New residential concepts

Ayala Land subsidiary Avida Land is set to boost residential standards in Central Luzon through its 13-hectare development in San Fernando, Pampanga. The American-themed Avida Residences San Fernando will offer both house-and-lot units as well as lots only.

Located along the MacArthur Highway which like the rest of Pampanga is a catch basin for heavy rains, the project site was raised to an average of two meters to assure homeowners of a flood-free environment. Moreover, most of the homes in the enclave which make use of a European building system are built around courtyards to ensure safety and warmer community ties.

According to Herbert Herrero, Avida Residences San Fernando project development manager, home buyers in Pampanga are more sophisticated than most regional audiences. "They are more discriminating as homebuyers and are familiar with upper-end real estate developments in Metro Manila and other Asian capitals."

Thus, Avida expects Pampanga homebuyers to appreciate planning innovations like the courtyard concept. The scheme offers homes clustered around courtyards which function like cul-de-sacs. Because the courtyard is not open to through traffic, visitors to the cluster can easily be spotted. In addition, the cluster layout is friendly to pedestrians who have to contend only with traffic destined for homes there.

Better yet, says Herrero, homes are oriented towards a shared courtyard and face each other. "The courtyards allow more occasions for interaction among residents, which in turn, leads to stronger social ties."

Avida San Fernando will also be distinguished by its contemporary American theme. Architect Marcos de Guzman, who designed the homes with lot cuts from 155 to 208 sqm., explains that residents in the area readily relate to contemporary American influences having been exposed to US servicemen and their families who lived at Clark Air Base until the early 90s.

He notes that the front porches and shingles of homes in Avida Residences San Fernando were inspired by residences in the southern coast of the US and other seaside communities like Cape Cod and Nantucket in the East. The Avida Residences also feature shiplap planks executed in concrete and not in the original wood. De Guzman relates that in these coastal areas, the overlapping wooden planks were so constructed as an attempt to waterproof them.

While American architecture spans the colonial and many other eras, the architecture of the coastal South seemed most in keeping with the current architectural preference for simpler lines and less ornamentation, de Guzman points out.

The interiors of the homes have also been adapted to the preference of Pampanga homeowners to entertain and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. "The Kapampangan cook will have the space he needs in our efficient kitchens," smiles de Guzman.

For more details, call 0917 8244560.