Standing superbly along Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue is the Philippines’ first – and only LEED Platinum version 4.0 office building: The 37-storey Makati Commerce Tower. Now fully completed, this building symbolizes a new normal in office development where well-thought-out green and sustainable features are king.

The Makati Commerce Tower is a landmark for innovation and sustainability. This next-generation Grade A office building is on par with some of the most noteworthy office developments in the Asia–Pacific region and sets the bar higher in terms of what occupiers can expect from their office space in the Philippines. The developer Empresas Diesel Development Inc. and the entire project team behind this outstanding project have put careful thought and planning into the design and execution to future-proof this development with market leading sustainability, health, and wellness features.

According to Maricris Sarino-Joson, Director and Head of Office Services – Landlord Representation at Colliers: “It is true that commercial occupiers now have more options for their next office, including relocating to serviced offices or coworking spaces, if they are implementing hybrid work, or forgoing offices altogether in favor of a work-from-home setup. As a result, office landlords must now look for creative ways to attract tenants and occupiers to their buildings.”

Sarino-Joson further added that some landlords offer flexible leasing schemes through unit size configurations, lease terms and duration, and rental rates, while others deliberately highlight sustainable and wellness-focused features of their properties, which are proving to be quite attractive to occupiers. “Not only will the latter afford commercial tenants the appropriate credentials to satisfy their ESG goals, but many of them are also now attributing the growing importance of green and sustainable spaces to staff productivity, health, and overall happiness.”

In fact, a survey released by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2018 found that employees who work in LEED-certified buildings are happier, healthier, and more productive than employees in conventional, non-LEED buildings. “This provides proof for direct correlation between worker well-being and productivity and quality of offices,” said Sarino-Joson.

According to Peter Templeton, president and CEO of USGBC: “Achieving LEED certification is more than just implementing sustainable practices. It represents a commitment to making the world a better place and influencing others to do better. Given the extraordinary importance of climate protection and the central role buildings play in that effort, the Makati Commerce Tower is creating a path forward through their LEED certification.”

Some of the Makati Commerce Tower’s sustainable and wellness-focused features include hands-free and touchless technology solutions to reduce common touchpoints, innovations to improve air quality, a unitized glass curtain wall façade insulated with low-e coating for improved thermal and acoustic properties, energy- and water-saving features, electric vehicles parking with charging points, and bicycle parking with shower facilities, among others. Its roof deck also boasts an al-fresco area with green wall, a transition space that provides a shaded space for socials and relaxation and at the same time promotes a cooling effect on the incoming air.

Specifically, the indoor air quality innovations that Makati Commerce Tower incorporated are nothing short of impressive and reassuring to its users and occupants. It has sensors to ensure that CO2 levels are in accordance with strict local and international standards; exhaust vents across all office spaces, toilets, and storage rooms; dedicated fan coil units (FCU) to ensure optimal air quality; maintenance of positive air pressure to avoid infiltration of untreated outdoor air; individual thermostat control in order to dial in on the perfect temperature setting for optimal comfort and efficiency; and pre-cooling of fresh air supply, which results in better indoor air quality and higher energy savings.

The Makati Commerce Tower offers 25 floors of office space, two floors for retail establishments, a dedicated food court, and eight podium and two basement parking levels, with total gross leasable area of 58,943 square meters. Its high-zone floors have typical floor plates of between 2,178 and 2,252 square meters, while those in the mid-zone have 2,178 square meters. The building is also designed to have large column-free floor plates that will give occupiers much-needed flexibility to configure efficient interiors based on their unique needs.

The Makati Commerce Tower is certified Platinum via the LEED BD+C: Core and Shell (v. 4) rating system, which is designed for projects where the developer controls the design and construction of the entire mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection system – called the core and shell – but not the design and construction of the tenant fit-out.