If the Sky Garden at SM City North EDSA is any indication, it would seem the country is fast catching up with the green revolution that has already been happening all over the globe.  Better late than never, appears to be the battle cry.

Opened to the public last May, the elevated SM Sky Garden came about when SM Management sat down with architectural consultant Arquitectonica to address the expansion of SM City North Edsa. In response to our emailed queries, Hans Sy, president and director of SM Prime Holdings (which owns and operates all SM Malls), explains that the expansion of North Edsa through time resulted in the need to overhaul and link the three buildings – the Main Mall, the Annex, and The Block.  It had to look attractive, functional, friendly, and relevant to the times. They also wanted something that would be sustainable and environmentally-sound. It had to be interesting and as they put it, ‘the talk of the town.’

And talk of the town it is. The mall now boasts of a Sky Dome, SM’s first enclosed 1,200-seater performance venue.   “The Sky Garden is an above-ground development designed as a curvilinear/serpentine path spanning about 400 meters, and features a 25-meter wide waterfall cascading from its ledge to the ground level,” says Sy. “Because it faces EDSA, we believe it is also a beautiful addition to the cityscape. The structure is so designed to allow the generous flow of natural light and ventilation.  With the objective of having an environment-friendly roof garden, we utilized a technology that captures and processes water, specifically excess water, such as from rain, allowing us, among others, to save water enough to sustain the garden for as long as four days.”

It was Engr. Bien Mateo, SM AVP for operations, who toured us around the Sky Garden. We noticed how the crowd gravitated to the various cafes and restaurants that lined the walkways of the three buildings, and how the presence of the 55 species of plants interspersed with ponds gave the place a cool atmosphere even during the hottest of days.

Adorning the garden are mostly endemic plants —  from gumamela, bougainvilla, Jasmine, calachuchi, trumpet tree, elephant ears, oleander,  to various palm and bamboos types. Peanut plants and carabao grass thrive through a technology perfected by Zinco from Germany. This technology utilizes a soil substitute that looks like clay bits, which is 30 percent lighter than traditional soil, and requires little watering.  Apparently, this technology is popular in Singapore and Hong Kong, but is being utilized for the first time in the Philippines.

While fulfilling the environmental requirement of the Sy family, this roof garden using recycled material extends other benefits. It is proving to be an effective place to gather or just stroll around in. It has a therapeutic de-stressing effect and counteracts global warming.     
The Sky Garden is also decorated with sculpture pieces of metal-reinforced fiberglass. These have been airbrushed-painted with automotive lacquer paints, with colored acrylic sheets or tiles in laminated colored stickers, at times internally illuminated by LED lights. Child friendly, they serve as chairs and playground objects. They also impart messages signifying family unity and the beauty of nature in consonance with man’s advanced technology.

Designed by Joaquin Zialcita Landscaping, the garden is currently under preventive maintenance for a year during which time plants, trees, shrubs or grass that die will be replaced. Occasionally, certain areas are roped off for a week to allow the plants time to grow. Around 20 landscape gardeners are assigned specifically to the Sky Garden.

At the time of our visit, the Sky Dome was being prepared for a concert and Engr. Mateo was earlier at a meeting with Viva’s Boss Vic del Rosario, the venue’s most ardent promoter. Viva has blocked off all of November, and possibly December but Engr. Mateo tells us there are other dates still available for those who want to book an event in the venue.

The linkage of the Edsa Main Mall, the Block, and the new Annex has also resulted in the mall being adjudged the third largest in the world, bigger than the Mall of Asia.

This newest development of SM is proving to be the veritable guinea pig of future Supermall expansions. Two malls are opening this year. Six more are in the pipeline in 2010 and four in 2011.  It seems that Mall of Asia and the upcoming SM mall due at Fort Bonifacio in 2011 are being primed to adopt the Sky Garden and Sky Dome features. Hans Sy is said to have been able to build a mall in eight months though round-the-clock construction.  The average  time would be 14 months. He is a visionary like this dad, the great Henry Sy, and a stickler for discipline.  “If he says that a mall will open on a certain date, it will open on that date,” shares Engr. Mateo.

The feverish pace of building that characterizes the SM style is part of the company’s reacting to the changing lifestyle of the Filipino. Engr. Mateo explains that customers now want to be seen while at dinner or while having coffee and they also want to see other people walking by. A head count of customer traffic is around 350, 000 per day, maybe higher during Sundays when the entire family goes to the mall.

Engr. Mateo says an agreement has been forged between SM North and the Ayala Mall Trinoma across the street to build a link between the two buildings. An SM-MMDA arrangement has already provided for two foot bridges that would make it possible for the two competing malls to share customers and facilities in the very near future. “It made the pie bigger for both of us. Both of us developed our own market base. SM has access to MRT, and Trinoma will also have access to LRT on the side of SM North in 2010,” he explains.

For us, nevertheless, and certainly for the great multitude of customers, the best thing about the Sky Garden is that it is easily accessible and it makes shoppers feel very welcome. There are no signs forbidding us to use the garden as a place to relax and for children to frolic in.