The first half half of the year will be over in a month. Following a generally orderly May 13 national elections, favorable international credit ratings and property experts’ assessments have shown the property sector is flourishing.
If you are a music lover who loves to enjoy great tunes any way you can, then you would want to find ways to enjoy your passion no matter where you are—in the backyard while grilling barbecues, in the garden while trimming plants, beside the swimming pool or in the garage while washing the car.
In a big city like Manila, recreational destination number one is a mall. Small wonder that real estate developers have made all manner of malls available in our country, from smaller, strip malls to giant, destination malls.
When I first moved to Hong Kong some 20 years ago, I was appalled by the sizes of the apartments, and more so, the sizes of the bedrooms they were provided with. Friends who had moved there earlier had forewarned me that bedrooms were sized at 2 meters by 2 and a half meters.
Singaporeans readily acknowledge that they have three kinds of weather: hot, hotter and tropical. In the Philippines, we have only two kinds: dry and wet. During the dry season, temperatures and humidity go up. During the wet season, people deal with torrential rains and destructive floods.
If you build it, they will come north of Manila. The convenience of transport made possible by the improved North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), the scenic Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) and the planned expansion of the Clark International Airport (formerly Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) has been largely responsible for jumpstarting property developments and attracting local and foreign investments in Central Luzon northward.
What’s the best way to improve any property in the most natural way? Put in a tropical garden, of course! Any time a property has well-planned landscaping, especially a beautiful garden, the surroundings become more striking and remarkable.
With the recent appointment of twin brothers—architects Gil and Gary Coscolluela—as senior partners of WV Coscolluela and Associates, expect the 55-year-old firm to dish out strikingly beautiful and highly sustainable and useful buildings in the coming years.
If you are in the market for your own private island, look to the cluster of islands in northern Palawan. From what I have heard, one can buy or lease an island in the Busuanga-Coron area and create a private paradise here on earth.
No one can argue that when one speaks of simplicity and elegance in the world of global fashion, Giorgio Armani is one of the first to come to mind. Through many years of fashion revolutions, he still adheres to largely structured and tailored lines, masculine colors, mostly basic “noncolors,” and unpretentious yet cleverly constructed forms. Although fashion trends and styles evolve and change over time, the core values of Armani’s design have remain unaltered.
Soon to rise in Iloilo City is a master-planned, mixed-use community that will integrate residential, retail and business clusters as well as healthcare and educational institutions.
I recently got introduced to a new group that aims to improve life in our city. It’s a simple goal, really, and yet it’s surprising that so few have focused on it thus far.
