah...the ad says "Biggest"...ibig sabihin, massive siya...at tallest...baka naman indi lang yun 202 m?

Union Bank Tower is an office tower din naman ah. nga lang tong mga office towers ng Ortigas, di masyado ang publicity.

maybe 202m is only up to its roof...not counting its spire. Looking at the rendering, i dont really like the appearance of the top 1/3 of the building. Looks messy. The rest is great though.

ha? bakit Aragon? me bagong rendering ba? sa March issue ng Bluprint ko na scan yan. nagbago ba ng rendering?
just asking......so when is it slated to be completed

there was a question on the Bluprint mag. it happens na alam ko yung sagot...kasi about dun sa pic na Mariang Banga. sa UPLB kaya yun...haha...nanalo tuloy ako...at sa Monday, me picture taking daw ako with Mr Paulo Alcarazen, yung editor-in-chief ng Bluprint. Pa autograph ko kaya yung mga bluprint mags ko. hahaha...

thanks francis! this is a awesome building from the rendering! not very typical design in MM, i love it! hope it would be taller than pbcom tower....

Yes, i think OSM and OCC are indeed landmarks! OSM, i think is an icon because, when I always see it in pictures, it is by itself and it just stands out! Well, i hope they finish with this building for sure and hopefully they stretch it out taller, like 50 meters more for sure! And spires are not really cool to be deemed the tallest! brings down the appeal! Controversy will pop up for sure, if they say that this will be the tallest in the Phils.(like the Petronas towers when it was first completed, compared to the Sears towers), Pbcom will definitely say something about that. What if they just make separated tallests (which they probably do already, but combine it anyway in the end), tallest by the highest roof, and tallest to the spire! Also, it seems like Makati is lagging construction wise of tall buildings, seems competition is slow....well go ortigas, with the tallest residential building, St. Francis and now this tallest office tower soon to pop up in the skyline (they might be the tallest 2 in the near future). And then imagine when skycity is built by 2012 (HOPEFULLY!!!!), there might be 3! This will be cool, YEAY PHILIPPINES! ! ! ! !

^haha isagani! your post got me excited already hehe :D

OCC looks good on that rendering. parang ayoko lang yung kulay.

maybe 202m is only up to its roof...not counting its spire. Looking at the rendering, i dont really like the appearance of the top 1/3 of the building. Looks messy. The rest is great though.

IMO it's alright, gives character to the skyline. About time we had the usual post-modern reinforced concrete glass skyscraper.

@francis...would 117,000 sq. m something space we sufficient to pip out RCBC? :?

hmm...i dunno exactly how much is the GFA for RCBC. I made rough estimates based on the floor area.

78200 m2 (Tower 1) + 69,700 m2 (Tower 2) = 147,900 m2
OCC has larger GFA than each floor, but obviously, combining both RCBC towers would demean OCCs easily.

How exciting, nawala lang ko ng konti may happening na pala.

I hope it pushes through good for Amberland if it really is them. Could be if Philip Recto is architect on record. Ussually developers like working with the same people lalo if they are succesfull and work well together. If I remember correctly OSM is the tallest builidng designed by a Pinoy (no consultants nor affilliates). Anyway looks nice not cheap, that's curtain glass right.

I think the GFA can be bigger than PBCOM but not RCBC. RCBC is a couple of big buildings on a 1 hectare lot. I think OCC's lot should only be 3000 max. Hopefully it goes up without a hitch.

unearthing is on full swing for this project. so deep na ang excavation. something like 7 levels underground. no crane yet.

its it bigger than the tektite towers, i thought right now its the biggest building in the phils in terms of space

Heard it was RCBC. Anyways it says biggest and tallest, though it can be just to attract investors with incorrect facts that sex-up it's profile.

It's probably the biggest single building in terms of space as the bigger of rcbc's buildings is only 80000sq.m. from what I remember. I'm not sure with tecktite though I remember tektite being 4000sq.m. per floor at 33 floors that over 130,000 right.

By the way. I've confirmed that One Corporate Center is being developed by Amberland. They're actually preselling right now but very quietly through mailers and the like.

Just posting this quote from bustero from the main Metro Manila U/C thread here. Did I not say Amberland was the developer? I'm GOOD!!!! :D

yes, you're right! we we're guessing it sounds like Timberland or something with land in it. there you go...

Any construction pics yet of excavation?

I'll try to see if I can get one over the weekend. There's a fence and hole is quite deep na daw , best if it can be seen from antel global.

Bump.

Any new pics? C'mon guys! Some of us are dying to know every detail that goes on with this project... ;)

I don't know if I'll be too excited with a couple of construction machines in a pit. Maybe in 6 months or so.....there's no expected year or completion yet huh?

any news? i'm interested on the development of this scraper.

any updates for this one kickass of a scraper?

unfortunately very little.....:(

i passed by the construction area a while ago.. im currently working in antel global.. hehehe.. but not for long.. :P i saw this great poster of the project.. il try to take a picture of it next time..

the picture that was uploaded by francis --> http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid162/pcc6b51dbd45f375c2d30bd1446940274/f4bd37d9.jpg

that is the image on the poster..

waaaahhh i should visit ortigas some time :D

I think I'm gonna love this building. :D

good job stephencua!

i can't believe they don't have a website for a tower as sweet as this!

^ yes i agree with you. our office building's don't seem to like the publicity...compared to the residentials. I guess they don't need a lot of advertising in the internet, unfortunately:(

202m is not enough to be on the list of top300... too bad...

hope they build it fast...office space is really scarce. my company is having a problem...we need to hire more than 1000+ new employees but we don't know where to expand! we have a vacant facility in alabang but nobody wants to work there coz it's too far!

So given that there are articles that seem to indicate that this building is in the horizon, what is that post in the Ortigas Thread made by a forumer working in Taipan all about (no construction activity)? It would be nice if someone working in Antel who happens to be in the side of the building facing One Corp Center to just look out the window and tell us what is happening. Because if the excavation is very deep, it would be difficult to see something unless you actually go to the hole and see it. So can someone please confirm? This building is just way too awesome!!! :drool:

hope they build it fast...office space is really scarce. my company is having a problem...we need to hire more than 1000+ new employees but we don't know where to expand! we have a vacant facility in alabang but nobody wants to work there coz it's too far!

yeah office spaces are really scarce now. but i think developers are waiting for rents to go up some more before they start building new ones. I noticed that the recently built Robinsons office building in pioneer is almost fully occupied!

Wow, so we could be seeing the Cybergate Two building (in Pioneer) go-up sooner than we thought.

yeah office spaces are really scarce now. but i think developers are waiting for rents to go up some more before they start building new ones. I noticed that the recently built Robinsons office building in pioneer is almost fully occupied!

cool. i heard that building has better IT facilities than in most CBD bldgs. :)

Well I guess it's really designed for Call Center Operations.

anyone can post a construction pic of One Corporate Center? :D

i think the crane's already up...

^^ Thats good!:) Can someone confirm and take pictures of this?

i happened to pass by there last saturday...wish i had my camera with me :D

^^ Doh! :bash: :poke: :wallbash:

Guilty,
have pix in my phone cam but have not downloaded it. takes time kasi but the crane is surely up. Count down to 2 years from now!

Well I guess it's really designed for Call Center Operations.

so OCC will be for numerous call center operations? or will it try to attract operations, for it doesn't have any tenants signed into it.

where's @dudz? need his pics....

yes Yes YES!!! We need the pics, man! I don't care if its from a camera phone and it only shows the crane! Every bit of signs of progress helps! And it would also give us an idea on visualizing how the building will look like once its done since right now, people in the US like myself can only guess what this amazing tower will look like! :yes:

mabuti at may crane na nung dumaan ako last friday

it will be the tallest building in the phils? how come? i thought PBCOM is 259 m. but this project is just 202m tall right? well anyway, atleast the skyline of Ortigas will once again change anytime soon......


I wish we can also have something like Taipei 101!!! kewl!!!!!!!!!! eheheheheheheh

i've seen a flyer a while ago while walking along Valero St., in front of Fraser Tower. Ive seen a flyer showing the rendering on it. Does this mean that they are preselling some units? Or just for publicity? Di ko na pinulot kasi medyo basa na. Hehe. Any updates? At least this one seems to go as planned.

TJ Brewed, you must be a PS employee?

Anyway, I found an article mentioning One Corporate Center in it.
It does not mention of the date tho.

BUSINESS and SOCIETY
Investing in the property market


by BERNARDO VILLEGAS


Real estate prices all over the world are booming. From Bangkok to Paris to Johannesburg to Sydney, housing values are rising by 20 percent to 50 percent, as reported by the Asian Wall Street Journal last June 16, 2005. This housing boom is being attributed to low interest rates, the intensifying flow of capital around the world, aggressive lending by banks, and a frantic search for returns that beat stocks and bonds.


The Philippines has not actually joined this housing boom. There are still sectors of the property market that have not recovered from the collapse occasioned by the East Asian financial crisis in 1997. High rise condominium units are still suffering from a glut. But the entire real estate sector has been increasing at least in pace with the economy at about 5 to 6 percent annually, after suffering serious declines in the last four years.

A leading property consultant, Leechiu and Associates, a member of FPD Savills International, recently came out with a property market overview that can be useful to real estate developers who should be taking advantage of the excess liquidity of the financial system to invest in promising projects over the next three to five years.


The following are the prospects for the various sub-sectors of the property market:


Office: Prices bottomed out in 2003. Recovery is expected in prime markets. Supply concerns remain in Grade B/C office.

Residential: Glut to hit condo market in 2007/2008.

Retail: Increasing supply (in and out of Metro Manila) is likely to temper rental growth. SM malls are least affected.

Hotel/Leisure: A growing market niche is bolstered partly by increasing number of tourist arrivals and need for retirement homes, especially among the Japanese senior citizens.

Industrial: Supply overhang is due to unplanned industrial parks and ecozones.


Leechiu and Associates expect a gradual decline in land values in Makati, Ortigas and Binondo as a result of the decentralization of the workforce and traffic decongestion as offices move closer to the labor pool. The new emerging urban districts are Eastwood City, Araneta Cyber Center, Greenhills Redevelopment, Robinsons Gateway Center, Rockwell Center, Fort Bonifacio Global City, McKinley Hill, SM Central Business Park, Metropolitan Business Park, Newport City, Asiaworld City and Filinvest Corporate City.

Among the office building projects in the supply line in 2005 and 2006 are the Diliman Commercial Center and Araneta Cyber offices in Quezon City; People Support Center and Convergys Center in Makati; HSBC Globe Call Center and Alabang Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang; SM Call Center Building in Bay City; Net Square in Fort Bonifacio; and MC IT Building and One Corporate Center in Ortigas Center. At the rate the business process outsourcing industry is increasing at 50 percent or more annually, these office buildings can be fully occupied in no time at all. Call centers can actually be outnumbered by other IT-enabled services like animation, medical transcription, accounting and finance, legal documentation and a list of other services that do not require English proficiency.

I would be more careful in putting up residential condominium units because of the expected oversupply in 2007. The market that has brighter prospects for the next three to five years is the low and medium-cost housing units with price ranges from R500,000 to R5 million.

There is no "boom" atmosphere in the Philippine property market, unlike in other cities of the world. This is a healthy situation so that we avoid the reckless diversification into real estate that all types of successful businesses indulged in during the first half of the 1990s. Most of the financial disasters of large corporations, retirement funds and educational plans we have experienced over the last eight years have been due to unwise investments in real estate. I hope business groups are wiser today. When in doubt, consult the experts like Leechiu and Associates (Tel. 889-2695 local 112). For comments, my email is bville-gas@uap.edu.ph.

There another one. Interestingly, this article also mentions of SMKS.

Sunday - October 2, 2005

Projected in-house call center boom faces premium office space scarcity
9/6/2005 9:08:00 AM
Source : Business World


Vacancy of top-grade office space in Metro Manila is expected to bottom out by next year to five percent of the total from present eight percent, the lowest in 15 years. This increasing scarcity comes at a time when big foreign firms operating in the country are expected to form their in-house call center units that will need precisely such office spaces by next year.


For next year, there will be a maximum of about 50,000 square meters of available office space in "prime" and "grade A" buildings in Metro Manila’s central business districts (CBDs), against an anticipated demand for 115,000 sq.m., property consultant David T. Leechiu told BusinessWorld in an interview.


"Prime" and "grade A" office spaces are typically located in key CBDs, with contiguous floor space measuring at least 2,000 sq.m.


Mr. Leechiu, president and general manager of Leechiu and Associates, Inc., said the demand for these buildings is largely driven by the growth of the information technology (IT) outsourcing sector. In fact, most of the demand for such space next year will come from in-house back-end facilities, or those set up by multinational companies to serve their own requirements.



Need for space

Cesar S. Tolentino, senior analyst of Canadian IT research and consulting firm XMG, Inc., said in a separate interview that the country might see some 10 to 15 big foreign firms setting up in-house back-end offices -- most of them call centers -- in the next two years.


"These in-house call centers are not going to move [to areas measuring] between 300 sq. m. and 400 sq. m. of floor space. They are going to move into floor space between 3,000 sq.m. and 5,000 sq.m. But right now, there’s nowhere to go," said Mr. Leechiu.


Yet, he said only three newly constructed top-grade buildings are entering the market next year. With total floor space of 48,000 sq.m., these three are the Alabang Northgate Cyberzone Building A in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa; the NetSquare in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig; and the MC IT Building in Ortigas Center in Pasig City -- all in Metro Manila.


And this early before targetted completion next year, most of the space in these three buildings have already been sold.


For instance, Mr. Leechiu said that almost 50% of the Net Square building, the biggest among the three buildings due for completion next year, are now under negotiation. The 22-storey Net Square is developed by 18-2 Property Holdings, Inc., owned by Jacques A. Dupasquier and Macario S. Rufino.


"It broke ground in May. And three and a half months from ground breaking, seven out of the 15 office floors are now under negotiation. No [other] building has done that; it’s the first building to be built for speculation to be pre-leased this early," said Mr. Leechiu.


Net Square owners expect the entire office floors to be leased out by January next year, ahead of its scheduled completion by July. Monthly lease rate runs between P450/sq.m. to P500/sq.m.


Without disclosing names, Mr. Leechiu said future locators in Net Square are big brands engaged in call center, software development, food, and technology for devices like televisions and cellular phones.


Seven other new buildings in the pipeline, with consolidated floor space of 516,000 sq.m., would be available only after 2006. These buildings are:


Robinsons Gateway Center 2 in Robinsons CyberPark;

1880 Eastwood Avenue in Eastwood City;

Cyber Two, also in Eastwood City;

One Corporate Center in Ortigas Center;

SM Call Center Building in Bay City,

SMKS Building in Ortigas Center; and

the SSS Corporate Tower in Quezon City.



Tightening supply

Mr. Leechiu said that, unlike in the country’s property boom from 1992 to 1997, the supply now of quality office space is not catching up with the demand.


"We also had an undersupply then. But at least we had new space coming into the market. If they wait for six months, there would be new buildings and if they wait for a year, there would be two or three buildings," he said.


But immediately after the 1997 financial crisis, monthly lease prices fell by almost 70% from a peak of P800/sq.m. to P280/sq.m. in 2003.


"All the developers got burnt in the office market. And because of so much bad experience, they purposely avoided the office market and resources went to residential projects such as condominiums," Mr. Leechiu recalled.


Hence, a glut is expected to hit the condominium market between 2007 and 2008.


The dearth in readily available quality office space is feared to jack up lease rates next year.


Prime buildings like Ayala Triangle Tower One & Exchange Plaza, The Enterprise Centre, Philamlife Tower, and RCBC Plaza are expected to test the monthly P700/sq.m. lease rate towards the end of next year from present P600/sq.m..


As of just last month, occupancy rate in these four buildings hit 97% to 99%, and total vacancy is just 5,452 sq.m..


"Rents would go up. But I don’t think it will keep on going up and up every year, in terms of double-digit growth, because eventually it will plateau the moment it hits the level that would motivate other developers to start constructing buildings. You will see more buildings coming out but still very few big buildings," said Mr. Leechiu.


Moreover, "grade A" buildings are also trying to push the rates up to P500 to P600 from a low of P400 to P450. Examples of "grade A" buildings in Makati CBD are 6750 Ayala Avenue Office Tower, Philamlife Tower, and PBCom Tower. In Ortigas CBD, there are Antel Global Corporate Center, Discovery Center and Wynsum Corporate Tower, to name a few.


"They are trying to push that [rates] up. But I’m not sure how successful they are going to be," said Mr. Leechiu.



TO the highest bidder

Total vacant floor space in "grade A" buildings in 13 buildings inside the Makati CBD is 37,948 sq.m., and 30,0000 sq.m. from 12 buildings in Ortigas CBD.


"There is so little space and very few whole floors in the market. The ones that are available are under negotiation between three and four parties. And these would be leased out anytime from today. What’s going on is that tenants are now competing for space and the landlords are bidding for higher prices," said Mr. Leechiu.


But, he noted that there is a glut in the "grade B" market, or those buildings with contiguous space of 250 sq.m. "There’s a glut here because other sectors of the economy are not growing," he said.


With vacancy dropping and lease price increasing, companies are now forced to plan years ahead of their actual demand. "They have to plan way, way ahead. Before, they used to plan six months down the road. But now, they need to plan two years even three years ahead. Because if they don’t, by the time they need it, there is nowhere to go or they could not afford the place," said Mr. Leechiu.


Rental cost, including electricity cost to run air-conditioning, is estimated to be the third biggest expense of a company locator, after labor and telecommunication expenses. Rental cost accounts for 25% to 30% of the monthly operating cost of a company. Building owners charge anywhere between P500/hour to P1,500/hr. per floor for air-conditioning alone. By MARICEL E. ESTAVILLO, Reporter

maybe i should apply my 2 year old twin boys dual citizenship just in case the jobs will no longer be in the US come 2020 :) or to study in the philippines, there are already international schools, british schools, japanese schools, and the soon to be built euro schools ... call centers will be on every language :)

SM-KS ready by 2006? No way..:lol:

Sigh...102 posts plus mine and not a single pic of the construction site. All chit chat but not much visual progress... :rant:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/59320063.jpg

^ :drool:

Thanks so much, bustero! Now we now have a general idea of what's going on.... :yes:

hmm, nice one @bustero. thanks!

Wow, so it's really round on one side.

Thanks, bustero! Is the concrete on the right of the picture the core of the building?

thanks din bustero (ano ba kasi first name mo?).
it really has a curved side according to the earlier rendering.
but it can also have a curved podium pero square tower.

looks very deep na. indeed a tall tower!
now we have something to look upon to.
please keep us updated. wala na kasi ako time mag spy sa mga underconstructions. so many works to do.

hmmm.. where in Ortigas is there a radial road/semi circle:? anyways thanks bustero

^^ that's along meralco avenue(flyover) cor vargas...it looks round because it's on a corner.

yup, and Ortigas Center has a lot of really round corners.

what building did you get that from, Bustero?

Will they release more and better quality renderings?
and who is the architect again?

I'm positively sure Bustero's pic was taken from Antel Global Corporate Center.

coke and aaron are right. lot is the corner of meralco and j vargas, the photo from antel on the 20th floor. A lower floor and you can get the whole hole!
architect is Philipp Recto.

thanks bustero ok my progress

Now all we've got to do is wait.

Gee.. if SM KS really is on the plans that area around BSA and Edsa Shangrila will be skyscraper haven. Imagine almost half of the top 10 buildings in the country will be there :eek:

Had there been a target completion date for SM KS? I tried to google it pero wala ako makita. Sobrang tagal na pala ng project na yan.:(

I didn't even know it's starting up again.

It's still on-hold.

bump:D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/59320063.jpg

Its been three months since this pic was posted. Any new updates? :drool:

i would've expected like steel trusses coming up by now that foundation looks deep enough, so 3 months on i would've expected rising works

had just found out that 202m is only up to the roof.

bakit di uso dito sa pinas ang mag-quote ng height up to the tip of the spire??

hmm.. so you reckon a glass curtain or a spire will go more than 202 meters?

It's the spire (which is obviously used for height-extension purposes because of the design... parang sinalpak lang sa ibabaw nung tower at walang masyadong aesthetic value ang dating niya kasi ang payat) that will go beyond 202 meters.

got the latest renderings of this thing? :D

Nope, I commented from the one and only rendering available here... by Francis:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid162/pcc6b51dbd45f375c2d30bd1446940274/f4bd37d9.jpg

thanks! its spire looks like a radio/TV antenna. :lol: too skinny.

Yeah, thanks to Francis for that rendering from BluPrint Magazine.

The spire would be barely visible from afar ...and the more 'invisible' it is at night unless it's lighted (which I hope they would do).

The architects did a better spire-job in OSMA than in this one, although the overall design of this one is better.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/jafhoy/100_0029.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/jafhoy/100_0028.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/jafhoy/100_0031.jpg

wow! thanks for the photos, fhoy :okay: nice and crisp, too. so it looks like it's gonna be blue and white? the old rendering was deceiving, as far as the color is concerned.

great update.

^blue and white aint that bad in fact i think im lovin that combo. nice update again fhoy.

^^oh yeah, i have to mention that i had reservations before with regards to the color but now i do love that white and blue combo as well :)

Thanks a lot, Fhoy! Its about time we got updates:)

I also like how the photos are crisp:okay:

thanks for the updates....suprise that this project look good without no foreign consultants

Thanks for the update, glad to know this one is moving forward also :)

Edmund I visited your website, I like the Batanes pics, parang Ireland.

Meron ba website Amberland Corp?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y215/jafhoy/100_0029.jpg

OH WOW!!!! SWEET!!! And two tower cranes! This thing is gonna be huge!!! And this is the first visual photographic confirmation of Amberland Corp as the developer. And guess who guessed that even before we knew it all? ;)

I'm making a note of the phone number just in case I win the lotto or somethin... :D

i wonder how long it takes for them to dig..

yeah nice looking one.

i am glad alot is goind up now....its not just renders anymore...yeay!!! hopefully they top off soon...hee hee

me too

Nice Fhoy. :D

Hindi naman siya didikit sa Antel Global Corporate Center ano?
Kasi all-glass yung side ng Antel na katabi ng OCC, sayang naman kung tatakpan lang ng wall ng OCC.

OH WOW!!!! SWEET!!! And two tower cranes! This thing is gonna be huge!!! And this is the first visual photographic confirmation of Amberland Corp as the developer. And guess who guessed that even before we knew it all? ;)


wally, what do you mean?

hopefully, no side of this will fuse with antel.

wally, what do you mean?

He means that he speculated/knew that it is Amberland developing the project long before we got confirmation.

sorry, i couldn't go in the site, hirap bolahin ng mga workers. di gaya sa st. francis, sabi ko my dad bought a unit and he wants some updates so they allowed me to take pics :lol:

WAit, wait. Isn't Amberland the developer o The Skyway Towers? Has it been completed already? As far as I know, Amberland has Taiwanese principals.

anyone got guts to call the number? i wonder what architectural and engineering details we can squeeze out of there.

coke, they were probably more reluctant cause it's gonna be an office building... then again.. they probably weren't informed it was gonna be one... :D

amberland is owned by that chua guy, can't remember his first name. I know many people were wondering how he got so much cashto build it.

For you renell I will get my sec to call amberland and ask them to present their plans to me. (sana soft copy ibigay so I can load it up otherwise pipicturan ko pa).

just passed by it this lunch , very busy, next time I have a meet in my bros office I'll take another picture of their progress.

Well that was fast. The amberland saleslady dropped off the brochure and am having it scanned for you.

Just a few notes.

looks like some of our fears have been realized, there's a firewall on both sides of the perimeter meaning that it will probably abut the side of antel global (my bro's office which faces the lot will now have view of a 200 meter wall!). So this is two sides. you can see on the floor diagram, they even put in lightwells but I can't imagine it would work more than 100 meters down if the next building on the tektite/meralco corner also abuts this with a firewall.

Lot is fan shaped so the fan side which is facing vargas/mralco is all glass and what we have seen so far the two building sides will be closed the point at the back cut off with another curtain wall.
Floorplate is big , NSA of 2035 sq.m.
seems to be 9 parking levels on the basement and none above ground .

I count 16 elevators , including the service levels. More info to come if I can get the scan posted.

Here's the side elevation


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/Cross_Section.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/profile2.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/floor_plan.jpg

ok I can't see , I can send it to someone else so they can up load it. Strange though. have other plates too.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/Cross_Section.jpg[/IMG] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/profile.jpg

nice renderring

^^ are you being facetious or can you really see it. I can't see it but good for those who can. It's listed at 201 meters.

Bustero,
I can also see the cross section, floor plan, and the rendering pics of OCC you've posted. OK siya! :okay:

^^ i can see it :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/Cross_Section.jpg[/IMG] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/profile.jpg

nice one you got there... ok yung pagkakarendered nya...

hmm.. so there's a firewall on the other side? nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo but yeeeeeeeesss for these things bustero thanks a lot lol I guess my afterthought turned into something else:D

wow! thanks for all the effort bustero.
that brochure tells a lot about the project.

Thanks bustero :)

whaaahh, it's squished you can't read the output, I'll try put a better render next week!
strange I couln't read it in the office I could have edited it there. Anyway welcome to you all. Hope this is interesting. But as can be seen (or can"t!) it's only 201 meters. too bad, we were hoping it would be taller so it's around one san miguels height but much wider! maybe as imposing as union bank!

sorry, i couldn't go in the site, hirap bolahin ng mga workers. di gaya sa st. francis, sabi ko my dad bought a unit and he wants some updates so they allowed me to take pics :lol:

Dapat nagpacute ka ng husto. Malay mo may "tagilid" na construction worker dun na payagan kang pumasok at i-tour ka pa sa site. :D

looks like some of our fears have been realized, there's a firewall on both sides of the perimeter meaning that it will probably abut the side of antel global (my bro's office which faces the lot will now have view of a 200 meter wall!). So this is two sides. you can see on the floor diagram, they even put in lightwells but I can't imagine it would work more than 100 meters down if the next building on the tektite/meralco corner also abuts this with a firewall.

Lot is fan shaped so the fan side which is facing vargas/mralco is all glass and what we have seen so far the two building sides will be closed the point at the back cut off with another curtain wall.
Floorplate is big , NSA of 2035 sq.m.
seems to be 9 parking levels on the basement and none above ground .


I've been reading this thread from the office and I find bustero's assessment of this project very disturbing. If one or two sides of OCC are 200 meter bare firewalls, this could be the worse bare walled blunder since the World Centre. With the exception of a small side of the Richmonde Hotel, no building in Ortigas has a bare firewall that encompasses the entire height of a building. Even buildings like One Magnificent Mile, which are practically squished between adjacent buildings in three of the four sides, they don't have bare walls.


I was under the impression that OCC occupies all the vacant land in Meralco Avenue, Julia Vargas and Exchange road.

So to clarify the issue, I created a diagram based on memory, aerials, bustero's post, and what I know about the project to show what the site plan may look like. Note that the dimensions of diagram is not to scale so please bare the crudeness of this attempt. It should give you an idea of what I'm talking about and if its not working, please let me know and if someone can offer to host it in a more reliable site.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid197/p02decd9aa3e272371ee8d46b2e83aea2/f10803da.jpg

Based on the diagram, some observations

1) Antel Global may not be facing a bare wall
2) If I interprete the floor plans and some previous posts correctly, there seems to be a vacant lot at the corner of Tektite/Exchange Road and Meralco Avenue.

So is my diagram an accurate representation of the OCC site? Please advise.

If we are going to have a 200 meter firewall facing Tektite/Exchange Road, that would suck indeed! And it would be the first time a major Ortigas building would have such an ugly architectural feature.

^^ yes, there's a parking lot right on that corner

im trying to recall the rendering we have at the first page, and the floor layout orientation of OCC with respect to antel matches with your diagram @ Wally.

for W.

I will try to have it reposted so it can be seen.

In any case the structure portion is:
1) 54 storey office building including 9 parking basements.
2) 7 commercial floors for shops.
3) Built on a 2883 sq.m. prime commercial corner lot with hard siltstone and stable sandstone (adobe) formation with a very high soil bearing capacity of well over 26,000 psf.
4) Bounded by two(2) major thoroughfares in the Ortigas Central Business District namely: Julia Vargas ave. and Meralco Ave. as well as Jade Drive at the rear.
5) Earthquake-resistance structural design with 5,000 to 10,000 psi reinforced concret columns, beams and slabs, resting on 2.80 m. thick 5,000 psi reinforced concrete mat foundation.
6) Helipad Provided.

Good Luck.

As always, thanks for the info Mr. Bustero. :okay:

Yes yes! Thanks so much for the info and PM, bustero. I like it when the developer openly lets people know of some engineering details as they can be reassuring. That is one thing I noticed with Amberland. Their brochure for One San Miguel has similar details as well.

Hmm... well I know talking to former emporis/skyscrapers.com editors I think he got info from amberland. So it's definately 202 to the roof is it? unfortunate if it'll be quite a lot of firewalls

^ Rennie or anyone else, have it ever occured to you that the firewall may only be for the "commercial" floors?

for W.

I will try to have it reposted so it can be seen.

In any case the structure portion is:
1) 54 storey office building including 9 parking basements.
2) 7 commercial floors for shops.
3) Built on a 2883 sq.m. prime commercial corner lot with hard siltstone and stable sandstone (adobe) formation with a very high soil bearing capacity of well over 26,000 psf.
4) Bounded by two(2) major thoroughfares in the Ortigas Central Business District namely: Julia Vargas ave. and Meralco Ave. as well as Jade Drive at the rear.
5) Earthquake-resistance structural design with 5,000 to 10,000 psi reinforced concret columns, beams and slabs, resting on 2.80 m. thick 5,000 psi reinforced concrete mat foundation.
6) Helipad Provided.

Good Luck.

Maybe it was done on purpose and that there maybe a driveway adjacent to it or something and the office floorplans maybe different? The facts outlined by Bustero did mention Jade Street so perhaps there would be a driveway linking Meralco Avenue and Jade Street, as partially shown in a rendering.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/profile.jpg

Perhaps there is a perpendicular driveway to the one shown above.

I just find it quite odd that there would be a firewall ala World Centre that would be built in an Ortigas building. Note some observations...

1) No building of Amberland Corp, even the one that is squished or bound to be squished by adjacent buildings, the Prestige Tower, has any firewall on its sides.
2) The floor plan for the commercial seems to be so small in relation to the rest of the project and is only in one side of the building. And with an open balcony?
3) Such practice does not seem to make economic sense for the office portion, especially with balconies to open spaces surrounded by a glass wall.

Perhaps this is the way the building would be for the offices. I suspect offices would overlap compared to the existing commercial floor plan. Very crude diagram but I hope you get the picture.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid198/p38a9c56b1776e077fc15425637c4d4f1/f0d47bd9.jpg

Does this look plausible?

perhaps but we'll only know with more photos and renderings:D

Let me post the photo again for a reference on my post below
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/floor_plan.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/Cross_Section.jpg

and here are my observations and opinions.

1. the diagram only shows the 3rd floor. The floor layout above the 7th floor are different from those below it

Basement 1 - 9 - underground parking
Ground Floor - Main Lobby
2nd Flr - Commercial Flr
3rd - 5th floor - not really sure about what is written there, but based on the floor layout, there will be office spaces on the curved side of the bldg. maybe office for the anchor tenant? the other side must be open balcony.
6th floor - it's coded black on the cross section diagram. must be another commercial floor, or the cafeteria something.
7th floor - the diagram says fitness center
8th floor upwards - office floors. this is supposed to occupy all available areas for office use. no balcony and no firewall. i guess only GF-7F will have fiewalls.

Bad picture , better than nothing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/60220032.jpg

Bad picture , better than nothing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/60220032.jpg

^ Nuts to that! That picture is the most beautiful thing I've seen all day! Nice to see some assuring progress. And this also confirms my theory on how the layout of the building is. Keep them coming! :cool:

Now if only we can for sure know if the side facing Tektite/Exchange Road will indeed have bare walls above the 7th floor. I guess we have to wait a few months to find out...;)

thanks for that bustero! now i could see a progress below the ground level :)

galeng
akala ko ground level na to

aheheh.. everytime i pass by meralco ave. e para kseng walang progress

i really want to beg the guards to let me shoot some pics...the last time, they refused.

lumohod ka o hindi

lol nope...do i have to? hehe

magandang brainwash is bringing them food such as softdrinks, balot at asin. it actually works but wouldnt it look funny bringing a picnic basket in the front of sekyu. tapos nakabitin pa sa forearm mo habang palakad papunta sa kanila, then you ask them: kailangan mo ng softdrink and balot with consolation price of asin just let me take a pics. so i guess kneeling is not neccessary at all. d ba

hahaha that's a good idea but no thanks, i'll just wait until they're working on the second floor...

but there still be a sekyu no matter where you go in pnas, i would take my suggestion dearly in able to take a pics in diff buildings

lumohod ka o hindi

hehe, is kneeling really a good idea? :D
Baka kasi isipin nung mga guards na may gustong kang gawin na mahalay sa kanila pag lumuhod ka sa harap nila. :naughty:

hahaha dang if they're hot?

holy cow this building is deep!

for sure this tower like everything else has a scale model. seeing this is the fastest way of knowing how the actual thing looks like...with bare walls or none.

Bump! Is there any update on this magnificent project? Its been almost two months now.... :drool:

Seems slow going when I pass it there's always activity but somehow it's still seems like they've not hit ground level yet, or maybe it's just really super deep!

must be taking time to construct the foundation and basement levels. anyway, we should see it ease its way up once ground level was reached. nothing should keep Amberland from finishing this project, since the whole structure is an investment itself. no need for preselling to get the funds. or do they get the capital from the investors?

Yeah, I suppose you are right. There is a vertically phased office tower in Vancouver, BC that is adding floors. The pace is two floors per month. Just looking at the pic that bustero previously posted and given its only two months and the size of OCC is just HUGE compared to the Vancouver office tower I am referring too, its no surprise why construction it taking long. I suppose the building won't be finished until the END of 2007. Oh well. Please post a pic as soon as it reaches the ground floor. :yes:

I passed by Ortigas yesterday. You can already see cranes and metal sticks stcking out of the area. Any pic on this?

^ Ugh! If that was the case, it would be shown here by now. You were already there! Why not take the pic yourself? We need round the clock updates, people!!! OCC is simply too gorgeous to be ignored... :drool:

Naku, wag mong paluhurin si c0ke, baka kung ano pa mangyari. Hi c0ke..
gud morning to all forumers...

lol nope...do i have to? hehe

^ Ugh! If that was the case, it would be shown here by now. You were already there! Why not take the pic yourself? We need round the clock updates, people!!! OCC is simply too gorgeous to be ignored... :drool:

Well, I was just passing by it. And, I don't bring my cam all the time.

I passed by there, still wala pang nangyayari, no people working e

^ I find that comment very disturbing. :shocked:

Can someone else, especially one with access to Antel, clarify visually by posting an updated pic? Any help would be greatly appreciated... :yes:

According to a forum member who is a building developer, typically daw 1 floor per month is the industry standard in Pinas. Anything less means the project is slow and lagging. Has there been any difference in the last 2 months?

^ The photo below was posted on January 5th of this year. Its the beginning of April already. Given that the building is pretty massive and if your info about the "one floor per month" is standard and correct, then OCC should have had three additional floors since that pic was taken. The last indication on where the project is at was from JAMAICUS who indicated that the "metals are sticking out of the area already". Its hard for me to tell (or more like, would rather have a second opinion to determine) whether the pic shows the building is at least three levels below ground level but do you think the project is on the right track in terms of progress? Please advise as even a hint of "deferral" causes great anxiety on my part... :yes:

Bad picture , better than nothing

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v632/bustero/60220032.jpg

Of course, the only way to confirm is an actual NEW live pic to be taken now so some of us will have peace of mind.... ;)

If only I'm not located in California I'd gladly snap a few pics to help you out. Hopefully one of our local members will be nice enough to post some new pics (hint, hint, hint...). :)

Yes yes! I admit, I wouldn't be so damn anxious if I wasn't located in Portland starved of news about this gorgeous office tower. I suppose we "EXPATS" will have to rely on the kindness of our local friends to satisfy our lust for information on funky projects such as OCC. :yes:

If only I'm not located in California I'd gladly snap a few pics to help you out. Hopefully one of our local members will be nice enough to post some new pics (hint, hint, hint...). :)

ay ako yata ang local member na yan ah! :lol:

ay ako yata ang local member na yan ah! :lol:
Hehehe...Pwede ba Fhoy? When you get the chance lang naman since parang nagvolunteer ka naman. TY ha! :)

Ayan Wally, you can thank Coke/Fhoy at may pics na tayo!

sa wednesday or thursday ako maglilibot to take pics of one corporate center, st francis and soho...then onto makati for TR@G updates...then back to FBGC for serendra, etc...

sa wednesday or thursday ako maglilibot to take pics of one corporate center, st francis and soho...then onto makati for TR@G updates...then back to FBGC for serendra, etc...

sana maligaw ka sa bellagio :)

^^ no prob, talagang ililigaw ko sarili ko dun eh :)

Fhoy, Pasensiya na pero makikisuyo pa ako ulit. Kung lilibot ka rin naman sa FBGC baka pwede ka na rin maligaw at kunan yung Fairways Tower (Manila Golf Side) from the Pacific Plaza Tower location perspective. Just want to see the progress on that side of the building where my unit is located. Sorry kung kapal ako ha kasi kayo lang ang inaasahan ko for my condo update. Thanks again in advance sa lahat ng tulong mo. :)

hehehe...no prob po... ;)

sa wednesday or thursday ako maglilibot to take pics of one corporate center, st francis and soho...then onto makati for TR@G updates...then back to FBGC for serendra, etc...

Thanks Fhoy!:) Much appreciated.

Construction Updates

April 6, 2006
4:45 P.M.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/jafhoy3/100_0582.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/jafhoy3/100_0583.jpg

^^ thanks for the updates coke :) , the construction is kinda slow ngah lang...

don't worry guys. it was only around a year since this project started off. let's be optimistic. having the rebars now sticking above grounds...i would say it's at normal pace.

Oh wow!!! Cool!!! Thank you so much, coke!!! :hug:

I agree with Francis that it seems to be in a normal pace given that its a massive building to begin with. Besides, the construction of the basement levels tend to be the one that seem to take forever. I could only assume its because of the logistical nightmare of transporting construction materials and people in such an akward setting. Once it reaches a few levels above ground with a little bit more elbow room, it should speed things up. :yes:

waaa.. kakukuha ko lang ng din ng pic sa location na yan kse pasin ko may mga steel bars na visible. hehe.. kala ko ala pang nakapost na pic.. anyways mas clear yung pic mo litro :okay: tnx.

Im not really expecting that much from this building. Look what happened to One San Miguel Avenue. I saw some renderings before it was finished, it looked good, but the finished product..bleh. Parang andaming di natuloy sa exterior design nya especially sa mga materials na gagamitin. Now etong One Corporate Center, same Architect - Recio+Casas. May similarities pa sa architectural features. :tongue3:

^^let's just hope the outcome is good enough. btw, do u still have w/ u the one san mig renderings?

Im not really expecting that much from this building. Look what happened to One San Miguel Avenue. I saw some renderings before it was finished, it looked good, but the finished product..bleh. Parang andaming di natuloy sa exterior design nya especially sa mga materials na gagamitin. Now etong One Corporate Center, same Architect - Recio+Casas. May similarities pa sa architectural features. :tongue3:

What the bloody hell are you talking about? One San Mig is spectacular! It totally exceeds expectations and whatever was in the renderings resulted in the finished product!

Below is the original rendering of One San Mig. It looks EXACTLY THE SAME as the real thing!

http://www.philestate.com/imgbank/osm-a.jpg

OCC is going to be spectacular! We don't see that much funky buildings like these too often! :okay:

Pag-malayo, OSM looks massive and imposing. Look closer pag nadaan ka dun, particularly on its white exterior walls, it looks like it got painted ng first coating lang and ang pangit ng pagkakapalitada nun concrete, it looks dirty.

Rusty18: That was a long time ago, and I saw it on the newspaper hehehe

Pag-malayo, OSM looks massive and imposing. Look closer pag nadaan ka dun, particularly on its white exterior walls, it looks like it got painted ng first coating lang and ang pangit ng pagkakapalitada nun concrete, it looks dirty.



^ Well what did you expect? With so much smog and dirt in Metro Manila, buildings, no matter how new or nice, get dirty quite quickly.

EDIT:

Oh and to fillustrate my point, this is a closeup of a world renowned landmark in Toronto, Canada, First Canadian Place. It is the tallest building in the country.

http://www.inclearimage.com/images/Toronto/June/CutStuff/P1030560.jpg

Here is the building seen from afar. It looks so clean and white, eh?

http://www.skyscraperpicture.com/toronto08.jpg

Now if a landmark building in an ultra clean first world city such as Toronto can look this crappy up close, can you really expect ANY Metro Manila building to fare any better?

Construction Updates

April 6, 2006
4:45 P.M.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/jafhoy3/100_0582.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g138/jafhoy3/100_0583.jpg Salamat Fhoy! Maaasahan ka talaga!

Wow...thanks Fhoy! Yeah, i think construction is going at a reasonable pace. Looks like they are keeping up with the schedule.

Construction Updates

May 25, 2006
12:00 Noon

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/jafhoy2/100_0824.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/jafhoy2/100_0825.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/jafhoy2/100_0826.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/jafhoy2/100_0827.jpg

ang tagal ng construction pala nito.. hehe..

thanks coke! hehehe, ongah, ganun ba tlaga pag office high-rise, matagal yung construction?

mabilis na din yan... :)

WOW!!! Thank you so much, Fhoy!!!! I think the project is proceeding at a normal pace. A lot of you who think its slow must realize that this is a huge office tower, which has far more structural components that that of a residential project. Just compare the pics of where the blue crane was from April to today and you can see it has gone up quite a bit. Now that we are above ground, there is less logistical issues to deal with as oppose to building below ground (i.e. movement of materials and people). So the construction progress should accelerate. If they can build round the clock one floor every two weeks, this project should easily be completed sometime in 2007, as advertised by the developer. :yes:

Nice thread!!!

I'm also looking forward for the OCC, hopefully it will look the same as the rendering.

sorry sa view, ang bilis kasi ng kotse eh :bash:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8479/dsc076913dy.jpg

http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/4732/dsc076929cn.jpg

wow.. ang taas na din pala...

bumilis ngah eh, nagwowork na sila sa 3rd floor... :D

thanks fhoy and kiben for the photos. guess what? i've been there last sunday. but it i guess it's the worker's day off. no construction activity. i took some photos, but yours with the workers are more interesting. have you noticed their uniforms? mukhang me color coding sila every day ah. :)

^^ Could you please post it anyway.... :drool:

That is fast that they are already working on the third floor slab given that Fhoy's second floor slab pics were only taken just two weeks ago. Its too bad that the pic from the car wasn't that clear though so we could have seen more detail but progress is looking good nonetheless. If it takes two and a half weeks to finish a floor...can someone do the math and guestimate a topping off date?

Given:
Rate: 2.5 weeks/floor
Floors: 54 (9 undeground + 45 above ground) - am i right with this?
Then

2.5 weeks/floor x 54 = 135 weeks
~ 2.60 years
~ 945 days
~ 32 months

and since 9 underground and 3 aboveground are now done
then there are 105 more weeks before top off.
~ 2 years
~737 days
~25 months

here are the photos i took last sunday - june 4, 2006
a bit dark...i'll try to get more quality photos next time
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p79d68f72867df66539064a8450724ae1/eea88f60.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p05a2d765eb0bd45b1bf7101677761e6a/eea88ed5.jpg

no sign that this project will be halted
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p4420116405de14d3bf6a80947b8a44c6/eea88f5f.jpg

doesn't show much about the project. they construction guys are skeptically looking at me
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p204e8f00d1ca95981956dbce9bc988ce/eea88ed1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/pbf4743a816e685c9db6b38aa5d204f1b/eea88ed9.jpg

i guess mga 1 year na lang yan top off na yan..

Given:
Rate: 2.5 weeks/floor
Floors: 54 (9 undeground + 45 above ground) - am i right with this?
Then

2.5 weeks/floor x 54 = 135 weeks
~ 2.60 years
~ 945 days
~ 32 months




Thanks Francis. Two years from now would mean a June 2008 topping off, which means its behind schedule per the ad. But then again, my assumption for the two and a half weeks is based on photos here. I don't really know how fast the building is progressing but I always thought buildings of that size can be built, or at least be topped off, faster than two and a half years.

So it seems to really accurately calculate the estimated topping off, contant flurry of pics showing the construction progress is required... :yes:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid207/p79d68f72867df66539064a8450724ae1/eea88f60.jpg

Its hard to see from that pic but judging by the van and the construction site, I suppose the foreground that we're seeing is the vacant/parking lot?

no problem wally. that lot on the foreground is a vacant lot, that is where the construction materials are. one would need either to climb up the overpass or sneak thru antel to get a got shoot of the contruction. sounds like a good idea! this one should be topped off soon as the demand is already at an all time high! based on the rebars i've seen on the construction site, it seems like this will have a fused podium with Antel. now let's hope that there would be an ample space between the main expanse of the tower from the upper floors (7th) up to and that of Antel to prevent a wall to wall structure. looking at the rendering, it doesn't seem like OCC would be too close to Antel. by the way, i'm starting to see the curvy side of the tower.

^^ the construction guys were skeptically looking at you? hehehe...i was luckier pala coz they waved at me and tried to pose pa LOL...

I see it quite a bit, several times a week in fact. Hard to notice the progress when you see it so often. It didn't take them too long from the time I tookthe pix from my brother's office of the deep hole they were making till now to get to like the 2nd 3rd floor. Substructures and foundations really take time as it's like the most important part of a building. But now I thinkwe can see a 1 floor per week cycle which is common. Kung mahina benta baka they'llmove it to 10 days per floor. Either case that's not a long time anymore.

^^ i think with the rise of BPO, pag aagawan yang space dyan hehehe.

I hope your right although it bugs me why Burgundy Empire is still having a ridiculously slow progress, if any at all, despite the rise of the BPO. After all, their floorplate is HUGE!

hmmm.... looking forward until it is visible past the fences. do you reckon they'll do what they do in office buildings normally, with the core going up a couple floors higher than the rest of the structure?

fhoy, i was not surprised. you have more charm than i do! hehehe...:D
next time, i'll use my remaining charm. :)
it's been a year + 2 months since this project started digging. now on it's 3rd level. that's roughly 12 levels since then, and that's not bad. renell, i really want to see that stuff you are talking...where the inner core get's built ahead than the other part of the floor! it looks nice that way, just what was done for makati office towers.

with regards to this project..it is owner supplied materials... so the construction activity and time completion depends on the delivery of the materials at site. This project has 9 level basement which is not common coz mostly buildings only have 5 to 7 basement levels only. i heard dat this is a 5 year project. =) maybe due to the funding issues.

with regards to the burgundy in malugay st .. in makati.. the developer has no money dats why the project is too slow. They depend on the marketing arm only to provide funding for the project..