Which Metro Manila cities you find most ideal to live in ? in terms of the ff.
criteria

1. Infrastructure
2. Traffic Control
3. Local governance
4. Pollution control

These are the current Metro cities:

Manila
Makati
Quezon
Pasay
Mandaluyong
Pasig
Las Pinas
Muntinlupa
Paranaque
Taguig ( new )
Caloocan

Valenzuela ( not sure if a city already )
Malabon ( same )
Navotas ( same )

i'l vote las Pinas City,,,maganda na malinis pa!

taguig???

Valenzuela and Malabon are cities :)

I vote Marikina. :) very good city, I think. clean also, when I once went there.

i'm leaning towards quezon city.

business: cubao and eastwood
education: diliman, ateneo, miriam
government: lots and lots, batasang pambansa
parks: qc memorial circle, parks and wildlife
shopping: north edsa, cubao
landmarks: quezon monument, among others

well-designed avenues, wide sidewalks, quezon city has it all!

ma-ka-ti

:)

I agree with Marikina. I can't really comment about it too much though because I rarely go there.

I'd go with Mandaluyong. They've done so much with so little. The City Hall is efficient, very investor-friendly. Great public school facilities. Even the "squatter" areas are well planned out and relatively liveable. I was able to talk to Mayor Benhur Abalos and he's a very upstanding guy.

I'd say Quezon City would be one of the worser cities in the metro. The opposite of Mandaluyong or Marikina, they've done so little with so much. It has a really bad problem with squatters. It's just too big to govern effectively. Novaliches really should have broken away when they had the chance. Mayor Belmonte is one of the better mayors to have governed it though.

I pity the residents of Pasay, Navotas, Malabon, and Caloocan. Nothing good ever seems to happen to their cities. If not for the CCP complex and NAIA, Pasay City would be nothing but a blight on the metro.

Oh yeah, I should also give it to Mayor Atienza of Manila. He has transformed Manila and made it a much better city. He mad The Roxas Boulevard, Avenida Rizal, Plaza Miranda, Plaza Goiti, and many other places in the city much better and cleaner. I give it to him for making Manila a better place to live.

Hmm....I can't decide. Haven't been back to the Philippines for close to 15 years! That's why I'm blown away by the photos that are posted here, it's not how I remember Metro Manila. I guess that's a positive, signs of progress.

I'd vote for Mandaluyong.... for its proximity to major areas.... and less expensive than makati...

I vote for Marikina..very clean...but like JudeD, I rarely go there. Next would be Makati...followed by Mandaluyong. :)

taguig???

I live in Taguig and somehow, this confirms we're a city already :)
http://www.journal.com.ph/news.asp?pid=2&sid=2&nid=839&month=5&day=9&year=2004

Marikina is my favorite,it is clean and well organized.It reminds me of some suburb of a US city.

syempre manila pa rin. ito ang tunay na city. chaotic. nakakaloko. aliw. di mabobored ang mga taong mahilig sa city adventures. wala mang gaanong scrapers gaya ng makati or di man kasinlinis ng marikina or kasinlaki ng qc, ito ang pinaka photogenic na city. andaming interesting subjects. makulay, matao. photographer friendly pa mga tao kasi sanay na sanay na sila (lalo na mga bata). diverse ang architecture. punong puno ng culture (at mga taong walang ka culture culture). malapit rin kahit saan sa metro. e since nadaan ang lrt1 sa kahaban ng taft ave at rizal ave madali lang. ang kaso mahal lupa dito. e maiintindihan naman e. manila kasi.


makati na rin. dun ako galing e. ok mas matinong sagot. kasi maganda naman ang pamamalakad ng city govt dito. maganda public schools, health centers, barangay halls, barangay sports complex. ung street lights at street signs meron anywhere (kahit dito sa bandang squating). maraming libre lalo na pag public school student ka dito. kumpleto na school supplies pati bag and sapatos na rin ata. not sure dun sa shoes. astig. papasok ka na lang sa school. aliw.

my vote goes to Marikina right now. Bayani and his wife have done an amazing job at cleaning up the city and they've successfully spurred up urban renewal among the people. for the first time (well, maybe not...) in any part of Metro Manila, the citizens there are actually proud of their own!! Las Pinas also looks and sounds good, but I've never been there, so... Makati is just too western and world class so I guess it stands out. I suppose Manila is well on it's way into the ranks of Marikina and Las Pinas with Atienza as mayor... I hope it gets even better the next time I see it.

my verdict:

1 infras-
2 traffic ctrl-
3 LGU-
4 pollution-

my verdict: top 2

1 infras- marikina-clear well paved & manicured sidewalks, & roads. they even have bikelanes. as an urbanite, youll always feel safer & more dignified if u live there
2 traffic ctrl- god! i think its marikina pa rin!, & mandaluyong
3 LGU- makati-its sometimes called a welfare city LP/munti-tie
4 pollution ctrl - marikina- & muntinlupa-most parts of it are stil green

overall-southern MM cities r clean more developed, compared to the north. realy has lots of catching-up to do...

new cities confirmed-taguig, valenzuela, & san juan
hanging-navotas & malabon

Why is there such a race to become a "City?" Can anyone explain it to me? :dunno:

i dunno. taguig still looks very rural to me. of course i'm not pertaining to the bgc area. but i think it's already considered a city. oh well.

valenzuela? i thought it's sinking deeper and deeper. hehe. oh well. they say, while the north suffers from floods, the south experiences water shortage.

san juan is now a city? i didn't know that. must be good for them.

Why is there such a race to become a "City?" Can anyone explain it to me? :dunno:


Good question .... :)

Cities are given higher internal revenue allotments than municipalities... Of course, they have to give a bigger chunk of their tax revenues to the national government.

I live at Malabon. Its mayor battled so much for it to become a city. I don't know why it should be even called a city. It is still a fishing village. No mass transit systems. No central business district. C-4 Road which connects to R10 is putol at the end. And most are still low-income earners.

I vote for Makati, Ortigas, Eastwood, FBGC, and Manila which is so beautiful now.

Good question .... :)

Cities are given higher internal revenue allotments than municipalities... Of course, they have to give a bigger chunk of their tax revenues to the national government.

I live at Malabon. Its mayor battled so much for it to become a city. I don't know why it should be even called a city. It is still a fishing village. No mass transit systems. No central business district. C-4 Road which connects to R10 is putol at the end. And most are still low-income earners.

I vote for Makati, Ortigas, Eastwood, FBGC, and Manila which is so beautiful now.

but Malabon is a city right? I once heard that in the news.

my verdict: top 2

1 infras- marikina-clear well paved & manicured sidewalks, & roads. they even have bikelanes. as an urbanite, youll always feel safer & more dignified if u live there
2 traffic ctrl- god! i think its marikina pa rin!, & mandaluyong
3 LGU- makati-its sometimes called a welfare city LP/munti-tie
4 pollution ctrl - marikina- & muntinlupa-most parts of it are stil green

overall-southern MM cities r clean more developed, compared to the north. realy has lots of catching-up to do...

new cities confirmed-taguig, valenzuela, & san juan
hanging-navotas & malabon

i agree, marikina is beautiful I only hate the traffic situation there. Only one major artery. A skyway or something should be constructed to ease travel to the west.

but Malabon is a city right? I once heard that in the news.

yeah. a city na. gross noh? hehe :eek2:

i change my vote. i guess it's marikina.....

my vote goes to Marikina right now. Bayani and his wife have done an amazing job at cleaning up the city and they've successfully spurred up urban renewal among the people. for the first time (well, maybe not...) in any part of Metro Manila, the citizens there are actually proud of their own!! Las Pinas also looks and sounds good, but I've never been there, so... Makati is just too western and world class so I guess it stands out. I suppose Manila is well on it's way into the ranks of Marikina and Las Pinas with Atienza as mayor... I hope it gets even better the next time I see it.


Yeah Marikina looks kinda peaceful and clean but it doesnt have the dynamism and modernity of Makati and QC. Marikina is a large bedroom community just that a a very nice bedroom commmunity , no sprawling commercial centers, lofty buildings superhighways leisure centers etc

MY VOTE
of course im partial towards QC

1. QC - TOTAL CITY! masterplanned (i know its misplanned somewhere, but theyre fixing it ryt now ok), tree lined boulevards, huge parks,beautiful aerial, forested north, hilly and chilly, very academic (UP,ADMU, Miriam,NEU, AMA) science city, media/govt ctr., beautiful Iglesia ni Cristo, supermalls araneta its all here

2.Makati- upscale modern and enjoys higher standard of living, home of the rich and socialites, swanky villages well appointed business hotels,

3.Manila- manila will always remain a great city,a city of heritage and culture, colorful (but jagged dirty environs) streetscape, cosmopolitan,

4.Pasig
5.Mandaluyong

my vote goes to Marikina right now. Bayani and his wife have done an amazing job at cleaning up the city and they've successfully spurred up urban renewal among the people. for the first time (well, maybe not...) in any part of Metro Manila, the citizens there are actually proud of their own!! Las Pinas also looks and sounds good, but I've never been there, so... Makati is just too western and world class so I guess it stands out. I suppose Manila is well on it's way into the ranks of Marikina and Las Pinas with Atienza as mayor... I hope it gets even better the next time I see it.


Yeah Marikina looks kinda peaceful and clean but it doesnt have the dynamism and modernity of Makati and QC. Marikina is a large bedroom community just that a a very nice bedroom commmunity , no sprawling commercial centers, lofty buildings superhighways leisure centers etc

MY VOTE
of course im partial towards QC

1. QC - TOTAL CITY! masterplanned (i know its misplanned somewhere, but theyre fixing it ryt now ok), tree lined boulevards, huge parks,beautiful aerial, forested north, hilly and chilly, very academic (UP,ADMU, Miriam,NEU, AMA) science city, media/govt ctr., beautiful Iglesia ni Cristo, supermalls araneta its all here

2.Makati- upscale modern and enjoys higher standard of living, home of the rich and socialites, swanky villages well appointed business hotels,

3.Manila- manila will always remain a great city,a city of heritage and culture, colorful (but jagged dirty environs) streetscape, cosmopolitan,

4.Pasig
5.Mandaluyong

1. Muntinlupa City ,

Being a resident of this city , I have seen how it transformed from a municipality hosting the national penitentiary to a vibrant city that is is today . There are so much plenty of lands up to now available for development in the future.
Relatively , there is a low crime rate here and most of the bars showing lewd shows are totally eradicated . Alabang is the crossroads of going out to province and going in to MegaManila . Infrastructure is also ideal as it has several major arteries ( SSH , Manila South Road , provincial road traversing the coast of laguna lake ). Greeneries are still preserved in Filinvest city and NBP reservation and traffic control is very manageable up to now daily.

And the continuous progress of the city goes on , despite having the notoriety then of hosting the National Penitentiary ( NBP ). In fact , many local and foreign investors eye this 550 hectare reservation area for future development. LGU management is also one of the best in Metro .

2. Makati - very progressive .

Some things I don't like about Muntinlupa are the very narrow national road traversing the entire stretch of the city, little or even non-existent of sidewalks, and lack of access roads to lessen the amount of traffic in the nat'l road... otherwise i believe it's a residential haven...

Some things I don't like about Muntinlupa are the very narrow national road traversing the entire stretch of the city, little or even non-existent of sidewalks, and lack of access roads to lessen the amount of traffic in the nat'l road... otherwise i believe it's a residential haven...


That national road ( 4 -lane ) maybe narrow but at least there are alternative roads parralel to it ( provincial road and South Expressway ) that you can use . That stretch indeed is residential but not besieged with villages or subdivisions . A nearby city which with all of their numerous villages / malls on both sides of the road has only that national road to use and no alternatives at all, is much worse and traffic there is truly terrible . Besides ,
there is also a PNR system ( hope to be improved soon ) traversing our city that is an alternative also to get in and out of the city proper.

In fact several decades ago as I was told , i used to be a 2-lane road only and was expanded to 4-lane . Properties was demolished to give way for the expansion. Maybe , several years from now when it gets truly saturated it will be expanded or perhaps additional access roads will be built in the future.

The Filinvest and Ayala business centers and has wide well maintained avenues ( better than Makati CBD ) and they co -exist in Alabang harmoniously by allowing access to their respective business centers via Commerce avenue . Once the entire road network infrastructure there will be completed it will be awesome .

The Makati Government really sucks. Makati is so rich, and yet the outlaying areas of the city is underdeveloped. Only the CBD and executive estates (Forbes, etc) are well developed. Imo, Makati govt is very corrupt.

Marikina is very impressive. Everyone is well diciplined, streets are clean and clear. The level of development and progress is very impressive for such a small and low profile city. It may not have importance in business and government but it gets my vote. It has what other cities lack - dicipline.

Next would be Muntinlupa...

it's because the mayor is corrupt.... pro-poor super.

I agree about Makati. I'm sure the city government is earning BILLIONS in revenue but do you see any of it being put to visible use for public projects? I bet the Makati City government alone earns more that some entire provinces. Where are the Atienza-style beautification and rejuvenation of parks and public spaces? That landscaping thing they did underneath the Buendia flyover seems like a pathetic attempt at emulating the Buhayin ang Maynila example. Ospital ng Makati is not as good as Ospital ng Muntinlupa (my doctor friends say that the OsMun is a really good hospital and pays well too). The Makati Science High School has nothing on the Manila Science High School in terms of quality of graduates and academic reputation (a lot of my medical school classmates were from Manila Science, almost as many as from Philippine Science, and UP IntarMed is really tough to get into, so far we don't know anyone from Makati Science or Quezon City Science getting in). I've heard that for Makati's poor, their education and healthcare are well provided for. But shouldn't a LOT more be done with all that money? Makati natives should at least be as disciplined and Makati streets (outside the CBD) should at least be as clean and green as that of Marikina. And they should take care of the creek.

All the maintenance and development work in the Central Business District is the work of MACEA or the Ayalas. So what the heck is being done with all that money? Well, at least they have a sparkling new City Hall.

The Makati Science High School has nothing on the Manila Science High School in terms of quality of graduates and academic reputation (a lot of my medical school classmates were from Manila Science, almost as many as from Philippine Science, and UP IntarMed is really tough to get into, so far we don't know anyone from Makati Science or Quezon City Science getting in).
:bash: I think it's true, I watched Digital LG Quiz for three consecutive years and sad to say that Makati Science HS were always eliminated at the weekly quiz (weekly - monthly - quarterly - grand finals to complete...). :sleepy:

ill go with makati because thats the only city i went to during my trip in the philippines.. (well except manila and baguio).. :)

i agree too, makati isnt growing w/ its potential, even on the cbd, the're still alot of eyesores like along malugay, dela rosa & buendia avenue near d south superhighway, they suck! the most horrible scene is at the south superhighway stretch from magallanes to zobel roxas. madilim, madumi, super HIGHway kuno na traffic & pothole infested naman! even on weekends my nakikita akong trycicles crossing buendia avenue on a broad daylight, it sucks talaga!

what's funny is tuk-tuks in BKK can follow rules. Why can't our tricycles here read signs.

Only in the Philippines. More than the usual delayed projects and stuff. Speaking of which, daming ads ng wow philippines sa CNN hehe

im going to Marikina City. all thanks to Mr. BF. Makati only looks world-class in the CBD. it's like any other MM city in the other areas. Manila still has big problems. i dunno about Malabon or QC. but Marikina is ideal, but it has no scrapers though.

did u know that QC and Manila are the only cities classified as "SPECIAL", notch higher than being a first class highly urbanized, i dunno if Makati is a special city now

malabon sucks big time. will remain a fishing village forever. and im not proud that i live here. i vote for san juan where our condo is hehe

Yeah, Malabon is just a really big congested, underdeveloped fishing village. What it needs is a good government. Navotas is similar, but its government is now starting to do something about their progress.

hehe..... dont make me cry GreyX :P

Dont worry, i have relatives that live there too...:(

my second choice would be Las Pinas. nice city too with a good series of mayors.

Malabon and Navotas needs a dam to prevent flooding. imo :D

Yah , Las Pinas has a good series of mayors for the simple reason that the series of mayors there are all in interrelated clan of political dynasty . The mayor and the congresswoman there are actually siblings.

This is the A./V./R. clans running Las Pinas for like 20 years or so already except for one term ( wherein Casimiro won as mayor ). So you can really expect the continuity of their projects because its like a family business .

Yah , Las Pinas has a good series of mayors for the simple reason that the series of mayors there are all in interrelated clan of political dynasty . The mayor and the congresswoman there are actually siblings.

This is the A./V./R. clans running Las Pinas for like 20 years or so already except for one term ( wherein Casimiro won as mayor ). So you can really expect the continuity of their projects because its like a family business .


Kinda off topic , in fairness to them they were elected .

honestly, im not anymore in favor of having Metro manila's concept composed of diffrent cities & municiplaties clusterd tog. in 1 big land. d congess needs to pass a legislation that wud once & for all unify all of them & to be only called w/ 1 name which is, simply MANILA. hindi yung parang kung ano-ano pang independent kingdoms governd by diff. sultans ang nag-eexist, e halos pareho naman ang commonalities nila lahat e. also, they shud include rezoning some cities(to be called districts afterwards) w/c are too small or too big like say, QC or sn juan, para balance naman! if all this happens, there shall b uniformity in policies & governance. one obvious diffrence will be seen on the street signs. when u get to manila, parang NY style street signs ung nakainstall sa major avenues, then suddenly, pag punta mo sa makati iba na naman. ang jologs eh, kasi walang uniformity. its been causing lots of confusion lalo na sa mga tourists coz theyre extremely havin difficult time on identifying a certain area kung part parin ng manila o hindi na.& sa philippines lang ulit yan. they should finally b united!

camanava shudnt b included in d union! just kidding!!! just kidding!!!
or maybe rly not until the flood woes get solved at least....

ive been messing with that idea in my head for some time now. i think it's a good idea, however, the mayors wouldn't simply give up power. indeed it's a problem. another alternative is installing a NCR governor and creating laws that would in effect for all the cities.

With the flooding of several places in Metro Manila , some of which are cities , we must consider too if the area is flood prone or not with heavy or light rainfall , in case we are choosing a place or city to live in .

Flooding especially if it invade your house is such a major headache , so we must also check the history of the location of the house we wish to live in .

well not all people have a choice of where to live. their choices are restricted by their financial situations.

maybe all houses in Malabon and Navotas should be 2 meters above ground. like steel and concrete versions of stilt houses

well not all people have a choice of where to live. their choices are restricted by their financial situations.

maybe all houses in Malabon and Navotas should be 2 meters above ground. like steel and concrete versions of stilt houses
__________________


Yeah its true and a fact that not all people have choice where to live due to financial restrictions , what I am saying is for those families who are financially able to choose where they will live to be careful in investing their hard earned money when buying a house.
This is because there are so many crooked developers out there who fooled the lot buyers that the villages they built are safe from flood or landslides and yet when the big non-stop heavy rains come , suddenly your house is underwater or worse hit by landslides. We must be wise enough to check the location of the subdivisions we are thinking of buying specifically the history /topography of the place because there are some developers who covers/blocks natural creeks and make it part of the village because of greed. There are many cases of that unfortunate situations that homeowners suffers nowadays.

Let's talk. Cityland buildings automatically disqualified for unfair competition. to give Ortigas and Makati buildings a chance it will be only for building with or above 25 floors.

Here's my list
-Greenbelt Parkplace
-The Peak
-more to come, i just gotta think of em:D

Burgundy and that thing next to it.

Oh yeah, pics please.

imo Smart Tower, the medium one between LKG and PBcom, is pretty ugly too. wasn't it shelved, then taken over?

That unfinished building at "Mantrade" (EDSA corner Pasong Tamo Ext.)... it was already there since I can remember... do these unfinished scrapers count?

They should just tear it down. It was supposed to be Toyota's Southeast Asia-wide design center in the 1980s.

imo Smart Tower, the medium one between LKG and PBcom, is pretty ugly too. wasn't it shelved, then taken over?
huh? it's ugly for you? I like its shape.but as for the lobby, I don't like it.

Yeah...Smart Tower is not ugly! At least in my opinion. And Greenbelt parkplace isnt too bad.

My list will come soon.

The JAKA building in Ayala! They should be penalized for leaving it that way.. it's an EYE SORE!

is it possible to have some of these buildings pictured? thanks. :)

I don't think unfinished / uninhabited buildings count , kasi obviously it is ugly . Dapat yung mga natapos talaga at operational until now , I find One San Miguel building in Ortigas ugly , it looks like an gigantic airpot.

PbCom? :?

ha? you think PB COm is ugly?

Smart Tower - it's glassy but it's concrete sides makes it quite ugly. the back side of it looks wide and nice!

Peak Tower - much have been said about this.

PCI Tower - along Ayala Ave, there are so much concrete.

One San Mig - the top spoils everything, but this deserves a credit for being the only/first office tower to be 100% filipino, architectural wise.

GT Tower. joke lang. lam ko trip na trip nio un.

the columns. ginagawa pa lang ampangit na. sa ortigas marami sa likod ng galeria. mga u/cs rin ata.

Ortigas scrapers doesn't have a lot of nice looking skyscrapers like Makati, but not much ugly scrapers either. or at least none i know of.

PCI tower, which one is that? which part of Ayala ave?

I think the building to the right of LKG in this picture is super ugly...and its on Ayala Ave!!
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/93tallest4.jpg

Also..the old Equitable-PCI hq along Makati ave is ugly. It is the one with two buildings across the street from each other, connected by a bridge.

sorry, i meant PCI Tower along Makati Ave, same with what Ryan said.
that tower on the right of LKG is multinational bank bldg.
there are a lot of ugly towers along Paseo and Makati ave. I think it would be a lot easier job to tell the good ones than to name the ugly ones.

MultinationalBanc Tower doesn't look that bad imo. about Smart Tower, the change from sharp sides to curvy really gives it a back look.

Equitable-PCI in Makati ave, all right. yeah it does look pretty ugly. does that qualify in our rules?

Ortigas scrapers doesn't have a lot of nice looking skyscrapers like Makati, but not much ugly scrapers either. or at least none i know of.

PCI tower, which one is that? which part of Ayala ave?
well, ortigas has more glass tower ratio than makati...in fact if you pass by it by twilight, it looks like all glass

i dunno really. probably, because it was developed much later.

looking at s.com's list of Ortigas skyscrapers, i think the main reason Ortigas doesn't have a lot of homegrown uglies:D is because the glassed buildings, or whatever, are very conservative, much more than Makati, which is conservative enough. a lot of glass, not much design or height . not much character.

Multinational Banking Corp tower isn't that bad.. even its interior looks good.... Greenbelt Parkplace isn't that bad too..

I'd say.. Island Tower.. hehehe.. looks uneven... at least this is in the far corner of the Makati CBD...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid117/p18b6ac441f867368cc22d0c1cce36368/f8989e4a.jpg

for Ortigas.. I'd say that golden glass tower.. I didn't know its name.. I'll try to search for a picture of it...

at least it looks better than some of those Citylands:D the top really is ugly. you can see it from greyx's photos. it looks like this one was still u/c

well... I'd say Citilands look better than this one.... this is already open for occupancy yet since early this year i think... there are few tenants...'coz its expensive....

depends on which cityland. but luckily this one was saved from the GreenbeltParkplace-ish coloring.

The Golden Tower in Ortigas? I think it's Raffles Corporate Center. Im not sure.
I just wonder why it was not called Gold Tower.
Island tower indeed looks unfinished, bec of it's watchtower like top. maybe the original plan is higher than the actual.

We have somehow get to know the ugliest crapers in Metro in the other thread to the contributions of regulars here , why don't we also contribute to inform the beautiful buildings that Metro Manila has to appreciate and make us proud in a way . Also , a bit of comments why it is beautiful will be helpful.

Enterprise Tower+Ayala Tower One. Paseo corner Ayala is the best place for shots in the whole of the CBD.

yeah it could be Raffles Corporate Center. it's probably one of the ugliest all-glass scraper. Gold just doesn't fit out to be a major color in a skyscraper

Here's a serious contender
http://www.eastwood-properties.com/_data/progress/ACFqaMDIc.jpg

Also Greenbelt Parkplace too. no need to post a photo, because it's exactly the same color as above, except thiner :bash:

Renell, you really think Greenbelt Parkplace sucks? who else does? well, not much! :D
I think Manansala is not too far away from GP's looks.

well Manansala hasn't yet been painted, or at least i haven't seen it:D if it is not too far away from Greenbelt Parkplace, then i'll hate it too. if they stuck to one color, i would have put it in my "ok" list

francis, i'm the only person who has expressed a lot of hate for GP, and a lot of liking of Oriental Gardens.

yes, id agree. i mean with the best shot location thing. im hoping Insular life would soon be replaced by a curvy skyscraper! there are several skyscrapers that are nice in their own ways.

RCBC - for being collossal, for attracting so much of tenants, and for having tight security that it was able to lure well known companies like Caltex...errr, i dunno the others. including AUS and Canadian embassy and the United Nations.

Here's my grandest list

Ayala Tower One
RCBC (the whole complex)
GT International Tower
Enteprise Towers
Roxas Triangle Tower One (the big momma of all future Ayala built residentials ;))
and to some extent, 1322 Roxas boulevard. it's top is fast becoming a symbol connected to Roxas Boulevard now, along with the weird lights in Baywalk.

yes, GT International Tower and Ayala Tower One!!! :bow:

yeah, 1322 is the tallest tower facing the bay and it's also very massive and imposing.
it also has a nice lighting at night.

not that nice lighting tho. but it claims a fame for being the tallest residential tower in the country. so it deserves a credit.

Some photos to justify the claims:D

PB Com, for being the tallest in the country

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/pc6848600ba21cb585e32983ee14ef913/fa710843.jpg

The Rare Worm view, i don't think i would have the chance to take this angle again...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/p4999c84fe1c53183c2f5896547da3f3c/fa710890.jpg

GT Tower, everybody's fave. you should try going in, or sneaking thru this tower. I did! :D
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/pb18c6a8a9c961ba725ea1a8f8ff40267/fa710870.jpg

Enterprise Father and Son duo, one of the nicest art deco tower of Makati.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/p862074b42b55686fccf9ffd2089862ad/fa71080d.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p4d251eed63a5dec4eadb8abede8c6a01/f9d5a0c0.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p9ef3cf56ece2882a52c80c60d4babee1/f9d58d79.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p3a6ce29ec0ba7010f9a7f763382d2f8e/f9d55583.jpg

LKG deserves a credit too, for having one of the nicest and most detailed facade, adding up to its lighted up helipad (im starting to think this is not a helipad alone but a crown of the tower)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid100/pb8a117031f6bb75b924b1b10b9de9fb5/f9e9189b.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p77adf69d3a6a0b4792e9e8e2e47d2d99/f9d56ad5.jpg

And my fave, RCBC, for being so collossal and having the largest floor area in the country, tower 1 and 2 combined, for being a PEZA certified zone and for enticing hi-caliber tenants!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/pe525e0bafcf685c75bbab00e008e8639/fa710478.jpg

Hey, lest not forget the famous Oakwood Twins! I just wonder if the top still light up every night till midnight!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/pb4a5eb1c709a6fe8ad9b874e6c88189b/f9d5557c.jpg

Ohh, i forgot the historic Ayala Tower One

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p420c6e727283ee628cb520c6d76c79b9/f9d5a0c2.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid101/p0c6e7e56c47994307df7bc0bc9b6df96/f9d5a0bc.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid90/pf9acf60d41e3f9a414905ea9d7a96ccc/fa7108a7.jpg

Sorry guys for the quality. Lam niyo naman cam ko, primitive...:D

yeah.. I'd say that the first tower that I liked in Makati is the Ayala Tower 1, then came the Enterprise Towers...

1. Ayala Tower 1
2. Enterprise Towers
3. GT Tower
4. Philamlife Tower
5. 1322 Roxas Blvd
6. Atlanta Center - along Annapolis St. in San Juan
7. Robinsons-Equitable Tower - in Ortigas Center
8. Sun Plaza - my favorite on hold building along Shaw Blvd in Mandaluyong.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid122/p6562e03975af4b9a650a23bdbc285f43/f82e33cd.jpg

i stick to my favorite, the tall, boxy & elegant one roxas triangle...nuff said :)

I love LKG...it's uniqueness (?) in design, the color, etc. :)

it's a shame Ayala Tower One wasn't a ten meters taller, then it would have made a bigger impact on the Makati skyline.

yeah I agree.. it would have looked better if it was taller... anyways... is there any chance that the supposed Tower 2 may still rise? I think that is taller than Tower 1....

depends on the market. ayala has the lots, if there's demand, probably they will build.

none at the moment. look, it has resorted to building this lowrise offices - Eservices Bldg 1 (5 levels) and Eservices 2 (no idea how tall, but has comparable floor area)

RCBC Plaza and GT are my faves because you know, I live in Pampanga and those types of buildings are rare here so when I first came inside those two, I was like crazy. I really don't live in Makati as told by my ID, I only put that so I can be proud in the international forums, hehe...

there's an eservices 2? where?

hey man, otakaw. pampanga's cool:D where you live there? first non-MM member?

GT International Tower was my favorite for a long time, but after seeing the backside, it fell to 2nd place...

1) RCBC Plaza
2) GT International
3) Ayala Tower 1
4) Enterprise Towers
5) One Roxas Triangle
6) Robinsons Equitable PCI
7) Pacific Towers @ BGC
8) LKG Tower
9) PhilamLife Tower
10) PBcom Tower

Equitable PCI. now that's a cool building..

yup...the best in Ortigas:)

uuhh yeah. i was thinking Equitable-PCI Tower in Paseo:D both are cool

haha...tell us more why GT slipped off to the 2nd slot GreyX. I used to be the sole fan of RCBC here.
Equitable PCI Tower is in Makati along Paseo.
That one in Ortigas is Robinsons Equitable Tower.
And that one along Ayala is Robinsons Summit Tower.
Are we confused?

@ Otakaw, you wouldnt expect nice towers like that in the provinces. i mean not the hi-rise types. :D I was also jaw dropped when i went inside RCBC the first time. It was sooo collossal! amenities are cool tho i haven't tried most of them.

GT is equally awesome! it's an architectural masterpiece in and out.

uuhh yeah. i was thinking Equitable-PCI Tower in Paseo:D both are cool

really? that one is so-so but the one in ortigas is better.

RCBC is now my favorite because it looks great from all angles. It has nice curvy glass everywhere! GT looks ugly from the back. It is another one with bare walls and connected to other buildings. Only to the top part of the back of GT is ok.

yeah, connections beside other buildings do really make the building ugly. like Union Bank Plaza's base

there's an eservices 2? where?


i think it would be right beside people support..at least that's how it read it

about RCBC, is their foodcourt really expensive?

have no idea. they have hi-tech way of billing customers. ive only tried LKG's foodcourt and its not different from the foodcourts we find at the malls. we should try it one time...that's a very good reason of entering a building - their foodcourt.

RCBC's foodcourt is not that expensive...it has a wide variety of selection from Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Mediterranean, Western... and is designed to be in a circle... and yes it billing is a bit high-tech... well actually they followed the same billing concept done by Streetlife when it first opened in Glorietta... Streetlife is now closed.

Robinsons-Equitable tower is indeed the best tower in Ortigas. Classy and sophisticated...I liked how the cylidrical corner with a helipad top of that tower...:D

hey francis, i always use that alibi too, foodcourts, so i could keep on hopping from one building to another, rcbc's would be my next target....the yuchengcos are so proud of their P12b property, that they even said mas kikita at papatok pa to kung tinayo sa NY, coz it would take them forever here to recover the construction costs coz of makati's very low office rental rates. when u enter inside the building, u would immediately feel as if ur in a 1st world country, everything is stupendous, but of course, overstating na lang ung iba ;)

very hard to recover the u/c costs? damn right. ang laki ng building na yun. maybe this is why office buildings like RCBC's are rare.

There's actually an E-Services 3 building on the drawing board. This 3rd one will be open for locators. If it pushes thru.. construction will start in 2005, turnover on 2007.

man that's a lot of E-Services buildings, why don't they just make a one big one?

yeah.... instead of building big short buildings of the same company, why can't they build a taller one....

actually i'm hoping to see Philippine tower that would at least be 70 storeys high... I hope that the Skycity tower (did I got the name right?) on the corner of EDSA and Ortigas will be built....

Lopez Center has a better chance of getting built than Skycity. or maybe that Gilarmi francis said in Makati...:?

my favorite at Alabang:

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home2003/tu0001es/Muntinlupa/Filinvest/INsular%20Tower.jpg

though there's not much of a choice.... :nocrook:


my favorite at Makati:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p3a99b422330a53fae857c29d7f63466b/f6d30e24.jpg

pic c/o renell! :)

man i wished that pic would have been better :(

and that building would have been more awesome if its twin had been born

Would Unionbank in Ortigas be considered grand?

I actually used to think Tektite Towers were grand. And if it's not beautiful, it is certainly imposing and awe-inspiring with its mass.

Tektite Towers have an ugly interior. I went inside it, and i wasnt too impressed. Ayala Tower 1's interior is much better, really grand.

Oh yeah, i forgot about Insular Towers in Alabang. They are one of my favorites too.

Yeah, Lopez Tower and Gilarmi Apartments have the higher chance of getting built. SM-KS has a medium chance of getting built while Skycity is dead, i think.

that was a beautiful shot of Insular there.... nice!

hmm.. i would have thought the residential part of SM-KS would have followed the flow of the residential boom.

Union Bank... i dunno. we don't have a lot of pics of it, so it's very low profile

well.. I think UnionBank is good but not that elegant or special....

Renell, ive already shown tons of Union Bank's pic, haven't I? I think the lobby is grand. That's what i assume based on its entrance. hopefully, more office towers will be built around it.
Tektite is still awe-inspiring as usual. With it's nice facade which will make you think you're in a NAmerican City. But it's lobby seems to be at par with Cityland's, in other words, nothing special.
Seems like ORT's twin will only be a dream, but who knows...Well, i guess the US govt finances their embassy employee's rental fee.
Gilarmi - i have high hopes this would materialize. The location is very strategic and there's no need for any preselling. The developer only needs a lot of capital to invest, perhaps this one would cost several billions of pesos to built.
SM-KS - the residential tower has chances of getting built, let's just hope and see. there are plans for this one and hopefully it would materialize!
Lopez Tower - no idea. Rockwell keeps of surprising us with Manansala and Joya Lofts! It might surprise us with an office tower in the near future!

an office skyscraper seems to be hard to come. there's a lot of office space throughout MM...

is Lopez Centre suppose to be the HQ of numerous Lopez companies?

office space rent in Makati are on the rise again. Three years ago it went down to as low as 300.00 per sqm on the Class A Buildings.. now it's up again to 600.00 to 650.00 per sqm.

What we need tho are more office buildings at FBGC. They only have 2, and both of them are now 100% occupied. Office space there also went up to 500 to 600 per sqm now.

yes, there has been massive plans for office buildings in BGC. wasn't the stock exchange planned on moving there? (Capital Place)

whats the current vacancy rate?

im not sure Renell, perhaps Collier's can help us. But predictions from that company says it will level off during the elections, but that was several months ago. there are more outsourced companies coming in, and more movements are happening in favor of these Grade A office towers. Look at Union Bank, it easily got tenants...now several, more than 5 floors are occupied. My observation is...vacancy will be lower in the few months to come.

we're actually in the process of moving offices...

ExportBank Plaza is currently 90% occupied.. People support moved in there..

Bonifacio IT Center and Net One Center are 100% occupied

6750 is about 90% occupied as well

GT Tower is about 95% occupied

RCBC is about 80% occupied..

Makati Stock Exchange is 100% occupied with Accenture being the main tenant.

So most of the PEZA accredited buildings are pretty full now.. that's why the rates are up again.

man, those numbers are pretty good. Hopefully we should see more skyscrapers with this.. PEZA accreditation. doesn't it mean like philippine export zone thing? or something special:D

Renell, do i have to do the tedious explanation about PEZA again? Peace bud! :D hehe...i told you about that long before!
So GT is 95% occupied? im not sure but when i was there few months back, most floors aren't occupied yet. Accenture is there as well, plus they also have offices in Legazpi Village. Id agree with the figure for RCBC. PB Com is slowly becoming all filled up now! People Support would soon be moving to the E-services bldg....
Both Enterprise and PhilamLife are nearly 100% occupied. Summit is also full. Citibank is also nearly so. Equitable-PCI in Paseo have few tenants, but there's one embassy in there, i forgot if it's Spain or Belgian. So Dvorak, tell us where are you working at. Im not so familiar with ExportBank tenants, I only know GMC and PS are there. no more than that.

umm.. did you? where was it and i'll look it up:D.........

The Belgian Embassy is in MultinationalBanc Corporation last time i went there. i dunno if it moved though.

I hope Lopez Center gets built, It's awesome and I like the design! Isn't it BGC is in Taguig, they should concentrate on building more office towers in Makati so that it would look better!

some of it is in Taguig, some in Makati. anyways, anywhere in MM, if it's a good-looking scraper, then heck, i like it:)

I like the ff :

PB Com Tower - Makati
RCBC Towers - Makati
Insular Life Towers - Muntinlupa
Oriental Gardens -Makati
1322 Roxas Blvd. - Manila
Pacific Towers - BGC
One Roxas Triangle- Makati

So far yun muna .

Those occupation rates seem good. But there's the other side of the story. While Makati A space is in demand (and the numbers posted above show this) would we also have a great number of non-A or formerly A spaces that are now vacant?

People like to go to high-powered addresses, but now we may have a glut of vacancies in not-so classy Makati locations.

Or am I just pulling this out of my butt?

there's a lot of "small" companies in MM that most probably can't afford grade-A rents. so they stick to the small ones.

Francis, currently we're in Manila.. and we're trying to locate in a PEZA accredited building.. so far ExportBank Plaza is on top of our list. DHL used to stay there until they moved to their own building. Also - Total Gas is there. People Support will stay there even after consrtruction of their own building in Ayala. The rent at ExportBank is the cheapest among the PEZA accredited buildings in Makati. They're currently constructing a mini-mall at their 1st level, with Jollibee and CHowking in it.

Equitable PCI - the upper floors are empty. It's not that no one wants to locate there, but it's currently on hold. Looks like the Go's haven't decided if they're gonna use it for their own or will rent it out.

so Equitable PCI in Paseo is empty? that's new to me, i thought it would have been used for all these times it's been up

Those office space occupancy numbers are quite impressive. RCBC is already 80% occupied? Thats a lot, since its Philippines' largest office complex. Looks like office towers are set to start getting built in BGC.

Smaller companies usually opt for office space in Legaspi and Salcedo villages. Those buildings are older and cheaper.

Sun Life Financial is currently in Enterprise, am i right? They plan to build their own skyscraper in BGC.

so what's the name of your company @ Dvorak?
Sunlife is at Enterprise. It's the largest insurance company right? or the second? It's our life insurance provider.
I didn't know Eq-PCI is empty. i see some people coming in. And ive seen pages advertising the office spaces in it. Im pretty sure there's one embassy renting the place. Exportbank Plaza have very few floors left unoccupied. less than 10 i guess.
Guess what? We have this meeting last week at the rooftop regarding the performance something. i wasn't really attentive. then came in the forum. towards the end of the open discussion, something came into my mind, after of course, asking several questions related to the topic. i ask how had the company fared so far in looking up for a new office location. the HR manager was very hesitant to name the place, but im pretty sure they're up for an old, low rise building inside legaspi village. that was a dismay. i thought we will be transferring into a newer tower in a prime location. but no! they had all these structural survey of the building. and it came out that the adjacent tower is leaning by a little degree. so the contract with the building owner did not materialize. so the management is looking for other location again. but the fact that their choices are limited to those types of building is exasperating! i might as well start looking up for a new job. haha...but that is another stupid idea of me.

looking forward to office skyscrapers in the CBD, should there ever be a need for more:)

as for big companies moving to BGC, i doubt it will be Makati CBD-esque in size, because it will be a building for their company only, and they have a lot of space unlike in the CBD. my two cents

For the Essensa and Pacific Plaza Fans!!!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p33bc6e69daa60e4b78050ae7be16dbb9/f6ca005e.jpg

It was raining that night so i wasn't able to get good shots and that also meant less guards manning the streets.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p49a625b260508d0382b176a5ed09e429/f6ca0084.jpg

Nice shots, Francis...I love the colors.

I like the 5 towers (residential) opposite the Intercon betrween Edsa and Gilarmi appts
First 2 similar beauties, then the tallest of the five and finally another twin. I think at some time the middle tower was Phils tallest (pse correct me if I'm wrong, salamat po)

so what's the name of your company @ Dvorak?
Sunlife is at Enterprise. It's the largest insurance company right? or the second? It's our life insurance provider.
I didn't know Eq-PCI is empty. i see some people coming in. And ive seen pages advertising the office spaces in it. Im pretty sure there's one embassy renting the place. Exportbank Plaza have very few floors left unoccupied. less than 10 i guess.
Guess what? We have this meeting last week at the rooftop regarding the performance something. i wasn't really attentive. then came in the forum. towards the end of the open discussion, something came into my mind, after of course, asking several questions related to the topic. i ask how had the company fared so far in looking up for a new office location. the HR manager was very hesitant to name the place, but im pretty sure they're up for an old, low rise building inside legaspi village. that was a dismay. i thought we will be transferring into a newer tower in a prime location. but no! they had all these structural survey of the building. and it came out that the adjacent tower is leaning by a little degree. so the contract with the building owner did not materialize. so the management is looking for other location again. but the fact that their choices are limited to those types of building is exasperating! i might as well start looking up for a new job. haha...but that is another stupid idea of me.
san company mo francis?

Equitable is not empty.. I said only the upper floors.. it's on hold.. the original plan was to move all Equitable offices there.. so right now it's sitting there.. the entire building is pretty occupied..

I was at the top of the New World hotel tonight (24th floor).. too bad I had no camera with me.. you could see the entire Greenbelt area from up there.. very nice view of the Makati Skyline at night.. I'll bring a camera tomorrow...

I like the 5 towers (residential) opposite the Intercon betrween Edsa and Gilarmi appts
First 2 similar beauties, then the tallest of the five and finally another twin. I think at some time the middle tower was Phils tallest (pse correct me if I'm wrong, salamat po)

That tallest one was the Pacific Plaza (not the twins in fort bonifacio). I think it was once our tallest.

Ah, the middle finger buildings. If you squint and pretend they're five fingers... ahehehe.

yeah, those buildings have a lot of history too (1989 coup)

the middle finger buildings, lol, are best viewed from Ayala 4's foodcourt imo.

I think one of the twins in "those middle finger buildings" closely resemble Bonifacio Ridge.

yes, right...much like Boni Ridge. I think they are simply called Twin Towers, am i right? The other twin nearer EDSA are called Ritz Tower. And yes, right Renell, G4 foodcourt has very nice view of that row.
@ronna, this is the company i work with...click the link (http://sgs.com)
@Dvorak, be sure to show us some photos. id really love to see night shots.

@francis, sana magbago isip ng management nyo, at humanap ng mas magandang bldg..like..ahhhm..LKG. hehe.

i came up with a nice idea. aplay na lang in a company na nasa mga prime location :D

francis.. so you're with SGS huh... you're company did the ISO assessment for my company, WeServ (subsidiary of Fujitsu)...:D

they had all these structural survey of the building. and it came out that the adjacent tower is leaning by a little degree. so the contract with the building owner did not materialize. so the management is looking for other location again. but the fact that their choices are limited to those types of building is exasperating! i might as well start looking up for a new job. haha...but that is another stupid idea of me.
are you saying that one building in legaspi village is in danger of collapsing much like the thing that happened at divisoria....if yes, then, i guess we have to be informed

errr...i dunno. oh yeah, you got a point there! im not sure. it only says in the survery that the distance bet the two buildings varies as you go up. so what if it's the smaller tower that is leaning? in case of earthquake, both will be at risk.
@ pau, yes im with SGS, is that a good news of bad? tho im not with the ISO certification services. we're into the Trade Assurance Services. So our scope is a bit more global. :D they provide us with a good training here that some former colleagues were offered by a competitor (located at Tektite Towers) with a lot higher paycheck (3x?) than what we are getting here. but atmosphere and management wise, id prefer to stay here. The division in charged with the ISO has their office at Chino Roces.

heheheh... just heard something familiar.... your company used to lurk around here during our SGS certification days....:D

francis.. so you're with SGS huh... you're company did the ISO assessment for my company, WeServ (subsidiary of Fujitsu)...:D
sister company ata nila un...

yes, SGS Philippines does the ISO stuff. our's is SGS-ROHQ LTD (regional operating HQ). We got several Regional offices under us including GB, NL, KR, TH, TW, CN, AE, SA, ZA, TR, DE, plus a lot more. it's a division of our mother company. actually, we got common CEO here in the country. wala lang. there's nothing special here.

i've got the pictures today @ the top of New World Hotel.. but I don't have a place to upload them.. so I'll set that up tomorrow.. and try to show it here..

wow!!! we'll be waiting for them! @ dvorak. btw, what's your real name? it's quite awkward calling forumers by nick. were you able to get shots of the lighted up Enterprise? monday would be a busy day so i assume most towers are lighted up.

@Dvorak: The 24th floor is a Rennaissance Club floor. You mean you have outright access to the Rennaissance Club lounge? :eek2: That's not eek by the way. That's my jaw dropping to the ground. And it's staying there. Man! So can we drop your name at the front desk and be granted the same privileges?

Or, you just happen to book a Rennaissance Club room whenever the inspiration to take pictures strikes you?

@Greyx: Just FYI, your post here in SSC is the fifth link in a Google search for "New World Rennaissance + Philippines". The Marriott home website does not even appear. Maybe you can suck up to the GM and be granted the same privileges as Dvorak. Don't forget it was my idea. Just kidding. On second thought, can't hurt to try. You never know... ;)

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p9d71f96619ca207f5a1ac8825c79d1e1/f6c4bbd5.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pdecf62675fc9a000a6b3cf998e3bd16a/f6c4bbd9.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pece3a9fc9cd12965b4e3b019ce42043d/f6c4bbe4.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p987c32c76e8c826d44c3ebcaa625884a/f6c4bbe8.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pcfec642617f32e363edf92e085ea0f39/f6c4bbea.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pe2d6029309f22ce8c5fff0687cfe26a4/f6c4bbf1.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pb30b54fd257616d1c5676add76430b10/f6c4bbec.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p295f8c067458030526f863eb9888b3be/f6c4bbdc.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p4e57b96072bea51818db398aa9da4801/f6c4bbf3.jpg

it's hard to get good shots at night.. I don't have a tripod.. so that's the best I can do with my 2.1MP camera.. anything after that.. was just really dark.. next time I'll bring a tripod..

hard to drop my name here.. so just call me Dvorak :)

@Dvorak: You nailed it on this one. The last 5 minutes of twilight are the trickiest and the most fleeting. They also happen to turn out the most beautiful cityscapes. I'm sold...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p295f8c067458030526f863eb9888b3be/f6c4bbdc.jpg

WOW! Those are nice shots @ Dvorak!
I like those afternoon shots a lot! You should have made a continuum of shots so Boybaha can make a panorama out of them, right mike?
Good job Dvorak. are there some more shots left?
@ pwermad, im guessing you are the one who got an access of the lounge you're talking about.

those were good shots there dvorak!... great view indeed....specially that dusk shot, 2nd to the last... :D

and hey you missed type this pic of yours...
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pe2d6029309f22ce8c5fff0687cfe26a4/f6c4bbf1.jpg

oh my god... :eek2: :eek2: those shots at dusk are awesome!!! and that view from New World Hotel is nice...! so green and lush with the dense buildings behind. great job Dvorak! haha... you should post them in the Makati poll thread thing... or donate them for the wowphilippines ad supplement... haha...

what's this? is it a part of Greenbelt?? looks real good...!
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pdecf62675fc9a000a6b3cf998e3bd16a/f6c4bbd9.jpg

they could've renovated greenbelt one also and make the rooftop the same as greenbelt two---apartment houses

that is Greenbelt 2.. left to it (covered) is the Greenbelt Residences' Laguna Tower

wow :runaway: :eek2: great shots from new world :okay:

[IMG]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pdecf62675fc9a000a6b3cf998e3bd16a/f6c4bbd9.jpg[IMG]

this part is the second greenbelt, the first new one. apparently its also called the Residences as well.

i wish other low rise would follow suit with what greenbelt two has made---apartment over a roof top..in that way, aerial view of CBD would be filled with trestle houses

GUYS, could someone make a pano out of the dusk photos? :D

they don't seem to be connected.

i already put my comments in the other thread...:D too lazy to write the same thing here:D

mike, they are quite connected. but the other has different hue and a bit inclined. i think u can still make one pano out of them. kung kaya lang. otherwise, never mind na lang...:D dvorak can take some more shots next time.

i wish other low rise would follow suit with what greenbelt two has made---apartment over a roof top..in that way, aerial view of CBD would be filled with trestle houses
but don't you think living in one of those apartments could mean hearing all those cars parking "downstairs".

i remember watching a movie sa sm annex and you can feel those cars running at the bottom of the moviehouses.

really @ rico? i never knew that. well, i don't frequent SM that much. makati malls are more than enuff, i dun have to go somewhere else.

really @ rico? i never knew that. well, i don't frequent SM that much. makati malls are more than enuff, i dun have to go somewhere else.
well, i use to study in diliman so the nearest mall would be sm city. :D

SM North EDSA? Thought you were referring to SM Mega. Well, Diliman has SM NE, UP Manila has SM City in Manila, UPLB has no SM near to it, the nearest one being SM Las Piñas/Southmall.

mike, they are quite connected. but the other has different hue and a bit inclined. i think u can still make one pano out of them. kung kaya lang. otherwise, never mind na lang...:D dvorak can take some more shots next time.

yeah, pics 3 4 and 6 can be made into a panorama.

I was surprised how noisy it was @ the 24th floor of the New World Hotel. You could hear the construction going on @ Residences and the noise from the vehicles from below.

And it's also amazing how the sky change so fast.. a few seconds after I took that 2nd to the last picture, the next pictures have blue skies.. but it wasn't that good as I didn't have a tripod.. I was going to place the camera on the steel fence.. but I thought that it could fall.. so I just held it.. hehehehe lol

here are the last two pictures I took..

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/pd47c33a535887c54f20d4c5e82180df4/f6c16d92.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid141/p7a69972f9f86ace254859f69d0212305/f6c16d94.jpg

why cant they turn on their lights

this was still early.. 5.30pm pa lang yata.. they do have their lights on.. kaya lang.. di kaya nang camera ko.. dapat may tripod para naka scene mode..

why cant they turn on their lights

well you cant turn them on everytime. what time was it? 5.30? damn no one needs to be working at that time

im up and working by that time... blah. hirap mag aral ng maging doktor!

im up and working by that time... blah. hirap mag aral ng maging doktor!

hehe, like i said no one needs to:D but people probably do;)

it's 5.30pm in the afternoon.. not in the morning :)

it's 5.30pm in the afternoon.. not in the morning :)

crap, i fucked up big:D

hehe, it looks like 5.30 in the morning

im up and working by that time... blah. hirap mag aral ng maging doktor!
wow!!!

@dvorak, nice pics, ganda ng colors! :bow:

we were actually having one of those marathon meetings.. then I noticed the sun was already going down.. so I excused myself for about 5 minutes.. and took those shots hehehehhee lol

:lol: haha, that's fun.

hmmm... naughty boy!....:D

but don't you think living in one of those apartments could mean hearing all those cars parking "downstairs".

i remember watching a movie sa sm annex and you can feel those cars running at the bottom of the moviehouses.
well, it worked for the residences...there must be someway to buffer the sounds

well.. I guess that since the parking space are not enclosed.. it has openings where wind can blow through... the noise produced by each car won't echo to a disturbing proportion.....

and I guess that there are a limited number of cars that use the parking space so I guess there are less movement may be felt... I sometimes walk along the Greenbelt path.. taking the Greenbelt 2 elevator to the 3rd level parking to the bridge connecting Greenbelt 3.... I haven't seen the parking full even on a Friday night... and even there are moving cars.. I don't feel them much...

here is the picture of the Greenbelt bridgeway that connects the two Greenbelts at their 2nd and 3rd levels... (Gb2 at the left and Gb3 to the right)
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid142/pdc25906c58abc5c22de5ace223b97a74/f6bea001.jpg

buffer it with music! loud music!hehe...
@dvorak, nice job...i mean excusing yourself during a meeting. well, next time, do your meetings here at the rooftop of Citibank. there are several function rooms. Then excuse yourself again right before sundown. hehe...

the latest pics of Dvorak seem like it is Blackout (power outtrage)

I know it has been said, but....Shang is MASSIVE!

greyX, it was only set to shutter speed faster than required. but the real thing would be flooded with light i suppose.

I know:) because of that, it looks like it is blackout.

that's what usually happens when i flash during the night. cool photo nonetheless

Here's another one of my candidates, in Ortigas Center. Astoria Plaza
http://www.viviun.com/data/properties/images/6290-21673-2QTS0ENOAU.jpg??085242

It does look more "cheaply" in real life, but it still looks cool to me:) hmm.. wait is that a rendering or a photo?:D

Thanks for that photo Renell. I've always wondered where J. Escriva St. is. Even taxi drivers are clueless. Then I realized it was originally known as Amber St.(?). I know better now.

This should be in the hotel thread but any of you guys been to Astoria Plaza? The press release photos of the rooms makes me think that they're very stylish and modern. The people I've talked to say otherwise: The decor is very sparse, they say. But they're unanimous in saying that the rooms are huge and service is very personal. And let's not forget the magnificent views.

Plus foreigners apparently love the wooden floors; I just don't know if they mean parquet, which I hate, or planks, which is acceptable. Filipinos usually consider an uncarpeted hotel room a letdown.

Must be because most of our houses are uncarpeted :D and its damn hard maintaining a clean carpet too, in tropical conditions.

Must be because most of our houses are uncarpeted :D and its damn hard maintaining a clean carpet too, in tropical conditions.

You took the words from my mouth Renell! :hilarious

You can keep a carpeted house in the Philippines if you keep all the windows and doors shut at all times to minimize dust and pollution that can get it, it also helps that you have a vacuum cleaner, especially one with the "steam cleaning" feature. But that means that your house should have air-contioning (preferrably a central air-conditioning unit), and majority of Pinoys can't afford such a luxury. Personally, I prefer wood or tiled floors, they're much nicer and cleaner looking. :)

at masarap tulugan...

You can keep a carpeted house in the Philippines if you keep all the windows and doors shut at all times to minimize dust and pollution that can get it, it also helps that you have a vacuum cleaner, especially one with the "steam cleaning" feature. But that means that your house should have air-contioning (preferrably a central air-conditioning unit), and majority of Pinoys can't afford such a luxury. Personally, I prefer wood or tiled floors, they're much nicer and cleaner looking. :)

yeah i agree under our humid rainy ropical weather condtions its not practical for even a beautiful house to have wall to wall carpeting, but of course many rich people living in mansions do have their living, dining, den and bedrooms carpeted, of course we can assume that all their rooms have ac and the large areas, living and dining areas are a/c centralized

balik muna ako sa thread title kasi di pa ako nakakasagot :weirdo:

sa makati shempre ung mga sikat gaya ng RCBC
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/pe880871d68eb3e81b03549d510c613a1/fc3ed3a5.jpg

GT intl tower:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/pb9bd14bc291237cea4b436b761ace687/fc3ed5a0.jpg

LKG:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid59/p8e4d0a0d0e4281b800f750996ea5e74c/fc5d96e3.jpg

dami. kya lang la akong pics. petron megaplaza, enterprise (na binoto ko dun sa makati's best scraper poll), pbcom (tallest), RTO (na paborio kong box). sige na nga ATO at rizal tower na rin.

sa ibang lugar-
1322:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid61/pc72e50c18a34796743c106ba75560d74/fc3aa0f7.jpg

OSMA:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid71/p671242e67499dfbdd6c847988516668f/fb89d888.jpg

eto (lagi kong nakakalimutan name niya):
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid75/p0c0da0c729f3db6b4bdcf40d5fe315e6/fb5e08a8.jpg

and ung robinsons sa ortigas:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid72/p15a6cd75b296a9085cb4a3673f3f267a/fb81de36.jpg

tas shempre ung pacific sa bgc panalo rin. sorry ha puro recycled pics ko. la pa rin kasi akong camera e. :cheers:

here's my list...

Makati - RCBC and Petron Megaplaza
Manila - 1322 Golden Empire Tower
Ortigas - Robinsons-Equitable
BGC - Essensa
Filinvest/Alabang - that Insular Life Towers

@weirdo - that's the Uninonbank building in Ortigas. hehehe... what's OSMA? looks nice, but I don't remember it...

weirdo that's Union Bank.

thanks. so unionbank. bawal kalimutan. :bash:

osma is one san miguel avenue. bandang shaw boulevard

ok lan kahit recycled pics. isinama mo naman ung LKG eh. hehe. :lol:

thanks. so unionbank. bawal kalimutan. :bash:

osma is one san miguel avenue. bandang shaw boulevard

bandang San Mig Avenue, as simple as that;)

that Union Bank pic of yours is quite good, considering you blocked the base :D

osma is one san miguel avenue. bandang shaw boulevard

oh!!!! ok... that's the building I always forget. I love that one too... especially that curved rooftop thing...

thanks. so unionbank. bawal kalimutan. :bash:

osma is one san miguel avenue. bandang shaw boulevard

better make it osama para laging matandaan

HAHA...the top is a crap for me.
but since it's an all-Flip archi, then it deserves a credit!

weirdo you take good photos!

weirdo you take good photos!

indeed, he does:okay:

he's a pro. didn't you know that? :D right weirdo?

pity he has no tools at the moment ie digicam. or could he be hiding it?:D

I guess he will have his digicam within this year. :colgate:

how about those Renaissance buildings in Ortigas? I haven't had a good look at them, but they certainly aren't saved from my wrath :D

go to Eastwood, you'll find a lot of crappy towers. that's guaranteed.

true true. i thought i said that before? :D all their residentials built right now look mediocre. the one's being built, with the exception of One Central Park and Parkview, look monstrously crap. thanks for agreeing francis;)

im compelled to do so renell. even their office towers are ugly. with the exception of Citibank, i suppose. i dunno how is it inside tho.

Island Tower is ugly...and its right in front of my condo when i look at the skyline.

btw, pau did u take the picture in front of Grill55?:D

aren't those places IT-zones or something special? that was Eastwood's first plan, to be a Cyberpark...

These buildings are not ugly. They're misunderstood. Just think if you look at an ugly dog, you'd think it's ugly. But if you were the same kind, then you would think that it could actually be good-looking. Attractive even.

(this is my excuse when I look at the mirror)

I think Eastwood buildings are not ugly....its the architecture of what megaworld wants.

well it is, and Eastwood Cyberpark is an IT-certified zone. It's the very first in MM, if im not mistaken. Followed by Northgate and RCBC. That explains why there are a lot of IT companies within those complexes. And more are comiong in or moving in.

They should just tear it down. It was supposed to be Toyota's Southeast Asia-wide design center in the 1980s.

I know it's ugly and all but I hope it stays up, even though it was a source of frustration for my late grandfather who was contracted to do that building's interior.....

I hate pebblewash and exposed concrete and all those buildings that use it. I think the CCP is kinda blah. If I had my way, I'd coat all of the CCP's exposed concrete surfaces with metal sheets ala-Frank Gehry.

I hate pebblewash and exposed concrete and all those buildings that use it. I think the CCP is kinda blah. If I had my way, I'd coat all of the CCP's exposed concrete surfaces with metal sheets ala-Frank Gehry.

haha...! yeah... I hate that pebblewash thing too. especially on the walls of a building. it's just weird. I guess that was the style way back then. the last time we were at CCP, I asked my mom why they'd cover a building in a thing like that cause it was just an eyesore. usually people use that for patios and stuff, dba? she was like "what do you mean it's ugly?? the CCP used to be considered very, very grand in design and architecture!"

a lot of Manila's older buildings are like that. the Congress building is like that too, right? and NAIA-1 is similar. or not, but the architecture is a lot like CCP to me...

Maybe because the architect is the same person.

I think at the very least recladding in stone, in rough hewn granite, would be better. I actually like the monumentalism of the CCP. It's kind of in your face. The material is just a bit ugly.

The architect is the same person;) ough..cant remember his name:D
I also really think that pebblewash is ugly.

I think the Heart Center looks very very CCPish. Is CCP and Heart Center designed by the same architect?

These buildings are not ugly. They're misunderstood. Just think if you look at an ugly dog, you'd think it's ugly. But if you were the same kind, then you would think that it could actually be good-looking. Attractive even.

(this is my excuse when I look at the mirror)

well....then, tell me what i'm misunderstanding about it....:)


it's half-finished looking paint scheme? the lack of a design above the podium? if you don't agree with that, you might agree that this "seamless union of old charm and modern allure – a stunning architecture that blends the unique character of two different periods." is not the best mix out there. Comparable, say, with the old, restored Manila Hotel lobby with the new high-rise new section of it....it goes far much deeper than some colour scheme

I think the Heart Center looks very very CCPish. Is CCP and Heart Center designed by the same architect?

CCP--Leandro Locsin

Heart Center--George (sp?) Ramos

Eastwood Condos
Condos by Empire East Land
Condos by Cityland
Rufino Pacific Tower
The Peak
6750 Ayala Avenue
Pearl of the Orient Tower, Roxas Boulevard
Condos by ASB

I'll add more later...

not trying to be an antagonist, but what are your criteria for ugliest scraper?

Heart Center and CCP = Marcos.

Heart Center and CCP = Marcos.

That's why they're architecture is similar.
Any other Marcos buildings that look like them?

uhmmm... Film Theater (abandoned) in PICC grounds

uhmmm... Film Theater (abandoned) in PICC grounds

Oh yeah, that's the haunted building.

that looks almost just like CCP.... btw i remember it being used last April...

How does the Peak looks ? Im not familiar with that building , is it really ugly?

How does the Peak looks ? Im not familiar with that building , is it really ugly?

well it's a matter of one's opinion. I don't really know if its the colour that makes it unappealing http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=150623

hey, i beg to disagree that ccp could be tagged as one of the 'uglies'....definitely its not. but anyway, i dont know if theres a point why we have to elaborate the ugliness of some skyscrapers, like one forumer from pbase said, images of ugliness doesnt make any good impression on any country...magfocus na lang sa maganda kasi yun naman ang naapreciate eh, wala lang simpleng opinion ko lang....:)

Well, the CCP's structure and profile is impressive enough, but the plain gray surface of the exterior is really ugly with all its cracks and stains. They should cover up all the pebblewash or concrete with metal or stone plates to make it look much better. Same goes for the PICC.

The Film Center has been hosting a drag show extravaganza for more than a year, 2 years na nga yata. Matagal na siyang hindi "abandoned". And it looks more like a modernized version of the neoclassic buildings around Lawton and Luneta than the CCP.