WE would like to congratulate Palafox Associates as it celebrates its 20th year anniversary on July 1, 2009. Palafox Associates is an architectural, urban planning and design consultancy firm founded by Urban Planner/Architect Felino A. Palafox, Jr. in 1989. The firm has carried out the master planning, urban design and/ or architectural design of islands, provinces, cities, towns, shopping centers, residential and golf course communities, commercial, institutional, industrial, tourism and mixed-used development projects.
From the time of its inception, Palafox Associates has gained international exposure through the extensive work experience in more than 30 countries of its staff. The firm has been involved in the architectural design of more than 11 billion square meters of building area. It has also master planned over 100 communities covering more than 7 million square meters of land area in the Philippines and other countries from several continents. Palafox Associates plans and designs world class and state-of the-art communities as it customizes the project’s significance to the adjacent developments, and how each project will contribute in terms of neighborliness, income, and socio-economic and cultural activities in the regional, national, and international scenes. Its prominent international projects are The Al Khobar Tower and Durrat Al-Khobar (Tala Marina), and The Gulf Dream City, Abu Dhabi in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Monterey California, United States and the SM Mall in China among others.
In the Philippines, these innovative development trends include the firm’s signature projects: the Rockwell Center, an inner city revitalization project; the Robinson’s Starmills and the SM Southmall and SM City Fairview, as revolutionary shopping malls that departed from the banal, commonplace box-shaped shopping centers. The master planned golf course communities include Manila Southwoods, The Country Club, and the Sta. Elena Golf Course Community. Master planned residential communities include Hacienda Sta. Elena in Laguna, Haciendas de Naga in Upland Naga City, The Promenade, Pacific Heights, La Marea, and Grand Centennial Homes among others. The firm has also carried out work on entertainment, leisure, and business communities like the Ecocentrum in Laguna, Ponderosa Leisure Farms, Alaminos Waterfront Development, and the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas.
Palafox Associates is the only planning and architectural firm in the Philippines that has made it to the London-based World Architecture Magazine’s “Top 200 Architectural Firms in the World” for seven consecutive years. In 2006, Palafox Associates has placed Philippine Architecture in the world map by ranking 94th into the Top 100, making it the only Southeast Asian firm cited among the world’s best and Top 200 firms in the industry.
Likewise, we would like to commend Enjoy Realty & Development Corp. headed by its President/CEO, Engr. Emeterio “Boy” Aman for choosing Palafox Associates as the master planner of Haciendas de Naga. By doing so, Naga City was not only included in the architectural world map but also raised the standard set in choosing a residential community that will suit one’s preferences.
The 105-hectare Haciendas de Naga was officially launched on December 2005 with no less than Vice President Noli de Castro as the honored guest. The celebration was highlighted with the monumental laying of the time capsule participated in by de Castro, Architect Jun Palafox, SBMA Chairman Felicito Payumo, Congressman Cho Roco, and Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo.
Haciendas de Naga which is nestled at the foot of Mt. Isarog, and located at Carolina, Upland Naga City was envisioned as a community that integrates residential homes with leisure farms, recreational, commercial, and institutional areas.
Architect Palafox’s idea was anchored on the historical and cultural significance of Naga City as one of the original old five dioceses in the Philippines founded during the 16th century. Aptly named Haciendas de Naga, it features residential houses with colonial architectural influences that includes Spanish, Mediterranean, & Balinese themes. The colonial design of the houses features verandas, more windows, entrance porches, and no fences to foster neighborliness. Palafox’s basic concept is to carve an environment that will suit the lifestyles of the residents in comfort, pleasure, and elegance.
The developers of Haciendas de Naga together with Architect Palafox envisioned the planned community as a place to live, learn, play, spend leisure time, engage in health and wellness activities and immerse in leisure farming. The development planning follows the principle of balanced co-existence of people and environment as it allocates only 50 percent for built-up areas to preserve the pristine environment composed of grove and woodland.
The built-up areas are pockets of developments connected by lanes in a “walkable” distance of 400 meters between them following a study by the Palafox Associates that Filipinos would only walk that distance compared to Asian neighbors who would do two-kilometer walk to their destination. In addition, the residents of Haciendas de Naga can enjoy boating in a lagoon, horseback and bicycle riding and trail hiking and camping in a forest.
The Haciendas de Naga is also the only real estate development in the Bicol region with a 9-hole golf course for its residents and club members that is scheduled to open on the third quarter of 2010.
