POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has chosen an “environmentally-friendly” design concept for its Quezon City property that will generate revenue from leasable space.
In a statement Monday, the company said it selected the design submitted by WTA Design Studio following a competition launched in March that culminated in a “three-day rigorous selection process” last week.
“The objective of the competition is to fully maximize the utilization of the Quezon City property, study carefully the possible highest and best use for it and ensure that the government can strategically take advantage of the property’s full potentials,” said Irene B. Garcia, PSALM president and chief executive officer.
She added that the competition was a critical component of the company’s privatization program. PSALM was created by law to handle the sale of the government’s energy assets.
She has said that an outright sale of the land was much easier but less advantageous for the government. She said that developing the property will result in best use and ensure a substantial income stream and steady cash.
PSALM said WTA Design Studio’s conceptual design entry, called “The East Grid,” was selected for its “multi-dimensional people-oriented concept of developing a new environmentally-friendly business center that integrates energy-efficient systems and innovative and sustainable design ideas.”
“This design entry assimilates pedestrian-friendly spaces, interactive installations, bike trails, green promenades, alfresco spaces, and play areas into a development that will ensure a net leasable space of about 400,000 square meters,” it added.
The design will be used by PSALM as the basis for the master planning and the privatization options for the Diliman property, a 5.195-hectare asset at Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Quezon City.
Nine architectural firms expressed interest to join and subsequently submitted the pre-qualifying requirements. Five shortlisted firms were chosen to proceed to the next phase of the competition, which involved the preparation of the architectural conceptual design and the necessary presentation materials. — Victor V. Saulon
