The Rise at Monterrazas in Guadalupe, Cebu, is a “passion project” of Pinoy Big Brother Unlimited grand winner, Engineer Slater Young.
In an exclusive interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), Slater proudly described this project with developer Monterrazas Prime Cebu as a step in the right direction bound to move "the architecture scene a little bit more forward.”
Netizens were not convinced, however, and had criticized The Rise's mountainside location as potentially hazardous to the people and environment.
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Slater, aware of the negative reactions and their effect on the morale of the team behind the ambitious project, went to see the troops to deliver some pep talks
He recalled, “I visited talaga the junior architects kasi medyo they were feeling low.
“So I told them, ‘Guys, I've seen your hard work for this. I've seen everything that you've done.
“‘You've done nothing wrong. You did a good job. I'm on your side on this.’
“This is because we created something that is, I feel, truly special.”
He stressed to the team, "I wouldn't be putting my name in something that I feel would not work and would be risky for me.
"I wouldn't have put my face on there if I didn't believe in the project."
NOT THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN, NOT A FOREST
The scale model that Slater unveiled on his YouTube channel on August 26, 2023, to announce the project shows a sprawling multi-storey complex built seemingly on a mountain.
Its design was inspired by the picturesque Banaue Rice Terraces in Banaue, Ifugao, in the northern part of Luzon.
"Clarify ko lang, yung terracing na style kasi of architecture is not new to the Philippines or to the world," said Slater.
"We've been doing it for a long, long time now. There's even one in Tagaytay that's 20 years old, the Belleview Tagaytay. So it's been done before.
"Yung sa amin lang was to bring it back to our roots, to make it like the Banaue Rice Terraces."
The complex structural design, described by Slater as "irregular," makes it challenging and time-consuming for the architects to map out.
Its mountain location, however, raised concerns about deforestation possibly leading to landslides and flooding around the area where the property is located.
The scale model, according to Slater, somehow made it look like the property would occupy the whole mountain, which is not the case.
“This is just a small, small portion of the mountain, at the foot of the mountain,” clarified Slater.
"This only has 146 units. So, very exclusive ito. Of course, it's still big, no doubt about it. But hindi siya yung buong bundok. It's just the side of a mountain.
"And even if you go to Google Earth and you look at that site, wala kayong makikita na forest there."
Slater mentioned, “I just wanted to clarify that this is zoned as residential. Yung zoning natin residential—we're very, very close to the city.
“If you were to walk from the site to the next jeepney stop, walk ha, hindi drive, probably three to five minutes, nandun ka na. So, ganyan siya kalapit sa city.
“The site is about, yung center ng Cebu, basically the Ayala Mall, where all the hospitals are. This is about 15 minutes away lang.”
NO ENVIRONMENTAL DANGERS
Slater addressed a major point raised by the project's critics: “I think there's a misconception that we're cutting down a forest, we're destroying habitats.
“Kasi yun yung isa sa mga parang nababasa namin na parang major concern is they're thinking about deforestation.
“So, hindi naman ganun, hindi naman siya totally ganun yung mangyayari.
“There is vegetation, just like any other construction site, pero hindi siya forest. Puro siya mga shrubs, cogon, mga ganyan.
“Hindi din siya parang mga prone sa mga landslides or may fault line. Hindi naman siya ganun.”
According to Slater, planning for the project took years and 300 revisions to get the details right, including safety.
He said, "I really feel where they're coming from because lahat nito is where I was coming from when we started the project."
To address the safety issues, Slater said a soil test was conducted with help from experts to determine the soil health and quality, including its stability, resilience, and lack of stress symptoms.
"A geotechnical person who studies soil was tapped to evaluate the test, and then another one to evaluate when a building is placed there.
"But now we're adding more layers to that. We talked to a third one, a doctor in geotechnics specializing in critical slopes.
"So, ito na yung mga quarries na talaga, sila na yung nagde-design ng mga ganyan.
"So we're upping our game. Ni-level up namin yung level of safety factor for the building."
He also dismissed the likelihood of that the property could usher in flood incidents in its surroundings in the future.
A study, according to Slater, was carried out based on historical rain data and rain density to help address this concern.
Aside from putting a rain reservoir, the property will be equipped with a rainwater tank and a detention pod to accommodate massive amounts of rainfall.
A detention pod is built to store water for a time being thus avoiding the possibility of sudden flooding.
What's more, the property will utilize collected rainwater to irrigate the plants and greeneries around it.
"Of course, we cannot prevent the flood in the city," Slater candidly mentioned.
"What we can do is not to contribute to it. So this project will not be contributing to anything that's already there."
GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
Slater has been keeping an open mind to adverse criticisms following the project's unveiling, taking them all in as a "chance for growth" and a lesson to be more clear in communicating his thoughts. .
He said, "I really understand where they're [netizens] coming from.
"That's why at the end of my video, if you notice, sinabi ko dun, 'If you have questions about the flooding, the soil stability, pag-usapan natin.'
"Because I was going to do a follow-up video, pero napag-usapan na before that happened.
"Like, ako mismo, I take it as a way to accept criticism without lashing out.
"It's more of, okay, sige. Just practicing my empathy muscle na, 'Okay, saan sila nanggagaling?' Bakit ba ito iniisip nila?
"It's because these are the same things that I was worried about but on a bigger scale.
"Well, I take this very much as a learning experience. Not just from the project point of view, but the presentation point of view."
Further musing on his presentation, Slater said, "That was my fault. Na parang, 'Uy, ang laki ng bundok,' parang kinarve out natin yung bundok.
"But I could have been more specific. In my head kasi, like, 'Ah, I'll explain it in a future video.'
"But now, I'm more conscious of what other people might say or might think about it.
"And parang I could have been more thorough when explaining that thought process."
He added, "Like in the vlog, sinabi ko, 'We'll talk about it.' Dapat sinabi ko na dun, 'Ito yung gagawin namin,' para ma-address na siya beforehand, before it gets blown out.
"Like, I could have said where the site is located even better, so a learning experience from that end."
Slater's biggest takeaway: "When something like this happens, then you make the most out of it."
If anything, the public discussion has opened ways to further improve the property's features and amenities without compromising the safety both of its future residents and nearby communities.
Meawhile, the developer looks to start construction by early next year, giving it enough leeway to iron out kinks in the design if there are any.
They are also in the process of obtaining green building certification as proof that the structure meets environmental standards in design and construction.