The best condominiums aren’t just beautiful buildings, they should be safe structures as well. Ortigas and Co. had this dictum in mind when it designed and built its premier residential towers, the Maven, Imperium, Royalton, Viridian and Avila at Capitol Commons.
Located at the corner of Meralco Avenue and Shaw Boulevard in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Capitol Commons is home to these towers which were built with a particular system designed to give strength, stiffness, and ductility capable of enduring natural forces: Maven with the shear core wall system, Imperium with the buckling restrained brace, and the Royalton with a central ductile concrete core.
Said Brian Morgen, Phd, senior associate at Seattle-based structural expert Magnusson Klemencic Associates : “Rather than collapsing, the buildings absorb the energy of the forces; they move, sway, and yield, thus limiting damage.”
Ortigas and Company’s concern is not unfounded. The Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, prompting the company to seek the advice and assessment of Magnusson Klemencic.
San Francisco-based Langan Treadwell Rollo was also brought in to help define the seismic hazards for each site. And because the Philippines is along the path of a typhoon belt, developers called in Canadian firm RWDI to serve as wind engineering consultant.
“The towers were designed using international state-of-the-art structural design procedures, including the use of a performance-based seismic design (PBSD) process,” said Joey Santos, general manager of the real estate division, Ortigas & Co.
The buckling-restrained braces and exterior outrigger columns were likewise applied to the design and construction of the Viridian in the bustling Greenhills Shopping Center. “The intent is to provide greater stiffness and stability, such that when a large seismic event occurs, the building is able to move, react, and absorb the energy,” said Morgen.
Of course, no human or machine can predict when the next earthquake will strike, but it pays to prepare early.
“The goal of any design, high-rise or otherwise,” said Morgen, “is to provide a safe building that can resist natural forces and remain standing even in the event of a very large earthquake.”
Ortigas & Co. is behind some of the metropolis’ best known residential enclaves and mixed-use projects, including the Frontera Verde, Circulo Verde, Capitol Commons, Greenmeadows and the Greenhills Subdivisions.
