The gracious condo home

MANILA, Philippines -Independent real estate developer Geo-Estate Development Corp. has produced its latest condo community offering with only the strictest project planning and foresight in place, which includes a space planner in the project development team.

 â€œIt’s a rare thing for a developer to hire a space planner — only the very concerned and committed ones do,” says renowned Filipino interior designer Tina Periquet of her role in Geo-Estate. She is a member of the think-tank behind Sonria, the developer’s newest 21-storey residential condo development in the idyllic side of Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Located in a prime area in Madrigal Business Park, Sonria is literally a few steps away from the Alabang Town Center, Molito commercial area, and the Ayala Alabang Village. Sonria seeks to replicate the inimitable experience of privacy, comfort, warmth and accessibility of living in Southern Metro Manila — primarily through a low-density environment of 88 one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

Geo-Estate also knows that meticulous attention to detail must be spent for the discriminating high-end market of the area. It is fortunate to team up with Stonebridge Corp., the property arm of the illustrious Madrigal family who pioneered the Southern Metro lifestyle of Ayala Alabang Village. Stonebridge is the property owner, while Geo-Estate is the development manager and exclusive marketing agent of the project.

This collaborative team is where the expertise of Periquet contributes to creating the most graceful yet economical and practical living space possible in a city condo. “We have to look at the beauty of the whole,” explains Periquet. “The focus is on the quality of space. There’s a series of experiences — of large and small moments, that gives you a sense of a gracious home. It’s not just one big box.”

Periquet reveals the biggest draw of Sonria’s units: a well-designed home that delineates living spaces naturally and intuitively, which means no hanging beams in the middle of the living room, sharp jutting corners caused by structural beams, or even simply wasted nooks that could have been put to good use.

Future residents will not have that nagging feeling of having things not in their proper places, or having to put up with design flaws that will bother you for a lifetime. “Space planners think of what it is like for the client to walk in,” she explains regarding Sonria’s quest to create a home that will naturally feel and flow with daily living. “A thoughtful and considerate developer wants more than the average and will think of the people — the families — who will come and live here.”

 â€œThat’s the exciting thing about a boutique development — there’s a two-year period in which we continue to spend more time, make things better, and evolve. It has to be tailored and customized,” says Periquet.

Future homeowners would be glad to know as well that Periquet involved her expertise and taste down to the littlest details such as the bathroom fixtures and surface finishes — a cool, sophisticated shade of gray for the kitchen countertops, for instance, and an extremely contemporary automotive-like paint glaze for the built-in cabinets in the rooms. The cabinetry features thoughtful details as well, such as soft-touch hinges and closures.

“Why limit people to standardized concepts?” she asks. It is with the same inquisitive mind that Geo-Estate has pioneered the city condo market with Sonria — a rare opportunity to continue enjoying genteel suburban living in the city, in the comforts and conveniences of a modern vertical community.