Republic of the Philippines

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

AN ENERGY-SUSTAINED
COMMERCIAL COMPLEX
SHOWCASING FILIPINO IDENTITY
THROUGH VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE – CASE STUDY AND
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 8

Submitted by:
Buensuceso, Angela C.
BS ARCH 4-4

Submitted to:
Ar. Emilie T. Garcia
 CASE STUDY

Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall, Cainta, Rizal, Philippines

Owner: Exequiel D. Robles

In 1991, Sta. Lucia East Realty and Development, Inc. (SLRDI) built the first phase of the

first shopping mall in Rizal Province was started - the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall

(SLEGM). The first phase includes the first relatively well-equipped theaters in town,

food and fashion retail stores.

Two years later, the second phase was formally opened to house better facilities, more

stores, service centers, additional cinemas, a 32-lane bowling center, an entertainment

arcade and a junior department store.

On May 18, 1998, the third phase was unveiled which offered bigger spaces and more

comprehensive shopping and entertainment facilities. In 2005, Phase III cinemas were

renovated and it became known as the Theatre Zone. Then in 2007, the mall was

declared as a Wi-Fi zone offering free internet access to all users and consumers.

In 2014, SLRDI has finished constructing the 3-level mall called iL Centro situated next to

the mall and is interconnected by a bridge housing more shops and services. It will serve

as the foundation of the planned five-tower development called Sta. Lucia Residenzes.
Location

The mall is situated beside Robinsons Metro East and situated at the intersection

of Marcos Highway, and Felix Avenue in Cainta, Rizal. It is accessible by jeepneys, buses,

taxis, and even AUVs from the cities of Antipolo, Marikina, and Pasig, as well as the

town itself. It is a five-minute jeepney ride from Line 2 Santolan Station and directly

connected to Aurora Boulevard via the highway itself.

It has been a commonplace for family, friends, even teenagers, as all of the stores and

services are there even other shopping malls were built.

Mall Feature

The Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall complex has 3 buildings, which are all interconnected by

a footbridge. The combined first and second phase has shops, services, and a

supermarket located at the basement of the mall. It’s supposed to have cinemas which

is now only used for church and mass services. Home Gallery, located at the basement

of the building, has a finest selection of charming but functional décor, furniture and

appliances for people who want real home improvement.

The third phase of the mall has a three-level, full-line Department Store that offers the

leading brands in the retail industry, a 7,000 square meter supermarket, more stores

and restaurants, a 32-lane Bowling Center, and an entertainment center called World of

Fun focusing solely on children’s entertainment.

Observation and Analysis

In terms of Architectural Planning, the first building is planned well. There are a

numerous number of shops and you would not be lost inside the mall, even if the size of

it was given consideration. There were a number of entry ways for people to use which

leads to transportation terminals, and the mall is situated near a few subdivisions in the
area which makes the mall be one of the primary sources of the needs the residents

may have.

But as time went by, the SLRDI wanted to expand the premises of the building, which

lead to the development and construction of the second and third building. The

planning is also good in this area but when the three buildings are combined, it may be

the cause of confusion for the users of the building. If you pass through the “bridge”

from the first building to the second building, there is a chance you will get lost due to

the lack of signs inside the structure and there are a number of paths open which leads

to an another part of the area which can make the users think that they entered a

wrong area which they are not familiar with.

In the upper floors, there is a formation of smoke in the air due to the fast food

restaurants inside the premises that lack ventilation. The smoke passes through the

open areas in the floors and it builds up in the highest part of the second building.

The mall also lacks open or green spaces where the people can relax or rest after

shopping or buying their needs. There is a smoking area with a garden included in it but

the garden isn’t totally accessible to the public, it’s just there for display. The design

focused solely on the aesthetics of a man-made environment.

Recommendations

From its case study, the proponent recommends adding more green spaces to the

development to make the users feel more comfortable while in the structure. The

ventilation for the restaurants inside the premises can also be improved to avoid seeing

a fog-like effect in the air even though it’s strikingly hot outside. There should also be

signs and directories for people to use to be able to navigate through the entire mall

and not feel lost. The bridges connecting the buildings are mostly in the farthest sides of
the building which makes it not that much noticeable that that bridge is leading to

another building.

Mall of America

Architect/s: HGA, KKE Architects, Inc., Jerde Partnership

The Mall of America is a shopping mall owned by the Triple Five Group and it is located

in Bloomington, Minnesota. It opened its doors to the Minnesota public on August 11,

1992. The Mall was 71% leased with 330 brand new stores open for retail, including

nationally recognized department stores.

It has a gross area of 4,200,000 sq.ft. (390,000sq.m.) or 94 acres, with 2,500,000 sq.ft.

available for retail space. The mall is almost symmetrical with a roughly rectangular floor

plan. More than 500 stores are situated and planned along three levels of pedestrian

walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a fourth level on the east side. The three

department stores are located at the corners. The Mall is arranged into four different

zones with different decorative styles each.

Observation and Analysis

The Mall of America is committed to green design and has been committed to the

environment since opening in 1992. It recycles more than 60 percent of its waste and
2,400 tons of food waste to a local hog farm which feeds more than one million hog

meals annually. It does not use a central heating system and instead use a solar energy

from 12 miles of skylights and heat generated from the numerous store fixtures,

lighting, and body heat from more than 40 million visitors. There are more than 30,000

live plants and 300 live trees that act as natural air purifiers within the area.

The Mall has four nationally known department stores situated at the 4 corners of the

structure. The users will be exposed to the different stalls outside the department

stores in order to get to the other department stores, which is good for the retail

marketing of the stores inside the premises. There is a green space in the middle of the

busy building which helps as the breathing space for the users in the midst of the crowd.
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Vernacular design before 1945 can be said to have imported foreign styles and

technology, then localized by adding local motifs and ornaments. The period after that,

on the other hand, is the inverse.

It can be described as first coming from an indigenous source (a form, an ornament, or a

concept) and then being red using foreign technology. Because of this, there stems a

shift in the understanding of vernacular architecture in architectural design in the

Philippines. It was seen as something that can be added to a design, but as time went

by, the designers saw it as a way of emphasizing distinctiveness by using vernacular

design as a dominant feature of architecture.

In this context, distinctiveness was interpreted as a means by which the Philippines can

contribute to the “common fund of humanity,” an articulation of a core doctrine of

nationalist ideology. The tropical character remains the same throughout the twentieth

century despite the change in the use of indigenous motifs. Parsons, in the early

twentieth century, and later, Locsin and Mañosa, identified the importance of the

tropical climate in their design. For many architects and designers, “Tropical-ness” is an

expression of regional character.

Francisco Mañosa’s

Coconut Palace at the CCP

Complex, built in 1980

(Photo from Designing

Filipino: The Architecture

of Francisco Mañosa)
Sulo Hotel, Quezon City by Francisco Mañosa (Image courtesy of the Philippine Institute

of Architects)

Mañosa believes in the bahay kubo as the “primitive hut” which was where the Filipino

architecture bloomed from. He states that the bahay kubo represents and emphasizes

the true Filipino character in architecture: one that is culturally and environmentally

sensitive to the conditions of the Filipinos. Thus, for Mañosa, being a Filipino is

synonymous to a supposed old vernacular tradition.

By adding vernacular design, the architectural designs become more authentic because

it’s supposed origins are primordial and primeval. The authenticity of an imagined

national character is established by referencing assumed essential and organic ties.

It is now clear that it cannot be assumed that the category of the vernacular design, as it

was used in the formation of modern architecture, is a natural and neutral act in the

design process. Through time, the formulation of the vernacular has been re-imagined

and reformed to match the needs of whoever is demonstrating the idea itself.
REFERENCES:

https://leanurbanism.org/publications/lean-interpretations-from-philippine-vernacular-

architecture/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_of_America

http://www.rivercityjazz.org/images/Maps/mallofamerfloorplan.gif

https://www.jerde.com/places/detail/mall-of-america

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sta._Lucia_East_Grand_Mall#Mall_Features