Trava by Greenfield

Sta. Rosa, Laguna

With more and more residential enclaves sprouting across the country, property-seekers are looking for more than just fancy houses and luxury amenities like a well-equipped clubhouse. And with the imminent threat of climate change and global warming, property developers are answering the needs and demands of property seekers by creating residential communities that adhere to the tenets of 21st-century sustainable living. That means more open spaces, more pockets of greeneries, tree-lined roads, and more energy-efficient homes.

Greenfield City’s Trava, a 33-hectare premier residential development of Greenfield Deluxe in Santa Rosa, Laguna, is expected to be at the forefront of sustainable living, thanks to excellent urban planning that includes having underground cables for its power utilities. Trees will instead replace electrical posts, making the residential enclave not just more environment-friendly but creating a more aesthetically pleasing surrounding.

### Not just visual aesthetics but sustainability and efficiency

Trava’s master-planned community isn’t just about having visual aesthetics but ensuring that energy efficiency is maintained among the households in its ecosystem. By placing the cables of its power utilities underground, the Trava community can absorb more emergency power loads and benefits from having lower transmission losses and lower maintenance costs. It also means being less susceptible to the impacts of severe weather disturbances like super typhoons, which affects the country on a fairly regular basis. Having its electrical cables underground also means that no electric field will be emitted. It can also be engineered in such a way that it would emit a lower magnetic field than an overhead line. Plus, it requires a relatively narrower band of land to install those cables.

Greenfield Deluxe, Trava’s developer, aims to preserve the laidback environment of Santa Rosa, dubbed as the “Lion City of the South,” by incorporating urban conveniences and modern amenities with an ecological design in a high-end luxurious residential development. About 45 percent of Trava’s 33-hectare prime land will be dedicated to open spaces and eco-efficient features.

### Exceptional urban planning

Trava’s eco-system will be efficiently integrated into Greenfield City’s 400-hectare self-sustaining network of residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational communities in Santa Rosa. Premium is placed on open spaces and nature, similar to how it’s like to live in an expansive natural park. It’s a refuge for those yearning for a refreshing shift in scenery and lifestyle outside the urban jungles of Metro Manila.

With Trava’s exceptional urban planning, its residents and those in nearby communities benefit from this long-term endeavor of social connectedness and vitality because the area is designed to be walkable and could be biked pleasurably and conveniently without having to worry about security concerns. It encourages greater physical activity that leads to a number of tremendous health benefits, as well as reduces the economic costs associated with time spent traveling on a motor vehicle. At Trava, green open spaces is a key resource that’s used to ensure sustainability is achieved. Under its urban planning framework, Trava anticipates the future by becoming better prepared today to positively impact the residential community and its vicinity.

Some of the unparalleled features and amenities of Trava include manicured landscaping, lush parks, a streetscape with four meter-wide lawns, and tree-lined roads, a legacy of Greenfield in its residential community projects. Trava also boasts of an ecologically designed clubhouse, a social hall, fitness gym, function and recreation rooms, children’s pavilion, a pool complex, adult and kiddie pools, dance studio, tennis court, basketball court, and bike and jogging lanes.

### A suburban utopia

Trava, according to Greenfield Deluxe, will showcase how having a sustainable lifestyle can be achieved in suburban living and improve one’s overall quality of life. It’s where luxury meets green living. Bigger lot areas that range from a little over 500 square meters to 750 square meters are allotted for each of the 315 saleable lots that are expected to be built in the 33-hectare premium residential enclave.

Needless to say, Trava will provide its residents with a suburban utopia—especially for those who are yearning to escape the urban chaos of Metro Manila—no matter which day of the week.

# Tropical Architecture and Design: The Anatomy of a Modern Filipino Home

In the Philippines, where temperatures can reach a scorching 42.2 degrees Celsius, the traditional concrete/plywood house is no longer enough. Between the rising threat of climate change, and the increased purchasing power of the average Filipino, more and more homebuyers are seeking sustainability — as well as beauty and practicality — in the places they call “home.”

To that end, architectural designs in residential areas are being tailored to the Philippines’ hot and humid climate. The word “tropical” often conjures up images of the quintessentially Filipino nipa hut or bahay kubo; indeed, the nipa hut is arguably the simplest and purest example of tropical architectural design.

However, the bahay kubo is not a common architectural style in areas like Metro Manila and its surrounding regions. For one, its usual materials are not durable enough to withstand extreme weather conditions like typhoons—not to mention fires that are a common occurrence in cramped, stuffy places in the city.

Trava model house. Photo via Greenfield Residences

Fortunately, tropical architectural designs aren’t only about leafy roofs and beachfront views. One need not look far beyond Metro Manila to find homes that are, at the very least, inspired by the nipa hut in functionality, if not in looks. For example, Trava—a premier residential development in Sta. Rosa, Laguna by Greenfield Residences which is conveniently located along SLEX—is currently building a community that will cater to homes that are not only breathtaking to look at, but also leave the smallest environmental footprint possible.

However, there is no single aesthetic that can be unequivocally considered “tropical.” A tropical home can be traditional (like the nipa hut), modern or even cutting-edge. Nonetheless, homes with a tropical architectural design do have some functional elements in common.

• Light-colored exteriors. The first thing one would notice about tropical-inspired houses is that their exterior walls always come in pale colors like white, gray or beige—a characteristic that is reflected in Trava’s model houses. That’s because colors on the lighter end of the spectrum cause heat waves to bounce away from a house’s walls. In contrast, dark-colored walls absorb heat, giving way to rising temperatures within a building.

• External shading. Another distinctive feature of the tropical architectural design is the shading outside the house. Whether it’s in the form of the brise-soleil (sunshades), overhangs, or plants and trees, external shading also helps to lower internal temperatures. Also, the brise-soleil, in particular, adds a nice aesthetic touch to even the simplest-looking residence.

• Insulated building envelopes. Low-thermal conductive materials (such as clay for roof tiles) reduce heat gain, meaning the house will cool faster and lessen the need for appliances such as air conditioners. The insulating material can be purchased separately, though there are houses that already have it installed, to begin with.

• Long, wide eaves. “Eave” refers to the part of the roof that sticks out beyond the wall and over the house. The longer and wider it is, the more easily it can protect a house from the elements. Luckily, this is a common feature in tropical houses such as Trava’s concept houses.

• Open plan layout. Tropical homes are characterized by open-plan layouts, though the savvy homeowner would not necessarily want to leave everything ajar. Aside from security concerns, having too many open windows would invite excess heat into a house. Instead, the openings should be positioned in a way that optimal airflow is achieved.

• Optimal ventilation. A well-designed tropical home lets airflow in such a way that, rain or shine, its interior would remain comfortable. This is achieved through strategically placed openings and partitions that allow air to move throughout the house at just the right velocity and temperature.

• Easy ventilation control. The beauty of houses with a tropical architectural design is that the ventilation can be adjusted depending on the time of the year and what direction the wind is blowing from. For example, if the wind is coming in from the north, its velocity can be increased by simply opening the window on the opposite side.

• Green (or Green-inspired) surroundings. Last, but certainly not the least, is the feature that is most closely associated with tropical architectural designs: Greenery. If the house isn’t already in an area filled with lush, native vegetation (as is the case with the model houses in Trava), it should at least have trees and plants within its radius that facilitate the exceptional cooling properties of a tropical home.

A tropical home is what happens when traditional ideas and modern sensibilities combine. These kinds of houses offer beautiful, comfortable places to live, while also being conscious of their environmental footprint. Whether your priority is a home that is nice to look at, a place that offers a refuge from the Philippines’ unforgiving climate, or a way to make a difference in the world, consider buying a house that’s all of the above.