Greenbelt: New Urbanism meets Postmodern Disneyfication GERARD LICO [reget teint ty bs Disny al haath Maerz Fcareey in oe wun pang a depend sd wastes stems te nebatan ge tolerance for arch Tesiaty aun valoeiegol —_geighbottiood, living. working, shopping, (los, om tae, astespaeny - ie aunt and all other activites of daily Ute & witinn walking distance of ezch conforming to the geogrephy provectionism, self:eon Exemplifying the wend te cut on avtomobile dependency, snd prov hhgusine closer to work to preserve op pace, Makati's Greenbelt development made Land Insttwie Aveaed of Excelle Institute is a US-based international esearch and educational orpanization that provides urban compositional sconnate bitty Shee enon Bt0Wn phenomenally and cena sine ones Pee lsc ti. ace an hoping mall cones windowees bck vein a Greenbelt, as 1h fi eos a ep with verdant wopicer oe op ay dent cosmapeian mes HPC cer hep Paes have em over im ihc Greet 2 snd 3a ai teen Mall (nw tna see ey OneENeeLro: | 93i the comer of Paseo de Roxas avd Legospi Sirets. These urban accretions Decupy what used to be an open parking fot on Esperanza Scset, As part of the Ayala Center, along with its sister mall, Gloriewa, Greentel: 2 and 3 are searniessly integrated with a2.6 hectare ueban park teeming with 600 full-grown tees*-a iewal tropical forest amidst the asphalt jungle, The desiga thas judiciously incorporates the urban park with an extended mall configuration, is attributed to the collaboraticn of Seattle-based Callison Architeetsze and loeai eounte GF and Porters fer an Recio + Casas for Greenbelt 2 A walk through Greenbelt reveals the delightful tension and negation between pseudo-deconstructvs structural architectura! lements and the organic silhowettes mesh ‘of vegetation, Investing on the idea of a Promenade, carefully orehesteacedlandseape stone-paved elements like fountsins, trellse and curvitinaarfooipaths, azebos, and street fueniture conspire 0 transform the street imo 4 destination in itself, notwithstanding the Suspicious space it provides for the urban denizens enacting their caié society pretensions and Starbuck's behavioral cots. Greenbelt 2 was oviginally pl transformed the mundane parking building ini a trajectory of a daring architectural experiment, a its main function is disguised dy wo rows of arcaded Festauramis on the northern and southern sides of the first floot. The dining spaces in the northern side extend beyond the areaded walkway to blend with the tandscaped areas. providing a sumptuous al fesco dining pace The second and third floors of tne sieucture are of course solely devoied to parking purposes. But who could imagine ehat the fourth level would be a site fer wwenty-eight exclusive garden town houses (2.4.2. “The Residences") for lease? According to Ayala Land, these domestic abodes are: an ining cst oltmetomes win nee! a sna wage tat seems 1 epi om feonhee Frome mnenionce ath round fora fendances a Gesroet a eae meals ey. oe rides We lear fo re vesenta evel Whon eleva pene ou ete 3 cenrl garden wound whch the [onehomes are cso and youth you sre em graund evel gai You ee wnt whose See may ange Hom 2 comiotabl 150 8 GREENGELTC. | 25s7scous 217 sua mos, an ope slosh teatue ceo tbe nds. The gacare mate you fel onan ‘acai resdeal entove 103k Syn be saudi oko fd eae you se net the oun but cua four elu. This planning maneuver is the epitome of maximizing real estate potential through the simulation of ground-anchored New Urbanist neighborhoods. immer estof Greenbelt 2, the corn Street and Makati Avenue isthe building designed by GF and Parine Greenbelt 3 houses retailers. The largest structure In the triumviate of buildings, i houses theaters, a food court, shops, and Festaurants. The building, erescent in fori, Opens to a landscaped area that includes + lagoon, waterfalls, and fountains. This palin {tee-lined area is the principal exterior plaza that acts as the focal point 10 the development. AS a focus, however, it docs oO! overwhelm the whole development or compete for attention but works with the ‘other clements in a responsive and symbiotic 86 | butawan 14 ‘manner. This design intervention that blurs the boundaries of inside and outside, works fo create a congenial context for consumption, Internally, the ground floor of Greenbeit 3 contains a double-oaded cortidor that is lined with commercial establishments. The ‘mall itself detours trom the pervasive teal emporium cliché as orthogonal spaces or atrium volumes are absent—or rather, ‘eplaceé by sensuous eurviliness Curved corridors, wall, and ceilings provide this mall with grace and spaciousness, ualities which are absent in boxy mall chains. The upper floor fs open, reminiscent of arcades of the past. Unlike its historie Drecedent, however, the Greenbelt version of an arcade combines soaring walkways, giand staitcases, elevators, and water elements, totally enhancing the dramaturgical aspect of mall theatrics and offering siage-set architecture designed for uninier-upted visual pleasure that veils the exchange between the consumer and the producer.Generous open air coridors act as balconies where one can View the lagoon, tees, and founcaine The architecture of Greenbelt in fis {otslity €oes not conjure a palpable Filipina theme but adheres tothe manta of elisate ponsive tropical architecture and Sigalicantly disengages its building form irom. generic aesthetic formula thai welows to hate~2 monolithic, rectangular, and sprawling architecture whose facade Perpetuates nothing more than seductive images and signs to ceinforce the eultue of conspicuous consumption. tn order to be lobaly competitive, Greenbele must surture ‘highly globalized postmodern archectural -=nography and highly marketable images, dominated by pastel hues, structural exhibitionism, and brash collages of surface leeatments emblazoned with istericized Contrary to the aestheticizing perspective of the Greenbelt project as 3 iumph of beautiful, ideal, livable environments (confirmed by international “win appa ceing Greene? accolades) we shall now pole the overriding socio-politicai issurs snd ideological {nvale-of urban sptiel production Greenbelt isa spevion ofa fecent urban, ras tle concept of sel ategy that ports contsined sora ent x the mulkpte function uf Hoe surround 1 clearly cefines a new ushan cartography that boosts ofan interuationally-conceives master plan, flushing of Tire World urban enmtitions. I fabricates an idea urban eavininment a visitor may participate in luxury, au! ws. certain degree deny the existence of wlan squalor and rassive poverty outside is domain, Mega-projects jwiwetuate highly asymmetrical urban sleerlopment. Local aovernmencs seck invests and oft large site of public lands or i Gill properties for ‘mega projects that are nts wixed-z0nes of ‘upscale consumption au hausing enclaves, Bur the “mined” riers sn such projects are formulas based in consinytion of a specific Imathet sector ~ heigh"wning the spatial Greeneetts |egn another stratum they tonstrag ie ible 1291) is spes ation ec categories and Was whece public sud private interene ae {aited. tn a sense this is simon oe aradigm: a depatiictend Pen to public access laity and feedorn of ‘oni forged between snd the private estate lovers sigie wi ‘psuedo-pudie” re bbuetacking the 5 rive conte ace, in Creenbel is ‘Ayala Land. For Urban space Poticat proves. fest of the city is that it ts arian Wy aestbeuciaed, and conceived, fan culucaly pretentious. Tigether wi aa, Imicro-ices like Fort Boniacio, Recker Ceoter and tastwood Cay, Greet tones 2 conselation of sytheic satelite cer ag eppcsed to te cies which are aad throug a bome ute aitlit urd to develop in-fl soasequenily generating a patchwork of “elites within a city” or seltcontrined “microworlds" stgnifie of poverty in ts peeiphery and becomes an exclusive space fr fantavy snd Frimarily within tagmented developmen such a Manila, distingsished by ihe senna of a comprehensive o sion a8 10 holiscaiy, Foucault thou reeringioine svstem of disciplinary and instiaronn+e mn, 36s, colned the word Aeterovopia to Principle of thee were that they ea sya aetna OEE 264 Sly where Stand atone, isseriat divorcing erdemrend teagan Holton becomes a themacives kam ah nae oe ban mrad ntgt Tis noden con be deci cing Bee mag come a aad estended fo the urban Greebeh ste csp te nt MESHES valve staced te eng Steran een B= they are acance_arhtecuraipteicee oe srstematicaly segregated trom the en sigaifies of eulturat asuinen can be converied inte economic The patronses of posimodeen seis orcenseere: | 08evro¢roat sweep ovr Grant Fs wees paing ea simply governed by the postmodernist desire for a more meaningful, communicative aechitecture, rather, by the tin € bbe up-te-date and employ t superstars le ctitcism. The and its salzbility, clearly credentials of the architect who fashions buildings according tothe image-conscious al validity of buildings resides ip the ‘and conspicuous consumer behavior of the eal estate buyer and lessor, In this sense the choice of Callison Architecture to provide ‘the masterplan for Greenbelt aims to endow the development area withthe consecration of “high” archieensral culture and popular recognition Posimiodern packaged landscapes are 90 |bulawan 44 l ariful fragments of wiban development controlled by the whips of globalization. They are set-piece diversions that draw a cloak over the realities of intensifying soca! polarization, Informalization of urban settlements which characterize Manila. As Harvey (1989) suggests of the standardized application of postmodern design tenets in urban fegeneration initiatives, they mimic 3 “carnival mask that divers, entertains, leaving the social problem: that lie bebind the mask unseen and uncared for. The formula smacks of a consteucted fetishism, in which every aesthetic power of illusion and image is to mobilize the mask of intensifying lass, racial, ethnic polarizationgoing underneath.” Ths ftish gains power fn the form of aestheticism as the answer to L the sociat probiem. enforced by surveillance camers personnel. These micro-cities recapiure the traditional Filipino plaza complex, 10 create the ilysion of urban civility and an open space of ocial communion. In truth shey are highly puified and canuoiled domains, fou by the developer are subtly excivdes These site fabricate an ideal commanity an illusory ste of public hfe, devoid of poverty factions, and eccentricities. They imbibe 3 festive atmosphere geared \owards ccouragingconslcuous consumpon The presence of a FoueauliiatTegime of normalization, whereby poteatial disruptions to the designed effect are pinned down and evicted, are stiely enforced. As everyday practice, these forms of control are invisible ts the rules are embodied in the habites of the place where genuine conflict are expunged from ks premises. These become 1 heterotrophic site, assuming 2 pseudo: publie facade that embodies the utopian fesice for 8 purified community of social harmony, wealth, and casslessness. Investment in urban spectacle lends urban space {6 manipulation. Residents of such spaces are offered sequestered settings with an expensive package of amenities. The Greenaertc: | 91very names of these communities are Corefully selected in order to set the fequired tome of distinction, heritage, and puthenticty. The net result isa landscape Fludded with glitay nodes, 2 carefully packaged micro-lancscane of mixed-use Govetopment with striking architecture, Tunuriguslooking materials and fittings and open spaces planted with expensive topical vegetation—all in the name of ‘opulence and exclusivity ‘Overall, Groenbelt's mode of urban schemata can be likened to that of Disneyworld—conflating reality and ban scale, This afinily €2 fn the manner in which parks make explicit the control that are to be sed 0 ve them to the middleclass. 1s ne the public spaces atd fey restraining attributes (defined boundaries, restricted access, implicit codes of behavior and conduct, strict regimentation of spaces, eficient services) gre the sources of comfort forthe middle Clase visitors, allowing them ( fe nd secure. Similar k, Greenbelt ilized to define the mew hea consumption. O 92 | bulawan 14