What is your dream condominium?

Everyone who likes to live in the condominium of their dreams has specific preferences and standards of the type of condo they would like to buy. Location, design, affordability, and accessibility are just some of the things that a home buyer considers.

How about a condominium that is sustainable and eco-friendly? Out of the top things that you mostly consider when buying a condominium, there is one thing you missed to ask. Have you ever thought of purchasing a home that’s good for your health, too? Keeping in mind how healthy the condominium you are choosing is one important factor to do also. Here are some reasons why it is better to opt for a green condominium.

Living in a Green Building is Healthy

Have you ever felt that uneasy feeling when you’re in a very tight space? Staying in a condominium with no proper ventilation can be sickening. Let’s take on a research recently published by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the National University of Singapore. It has been found out that people who work and live in a green building are less likely to suffer from “sick building syndrome”, a common illness experienced by people who stay in a conventional building for a long period of time. In fact, if you live in a green condominium which enhances passive green features like solar shading devices, renewable energy systems and inner courtyards, to name a few, you get a chance to breathe in fresh air and enjoy a well-ventilated surrounding.

Waking Up to a Bright Day

A green condominium is built-in with an inner courtyard which enables the air to flow freely and the sunlight or moonlight to lit some parts of the building during daytime and even nighttime. At the same time, sunlight is also helpful to boost the Vitamin D in your body. With the presence of the inner courtyard, you don’t need to go outside to do your exercise, you can get to the inner courtyard within walking distance.

Saving Energy and Saving Cost

The first impression of a person when encountering the word “green condominium” would be EXPENSIVE– not a choice for buyers who are looking for a desirable and most of all an affordable condominium. Little do we know that we are certainly wrong about it.  Taking Primavera Residences as our first example: it is the first green mixed-use building, with commercial, offices and residential units in Cagayan de Oro City. Because it enhances active green features with solar panels their residents are able to save in their energy consumption.

For its green performance the twin-tower Primavera Residences, IDC’s flagship development, has received the green building certification by IFC (International Finance Corporation) a member of the World Bank Group, the innovator of EDGE (“Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies”). This is the new green building certification system created for emerging markets that provides building designers and property developers with technical solutions for going green and captures capital costs and projected operational savings, in order to prove the business case for building green.

Thanks to the implementation of green passive strategies in Primavera Residences, the Predicted Savings evaluated by EDGE application, have been estimated around 33% of energy savings, around 37% of water savings and around 32% Less Embodied Energy in Materials.

Aside from the things aforementioned, of course, what makes it a unique experience living in an eco-friendly condominium is that you are able to practice green and healthy lifestyle without degrading the environment.

In fact living green is a lifestyle, and choosing to live in an environmentally conscious building facilitates your ability to perform daily tasks in a more sustainable manner. Buildings that are truly green are proven to:

• Dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Recycle more of construction waste and divert away from landfills during the building process.
• Save residents money by using high-performance, energy efficient fixtures and appliances.
• Provide a healthy indoor environment for tenants due to more efficient in-suite ventilation systems

Primavera City, awarded Best Mixed-use Development by International Property Awards-Asia Pacific, is the latest IDC’s eco-friendly project located in Uptown Cagayan de Oro and will future six mid-rise towers and a high-rise tower to be developed in 4 phases. 

The first, named Citta’ Verde, will be completed by the last quarter of this year. Last March 2019, was held in uptown Cagayan de Oro the cornerstone ceremony for Citta’ Bella, Primavera City’s Phase 2 that will be followed by Phase 3, Citta’ Grande and after this the last 7th tallest tower, Citta’ Alta.

The characteristic design of the development, which distinguishes all IDC’s projects, is the results of the integration of renewable energy features – passive for saving and active for generating power – with architecture.

This integration begins during the conceptualization process and is then developed into the design, construction, and building maintenance. The process is created using performance-based design strategies that make use of parametric and generative architectural software which analyze the existing data of natural weather conditions of the site location, optimizing the use of natural elements to shape the design of the building—the same “thinking model” used by nature.

The building, in fact, can be considered not just as a sheer construction but as a living organism and this is made possible through the application of the best principles of passive house technology: shadow control, wind cooling, indirect light exposition maximization and shape performance. 

The south facades, are designed in a way to use the building components, floors, slabs, projections, and balconies as shading devices for windows or terraces dimensioned appropriately to minimize the overheating and glare effect with a reduction of up to 80% than conventional residences. 

The internal vertical atrium, found in the towers, is an efficient natural ventilation system that integrates the vertical and horizontal distribution of air throughout the buildings, contributing to the passive cooling of units by using a natural chimney effect. 

The buildings will also harness solar energy from photovoltaic panels to be installed on the roof of the towers. These renewable energy sources together with the use of a smart greed will allow to effectively manage the buildings’ power supply, thus reducing electricity consumption.