Achieving balance

Creating a paradise conducive to family bonding and building memories lies at the core of the leisure community known as Anvaya Cove, Ayala Land’s first leisure development near Subic Bay. The challenge has been great for DQA, the environmental design company tapped by ALI to complement its decades of experience and expertise in the real-estate development industry. The duties of DQA involve creating a landscape that preserves the breathtaking natural characteristics of the land while enhancing the leisure retreat for its future guests and residents.

DQA President Frank Borja summed up in two words the goal of the task that they face — "achieving balance."

"Well-balance is the perfect description for the whole of the Anvaya Cove development. There won’t be this urban environment that’s going to swallow up the natural environment. Instead we made sure that there is a good balance between the built areas and the natural environment," stated Borja.

Thus, the guidelines defined by Ayala Land for DQA steered the landscaping towards ensuring that every component of the development works with nature, enhancing it to achieve an even higher level of pleasure and enjoyment for residents and visitors with minimal alteration to the natural lay of the land.

One case in point is the Anvaya Cove Beach & Nature Club, which embraces a natural catch-basin. This basin will be further enhanced to become a perfect habitat for indigenous waterfowl, and complementary wetland-type of plant materials will be added to promote a healthier eco-system that recharges the ground water instead of allowing it to flow straight into the sea.

Another example is the way DQA delineated the roadwork, which hugs the rolling hills in a relaxing, meandering path while opening up to grand views of the development and the sea.

"How the development was masterplanned plays a big part in achieving the balance. We’re talking about wildlife corridors and natural waterways, where animals actually traverse through the site, so we want to make sure that the development doesn’t impede any of these," Borja explained.

Indeed the variety of flora and fauna within Anvaya Cove serves to raise family bonding experiences to another level. This inspired Borja and his team, as they worked closely with the architects and civil engineers to ensure the integrity of the natural terrain and elevation, minimizing road cuts and strategizing structure placements to make Nature a true part of the project.

Mango and calumpang trees, some rising up to nine meters high, abound the property and amazed Borja and the DQA team, who worked hard to preserve these groves in order to convey a sense of permanence and maturity that is rarely seen in new leisure developments.

While preserving the natural foliage, the team also added new plant materials and ornamentals near the building sites. This was a practical decision to help cut down on the irrigation and maintenance needs of the site, since the natural plants have already proven to be drought and saltwater tolerant. The objective of this careful planning of the team will help attain a measure of self-sustainability for the landscapes in the long-term.

"We don’t want a high-maintenance development, but one which has a sense of place. Thus the landscaping should grow with the development over the years and not be something that needs to be changed every season," Borja stressed.

Borja also explained that this design philosophy ensured that the majority of the man-made landscape elements are centered in the vicinity of the Beach and Nature Club, which is a large open-air pavilion constructed out of wood. This area will soon be the hub of the active lifestyle in the community, where families can enjoy all sorts of experiences and interaction in a more controlled setting that is conducive to bonding moments.

One of the club’s central landscaping attractions is a complex of pools, the design of which combines the vast feeling of the open seas and a setting where people can dip and interact. As such, the pool evolved into a shape that has more edges to it, to allow groups of people to relax and socialize while swimming.

To learn more about Anvaya Cove, visit its Makati Greenbelt showroom at Greenbelt 2 Garden near Italianni’s and Segafredo or call 728-7000, 892-3333, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.anvayacove.com.