Spark Place

In a sea of outmoded boxed structures, Spark Place is a 42,000 square meter mixed-use development that rises to meet the increasing demand for corporate centers while offering state of the art architecture. It is a perfect balance of function meets form that maximizes office space efficiently combined with well curated commercial zones

The development is located in Cubao, a town right at the heart of the busiest districts in Metro Manila since the 1960’s. The site is very well connected to integrated public transportation transits – including major mass transit lines. Hence, the need for bicycle storage spaces located at the basement levels.

Nowadays, Cubao is a crammed and polluted transportation hub with its heydays of glory far behind it. But Spark Place proves to be just the opposite of this perception. Standing against a heavily urbanized landscape, the mixed-use development aims to reignite the vigor and effervescence of the old city and transform it back into the epicenter of trade and commerce that it used to be. By integrating extensive green features and facilities amalgamated with sleek modern design, the building contributes to a responsible and sustainable development, proving that it is indeed a spark of brilliance.

With a floor plate of 3,100 square meters and a density of 4.5 square meters per person, the building maximizes the space’s potential by housing more users per floor. In turn, the program is efficient as it requires less management to monitor the area as most of the employees can fit in one floor. The 500 square meter lobby is complemented with a 7-meter high ceiling providing extra room for the employees and guests alike.

The building maximizes the development use through a four-storey podium that follows the shape of the site. Despite the angular, undulating cladding on its façade, the box-shaped office tower still maximizes efficiency with all elevators concentrated on its core. The textured rippling façade is formed through a series of angular projections where spaces are required. The underside of these protrusions are streaked with bright color forms to interrupt the lucidity of the building envelope.

Located at the fifth level of the podium, a garden deck welcomes users to a curated landscape providing recreation to the users. A part of the garden deck is pulled on one corner to deliver viewing activities –where a 24-hour recreational gym is spaced below.

Progressions of lightning-patterned ceiling carry out ‘volts’ of energy through the space, lending the development visual continuity. The project gives attention to light where ceiling details are partnered with constant, coved led lights. An escalator on the frontage offers immediate access to the second floor: where the office lobby is smartly located. The carefully curated experience extends to the lobby where office-goers and guests are welcomed by rich and refined wall to floor natural stone finish.

The mixed-use building offers architectural ingenuity through its green components. A green deck located at the fifth level of the building is populated with native plant species, where low-flow plumbing fixtures is utilized to maximize water use efficiency. The building’s design maximizes natural lighting, thus reducing the need for artificial lighting. Double glazed low-E coated windows screen and temper heat and glare from the sun. The building’s technology features a rain harvesting system that collects and filters rainwater for non-potable water requirements such as water closet flushing, building housekeeping, and landscape maintenance.

ASYA Design has been awarded the 2016 Philippines’ Best Sustainable Architecture Firm by the Sustainable Building Awards presented by UK BUILD magazine.