Building toward the future

Saturday, 06 November 2010 17:11 Ike Suarez*

Come the last week of December, the sun will nestle once more between the twin peaks of Mounts Batulao and Talamitam in Nasugbu, Batangas, that will create the intense reflection of the sun’s rays and brilliant displays of light that give this mystic mountain its name.

Over the generations, witnesses to this natural light-show have been awestruck by this natural phenomenon. It is, in fact, the reason this mountain has become steeped in mystique and legend. Mount Batulao also serves as the inspiration for the name given to the residential township being built near it, Sandari Batulao.

This year, as the sun and Mount Batulao again make their display of light and splendor, this natural phenomenon and wonder of nature could very well herald the milestones now achieved toward the completion of various infrastructure projects to serve the needs of the future residents of Sandari Batulao.

Down to brass tacks with roads

Batulao View sat down with engineer Mariano Hilario, Citystate Properties and Management Corp. (CPMC) vice president for land development and head of the ALC Group of Companies Central Engineering Group.

With Hilario at the interview were architect Leandro Llorente and engineer Rudy Francisco Jr., two other key members of the team implementing the infrastructure development in Sandari Batulao.

Within November, Sandari Batulao’s first phase of construction for the main road—25 meters and six lanes wide—will be completed to serve the needs of Sandari Batulao residents and their guests traveling to and from the other developments in the township under construction

following the master plan of renowned Singaporean architect Liu Thai Ker. The 25-meter road is the main access road or spine road leading through all 800 hectares of the Sandari Batulao development. This is the first of three self-contained enclaves in Nalé, a residential community that is CPMC’s initial offering for the premier residential township it is building.

Branch roads connecting the lots in the Bamboo Garden Enclave to the main road shall also have been completed by then. These roads will measure 12 meters to 15 meters wide, depending on where they are located.

Branch roads in Nalé are 12 to 15 meters’ right of way, depending where they are located. Road layout design includes planting strips in between the main carriageway and the pedestrian walkways of this new community.

Likewise, to be completed by then will be their accompanying drainage and sewage systems and sidewalk gutters.

Hilario told Batulao View that the roads will be lined by trees that will, in time, grow into bowers of shade to shelter joggers and pedestrians from the hot sun. These roads, he said, are being built to align with the natural contours of the land on which Sandari Batulao arises.

Water, sweet water

While steady and potable sources of water may be a problem in some highland areas where water tables lie deep underground, Sandari Batulao has abundant sources of fresh, potable water.

To maximize this asset, Hilario said, a deep well that goes down 500 meters, with an overhead tank capable of holding 50,000 gallons of water will be completed and functioning not later than December. The well will tap the water aquifier that runs under Sandari Batulao.

Hilario also said that, by late 2011, an underground cistern or water tank will be completed, and this cistern will serve as a reservoir that will store a reserve supply of water. Should there be a need for additional water, this shall be drawn up from the cistern and pumped into the overhead tank.

Water will be delivered via pipelines to Nalé households and shall be done using gravity. This means that homeowners will have no need of booster pumps or other mechanical equipment to get their water. Neither will they have need for their own overhead water-storage tanks.

This canny use of gravity does more than lower the cost of providing a clean and safe water supply to Sandari Batulao residents—it also lowers the community’s carbon emissions by removing the need for pumps that consume electricity, as well as saves space that can be allocated to gardens and greenery in each home lot in the development area.

Clubhouse and more

These infrastructure projects are merely the beginning, Hilario said, adding that, within the first quarter of 2011, work will begin on the Nalé clubhouse.

The clubhouse will stand on a lot measuring 9,000 square meters, or almost a hectare, close to the cool waters and sculpted rock walls of the Calamias River. The sprawling clubhouse will follow the architectural style known as Modern Tropical Asian, an architectural fusion of Philippine, Thai and Balinese influences.

This clubhouse will sport a high, pitched roof in earthen colors with finials or low spires placed atop it, roof embellishments that echo the indigenous structures found throughout Southeast Asia. The extended eaves of the clubhouse roof are also an architectural trait common in Philippine architectural designs and the clubhouse floor will be randomly lined with stones, evocative of the bahay na bato (literally, houses of stone) structure that is distinctly Filipino.
This one-floor clubhouse will be equipped with a library, function hall, game room and gymnasium. According to Hilario, it is designed to enable Nalé residents to hold gatherings, large or small, to enjoy celebrations of life, like intimate dinner parties or grand debuts for daughters who have come of age.

Hilario said more infrastructure projects are lined up for Sandari Batulao in the near future, for CPMC has pledged to build a residential township that truly provides the joys and pleasures of mountainside living. More than just the embodiment of the Filipino dream, the homes that arise from the foothills of the mystical mountain called Batulao are the structures that embody CPMC’s character as a company that brings all good things from the Philippines and puts it on the global map in a very good way.

*Suarez is associate editor of Batulao View magazine.