Roundabout park

A rotonda (roundabout) within the Ayala Commercial Center gives vehicles access to The Link, Makati Shangri-La, 6750 and Glorietta (a different entrance from the one in my photo though). Not one to waste even the smallest piece of real estate, Ayala Land turned the little lot inside the rotonda into a tiny park with landscaped gardens. The tent would make it a perfect venue for the center's events too.

Urban paradise

Shangri-La has three hotels in Metro Manila. We've already taken a peek at the roofdeck tennis courts of the Edsa Shangri-La back in February. To the left of yesterday's 6750 is the Makati Shangri-La at the Ayala Commercial Center. It stands at the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues but its main entrance, unfortunately hidden by all the trees here, can only be accessed from within the commercial center. Like the InterCon earlier this week, the exterior doesn't look like much, but everything inside is very luxurious and the Makati Shangri-La is the best of the three in the metro.

The eye of the storm

In the center of all the Greenbelt malls is the park that gives the area its name. Within the park, surrounded by hundreds of shops and restaurants, is the little Greenbelt Chapel. It was built in 1983 and many of its design elements were created by noted glass sculptor Ramon Orlina. I hope I can visit it soon to take photos, but for now, we have to end our short Ayala Commercial Center walk. And I leave you with an image that is very representative of today's Manileño—a religious center amidst all the commercialism and consumerism of the city. I find it both ironic and hopeful.

Soldiers with a taste for luxury

Across yesterday's Glorietta 5 is one of the entrances to the sprawling, original Glorietta which is actually several interconnected malls. 1 to 4 should be in there somewhere. When I was much younger, these shopping centers were all separate buildings until the property arm of the Ayala Corporation, which owns all the land in the Ayala Commercial Center, decided to put them all literally under one roof. It has a big, circular area in the middle for mall events, with a stage for performances and a playground for children. When walking from the Ayala Station to Greenbelt, I usually cut across inside because of the airconditioning. The two tall towers connected to the mall are the Ascott Makati with its luxurious serviced residences, a cross between a hotel and an apartment. It used to be called the Oakwood Premier and this was where a group of more than 300 soldiers decided to hole up when they mutineed against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2003. It was soon after the Oakwood Mutiny that Ayala Land turned over management of the serviced residences to the Ascott Group.

Ayala Station

The photo of Greenbelt 5 which I posted for the CDP theme day on Saturday was the last in a series of photos which I took in the Ayala Commercial Center on the evening that we watched Rep's The Fantasticks. So let's begin our tour properly at the beginning, shall we? I took the MRT from Quezon City to Makati City and this is where I got down, the Ayala Station. Buses on the ground level, trains on the upper, and lots of food stalls along the way. The cinder block of a building on the right is another mall: SM Makati.

6750

When it opened in 1992, 6750 Ayala Avenue became one of the most prestigious business addresses in Makati City. It is the only office tower in the Ayala Commercial Center and continues to house the offices of Procter and Gamble Philippines, Caltex Philippines and other multinational corporations. The ground level has a few retail spaces, currently occupied by luxury brands Bulgari, Escada and Louis Vuitton. Of course, it also has the ubiquitous Starbucks.

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No. 1 Ayala Avenue

Just a block away from yesterday's Ayala Station is the InterContinental Manila, more popularly known here as the InterCon. It is one of several hotels in the Ayala Commercial Center. The hotel was designed in 1969 by Philippine National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin (1928–1994). Despite its age, or maybe because of it, the InterCon is still considered one of the best hotels in Metro Manila. Its Suriya Spa and Prince Albert Rotisserie, a French fine dining restaurant which has won numerous awards, are well-known and some of my friends swear that the cheesecake at its Jeepney Deli Shop is the best in town.

Another 5th

Right in front of yesterday's InterCon stands the newest mall in the Ayala Commercial Center: Glorietta 5. It's so new, not all the shops and restaurants are open yet. It's not just a mall though since it also has office spaces—probably the five floors above the balconied levels. I like the building's stark, very graphic design.

Posh mall

THEME DAY: NIGHT • Considering the fact that Metro Manila has a large number of malls, I guess it was inevitable that I would show one for a City Daily Photo theme day. Greenbelt 5 is located at the Ayala Commercial Center in Makati City. I haven't explored it yet but I hear that most of its shops are those of international luxury brands and top Filipino artists and designers. Much too upscale for me. But I also hear that many of its restaurants are fantastic so we just might go there one of these days anyway.



I think it's more correct to describe this as an evening shot since the sky is still light even though the sun had set. But evening or night, I think we're going to see a lot of great photos from City Daily Photo bloggers around the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

It's in the details

From the glass and concrete of the Glorietta area, we are now on the footbridge crossing Makati Avenue into the warmth and lushness of Greenbelt, still a part of the Ayala Commercial Center. This is the driveway and bridge between Greenbelt 4 (the building on the right) and Greenbelt 3 (off the picture to the left). I already posted photos of Greenbelt 2 and Greenbelt 5 in the past. Don't you just love that bridge and stairwell?