To formally open Nov. 19, the two-hectare green space is set to become a favorite place to chill out and de-stress
To commuters walking along Paseo de Roxas or Makati Avenue, the patrician Ayala Tower One, with its striking contemporary grid that is the city's geographical and architectural heart, is an iconic sight.

Behind Tower One's grand façade is a triangular quilt of public garden and courtyard that will offer a sanctuary from the urban rat race and an informal view of everyday Central Business District life.

Salcedo Park, Legaspi Park, Washington Sycip Park and Greenbelt have become ideal places to pause between residential condominiums and offices; on weekends, they form a friendly neighborhood with a market and a playground under a canopy of trees.

On Nov. 19, the biggest public landscape in Makati, the Ayala Triangle Gardens will be unveiled. As you walk along Paseo de Roxas, Makati Avenue and Ayala Avenue that form a triangle, you can step into this two-hectare green space. Dotted with stately palms, acacia trees and tropical foliage, the gardens are the backyard of Ayala Tower One & Exchange Plaza and the historic Nielson Tower. Paved and carved with lush patches, this new garden will soon be a place for office workers to chill and relax. It is also set to become a center for special events. Clearly, it will be a hot spot for people watching.

Joel Luna, chief architect and group head of the Innovation and Design group of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) explained that as the developers, they reviewed the original master plan of this ultimate prime land in the country. "This garden will remain landscaped even after other buildings have been put up," he says.

The concept of the Ayala Triangle Gardens was inspired by London's Hyde Park. Hyde Park was a rundown park littered with vagrants. The committee started to take ownership of the park and redeveloped it. They improved the public spaces, removed the vagrants and prevented crime. They wanted to create a community which features things that they want to enjoy," says Luna.

For so long, the garden behind Tower One, though abundant with shady trees and carpeted with thick grass, was rarely utilized. Ironically, the variety is wide -- narra, rubber tree, kamachile, mangium, golden shower, makaasim, fire trees, mahogany, Thailand acacia, katmon and banaba-through taken for granted.

"Since this is located at the hub and the most expensive commercial lot in the Central Business District, we have fully landscaped the area to benefit the city center," says Luna. All throughout the development, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, ALI chairman, gave his inputs.

The focal point is the courtyard, an outdoor version of the fountain area under Tower One's vaulted roof. The serpentine path through the tree-studded patch of the old garden, the abundance of the clipped lawn, the broad sweeps of cement that evoke an airplane wing and the herbaceous patches are all in keeping with Tower One's modernism and the property's history. The place originally hosted the airport with Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue as the runways while the garden and Tower One were the hangar. Luna explains that the garden pathways were shaped like airplane wings to serve as a visual and historical link with Nielson, the control tower of the old terminal.

"The courtyard will be the main gathering place or a ceremonial space for special events. Commuters from Salcedo Village take the underpass to cross and come up here. If they want to go to Ayala Center, MRT station or the FX terminal, they take the pathways leading out there. We created a more direct route and a more pleasant walk for them," says Luna.

The fences which fringe the Ayala Triangle Gardens devoted to orange jasmine and podocarpus hedges, dita trees, buho and yellow-striped bamboos. The pathways are lined with palms-royal, African oil, Manila palm and fishtails.

The hub of the garden is further emphasized by the beds of ornamental shrubs in vibrant mixes of yellow, red and green. Horticulturist Michael Asinas of ALI’s Innovation and Design group explains that the plants were arranged according to height. The banana-leaf like true birds of paradise shrubs are constrasted with red crinums and topiaries of Eugenia lend a sense of formality. Spry picarras and pittosphorum are set beween green and Thailand scheffleras and boulders. The dwarf sensiviera ground covers and silver and miniature pandakakis pull the wandering eye back into the heart of the plant bed.

The rest of the garden is scattered with shady trees -- mango, bignay, bangkal, talisay, kalumpit, alibangbang, raintree, Thailand acacia, caimito, rubber tree, palosanto and Talisay bagras -- though rarely appreciated. The garden will be illuminated with modern street lamps for general lighting and underlighting for foot paths and up lighting to enhance the garden. Tivoli lights dangling from the giant trees help create a festive mood especially for the workers after office hours.

Although it serves as an oasis from the madding crowd, the garden will be a Wifi zone so that workers can still be connected to the world.

Luna explains that this is just the initial phase. Next year, food outlets will open to serve the people. "They have a place to sit down and enjoy their meal," says Luna. Subsequently, the garden will have water features and an art walk.

Meean Dy, group head of ALI's Strategic Landbank Management, explains that the revitalized Ayala Triangle Gardens, along with the Ayala Center's redevelopment as a mixed-use hub with landscaping, will maintain Makati's premier position.

"The garden is in the middle of the city. Our main target is the office workers. Most of them try their luck here and have to be here to be with their employers or customers. We want to make sure they are here not because they have to be here but they want to be here. Makati is a place for productivity. There has to be something in the congested, fast-paced city to make it worthwhile. The Ayala Triangle Gardens is a place where you can get rejuvenated. It should have spaces where you can breathe, think differently or socialize in a different format or do a different kind of networking. We are hoping it encourages a sense of community. We are so used to boardrooms and beautiful buildings but to be productive in an open space is a treat. We hope you feed your soul , you get to know other people whom you wouldn't if you were inside your room. For the residents, the garden could be a place for family bonding. It will play different roles in this highly urbanized environment."

In a city where the most beautiful cars parade down the avenues, Ayala Land hopes to do its share in lessening the carbon footprint by encouraging people to walk. "This serves as a natural feeder to the walkways owned by the Makati Estate Commercial Association," says Dy. "It also poses a challenge for people to think about the environment. It's a testimony that if you take care of the environment, it will serve you in return."

Plans are afoot for public art exhibits which will feature interactive works. On Christmas, the Ayala Triangle Gardens will host Simbang Gabi and caroling. The courtyard can accommodate as much as 500 people to watch a concert or a silent outdoor movie.

Beyond this, the Ayala Triangle Gardens is meant to be part of the new Makati Central Business District lifestyle.