by: Nathaniel Dela Torre || Photo Credit: Monterrazas Prime Cebu Facebook Page

An architecturally forward design is how vlogger and engineer Slater Young describes his latest project, “The Rise at Monterrazas.” According to Young’s video, the project is designed with three pillars in mind: uniqueness, usability, and sustainability. However, as architecturally forward as it may seem, its detriment to the environment is a looming cause for concern.

The Rise at Monterrazas is a luxury condominium slated to be built at Monterrazas de Cebu. With its design integrated with the mountain, one might wonder, ‘How much of the environment will be destroyed for this project?’ Imagine the hectares of land that will be eroded and the amount of trees that will be cut down for its completion. These threats are only some of the concerns that netizens and environmentalists alike have raised regarding the project.

An architecturally forward design does not have to be environmentally backward. In his video, Young stated that they spread the whole structure out across the mountain to lessen its environmental impacts, however, was there a need to impact the environment in the first place? Another high-rise condominium could have been built elsewhere, preserving a natural safeguard against disasters for residents in the area. 

The Monterrazas de Cebu near the project itself received two cease and desist orders in 2008 and 2011 from the city’s local government units due to its effects on the residential areas. On both occasions, the development was ordered to stop because of the large-scale flooding it caused in the nearby sitios and barangays. These floods were observed and believed to come about as a result of the project’s development. Who’s to say that this will not happen again once the Rise at Monterrazas condominium reaches its development stage? This project is creating more housing for the rich at the expense of the common people’s safety.

The sustainable solutions that the project team presented are merely facades constructed to hide their employers’ greed. Creating a view that resembles the renowned rice terraces would set their condominium apart from the rest of the luxury housing in the country, no matter the cost. The sustainable solutions presented are only band-aid solutions to the detrimental effects this project would have, not only on the environment but also on the residents living nearby.

We should not forget that the environment is the foundation of our existence. From the resources it provides to the protection it offers, we, as inhabitants of Earth, should always prioritize its preservation. However, considering the rapid pace at which we are destroying its beauty and gifts, we must always remember that the environment has its own ways of retaliating, it always knows how to strike back.