The Estate is for the discerning few, housing 188 flats, keeping only 4 flats to a floor. Each floor in turn contains a sequestered lift lobby, while the building sports a four-meter elevated driveway-guaranteeing exclusivity and privacy. The Cruciform structure gives each window the potential for the widest possible view, allowing tenants to look out, and no unwelcome eyes to look in.

This four-point design gives every flat a 270-degree view of the city below, further heightening the daily living experience. With this structure comes an atrium core, which lends itself to natural ventilation as well as room for air conditioning units, leaving the façade clean and undisrupted. This form also provides the most luxe elevator arrangement of two private lifts for every flat.

In the exterior itself also lies the signature of Foster + Partners: the very surface of the building is made of glass fiber-reinforced concrete, creating a non-staining finish designed to resist the marks and harmful effects of air pollution, rendering cleaning and repainting unnecessary. This makes it more than ideal for Makati’s micro-climate, as well as the Metro Manila conditions in general. Apart from resisting harmful environmental factors, The Estate is designed to actually contribute to the city-wide ecology, rather than just being a part of it-generous, shared green spaces don’t only benefit the residents, but also create “living roofs”, increasing biodiversity in an urban setting. Unhindered aeration, energy-efficient spaces and utilities, and deep shading all play their part in improving the lives of tenants and non-tenants alike.

A single open space can give the occupant freedom of choice—but that can very quickly become a burden in itself. Instead of restrictive walls, obtrusive home features, and the need to maneuver around sectioned off spaces, The Estate boasts the double-slab function, which is normally reserved for more commercial structures, giving each flat a column-free design. These double slabs contain the unsightly necessaries-wires and pipes and such-keeping the flat reconfigurable for every change, whether in taste or in lifestyle.

Image demonstrates The Estate’s double slab feature and is not a depiction of the facade.

Natural light is made possible in this heavily urban setting with the treatment of the windows, which are specially built at an angle of 10 degrees, to allow both seclusion and an almost inhabitable, unhindered view of the city below. Optimized yet again by the lack of columns, this is the kind of attention to detail that further secures each tenant’s privacy, while keeping their tether to the world. The angle of the windows also helps maximize each flat’s space. Partnered with the column-free design, the entire layout essentially makes more room-with less. The whole project is designed so that residents can move in and around the structure’s “outer skin”. Bathtubs, desks and day beds are integrated with the bay windows, making you practically one with the façade.