TODAY'S home buyers are truly discriminating when it comes to choosing a brand that will provide them with their desired lifestyle within the property they will eventually acquire.
In the real-estate industry, only companies that think out of the box are winning the market's heart. For instance, Alveo Land Corp. has not only left an indelible footprint in the Metro's landscape, but also raised the flag of its mother company Ayala Land Inc. (Ali) in key territories nationwide.
Since it began operations in 2002, Alveo—formerly known as Community Innovations Inc.—has been setting the benchmark for innovation in Philippine real estate. Armed with sharper foresight, unparalleled excellence and total commitment to the end-users, it has established itself as a popular brand with its quality residential projects in the highly urbanized metropolitan cities of Makati, Manila, Quezon City, Taguig and Pasig, as well as in equally progressive areas of Laguna and Tagaytay,Pampanga, Cebu and Davao.
"We're kind of all over the place already. It's really advantageous that we are in territories where we are the only one carrying the flag of Ayala Land, like in Pampanga and Davao. I think we're the brand of Ali that has the most reach nationwide. So, in as much as Alveo has grown, I think Ayala has grown as well," Alveo Land Corp. Marketing Manager Sharleen T. Chua told the BusinessMirror.
In its 10 years of existence, Alveo has gained renown as a standalone brand because of its spirit of innovation. As Chua described it, "It's a bolder brand," not just in terms of the type of projects it builds and offers, but also in terms of marketing them. What makes it a standout among other developers is that it is "very passionate about the concept of innovation" and "real estate consumer-relevant," Chua shared.
Alveo's clear understanding of innovative living concepts allows it to create a trend-setting portfolio of residential projects. This is evident even at the pre-selling stage, an example of which is the recently unveiled groundbreaking venue called "Lifescapes by Alveo," where it showcases its lineup of upscale residential developments.
"'Lifescapes by Alveo' is our first multi-project concept showroom. It promises to deliver a distinctly heightened showroom experience for our clientele," Alveo Land President Robert Lao stated. "As a fitting celebration of our decade-long success in the industry, it marks the beginning of even more groundbreaking projects that mirror our strong commitment to innovation."
Nestled on the second floor of the Greenbelt 3 mall in Makati, Lifescapes is not your ordinary showroom that's as stiff and boxed as a classroom. Initially featuring multiple landmark projects with refreshing new designs by UO2 Architects and Empire Designs, it now represents each of the distinct project propositions of Alveo: the cosmopolitan sophistication of Kroma Tower in Makati City, the charmingly quirky pace of The Lerato, or the more relaxed and natural vibe of Kasa Luntian in Tagaytay.
"It's actually the main showcase for Alveo. So whatever new project that we will be launching will be featured properly," Chua stressed.
Beyond housing the firm's multiple model units, Lifescapes also exudes a "highly innovative, interactive and immersive environment" that best represents the brand. No less than world-renowned designer Architect Ed Calma was commissioned to conceptualize the one-of-a-kind showroom experience.
Successfully transforming the mall environment into a new Alveo world that offers a fully experiential snapshot of its various products in a creative, interactive and luxurious way, Calma's creation will for sure delight guests with whatever they see, feel, hear, smell and taste around as soon as they arrive.
Initially, prospective clients will be enticed by Lifescapes by Alveo in crisp video format on the ground floor of the mall. Transporting them upstairs are the escalators enclosed in a copper-coated mesh-type covering. They will be greeted by the visual presentation on the company's profile and its wide portfolio on flatscreen televisions beside the reception desk.
Calma played with the extremely elongated space with the above-cited ornaments to produce an "undulating effect," thus enticing visitors to walk through the corridors and explore each part of the showroom.
"I'm very critical about the texture, consistency of form, and the subtleties of color in a space. I see to it that all the elements do not compete with each other but rather, all contribute equally to the definition of the space—much like an orchestra or a band where all the instruments play in unison, yet each instrument can still be distinguished," Calma explained.
The left side of the 700-sq-m showroom is dedicated to the residential buildings of Alveo in the Makati Central Business District (CBD), while the right corner is for subdivisions and leisure projects in Tagaytay. What's impressive about the showroom is the macroview of the brand's commanding presence in the country's financial hub, where at the push of a button, visitors can have a quick look at the different Alveo Makati projects as they light up in a large, detailed scale model of the entire CBD.
To provide guests with details on the projects, the company's sales agents are aided by interactive screens, showing computer-generated renderings and floor plans. There's even striking diorama-type visuals called the "coves" adorning the wall to highlight each of the developments featured in the showroom.
For an actual feel of the projects, guests are led to each model of finished and bare units of Kroma Tower, The Lerato and Kasa Luntian. A small, private room for the newest project, Escala Salcedo, is also opened for clients' exclusive preview.
After a walkthrough of Alveo's featured residential projects, guests can lounge in the comfortable seats in the area. While taking free-flowing coffee and munching tasty pastries, they can relax or continue discussions with the sales agents and site managers, while butlers constantly attend to their need. And in case they decide to buy a unit, a credit-card machine is ready to confirm their reservation on the spot.
Alveo further ups the ante of its showroom experience by introducing a special weekend event series, showcasing the company's renowned thrust toward innovation.
"The concept behind that is in as much as we we're passionate about innovation, we also want to partner with different merchants across different fields, support them and have them use the Lifescapes showroom to showcase their products. So, we carefully selected partners from food, fashion, arts and design to showcase different new products, exciting activities that they may have in support of the concept of the showroom," Chua elaborated.
Every month starting February, Lifescapes by Alveo will host esteemed achievers from various fields of interest, including specialty chocolatier Theo and Philo, Chef Sau del Rosario of M Cafe and Chelsea, fashion designer Jerome Salaya-Ang, Filipino visual artist Jinggoy Buensuceso, and furniture designer Liliana Manahan, among others. As experts in their own right, each will have a significant share in Alveo Land's thrust of providing unparalleled lifestyle innovations.
"More than just a different showcase, Lifescapes by Alveo is really a heightened experience. It's more than just being different. We're really going that extra mile to provide a full guest experience," stressed Chua.
