Philippine Genome Centre

University of the Philippines

LA3, with its Australian Managing Director Mr. Joseph Corbin and the team’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Architect, has been engaged by PHILAB to prepare an alternative ‘Green Building’ design for the new US$3.75m Philippine Genome Centre (PGC) project in the University of the Philippines (UP) complex. LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies. In designing the Philippine Genome Centre (PGC) LA3 has addressed the core objects of LEED which are to attend to climate change challenges caused by global warming, conserve energy, water and other resources, lower operating costs, increase the building’s asset value and most of all create a healthier and safer working environment for occupants. The 3-storey laboratory design will have a minimal impact on its site through green design while maximizing the architectural expression that heightens its relationship to the environment. To complement the architecture, the landscape has bio-swales for cleaning site run off, practices xeriscaping, and uses endemic plant species. Potentially becoming the “greenest building” of the UP campus, the building uses low heat absorptive material and operable low emissivity windows to alleviate urban heat island and minimize energy consumption while maintaining indoor comfort. A series of other green design techniques are also employed to ensure the building meets LEED certification and contributes to ‘lifting the bar’ for building design and urban development in the Philippines.