Floods
and rising water levels brought about by typhoons are perennial problems in
Marikina city, which is considered as one of the low-lying areas of Metro
Manila. During typhoons, Marikina River’s water can rise up to 23 meters
compared to its normal average level of 13 meters. While this causes the
communities surrounding the Marikina Watershed to be underwater, SM Marikina
stands tall, serving as a safe haven to its neighboring communities.
"SM Marikina stands tall above a 23-meter Marikina River water lever rise because it sits on 246 stilts and an additional 20 meters farther than the suggested 90-meter distance from the Marikina River centerline."
The secret? It is sitting on 246 stilts.
SM City Marikina is uniquely designed. The 6-hectare mall property
which is located within the Marikina River Watershed is an elevated mall built
on top of 246 stilts.
“A
critical part of building climate resilient structures is to understand weather
patterns and how it affects the environment where your city or building will
be,” explained Architect Fides Garcia-Hsu, Vice President of SM Engineering
Design and Development (SM EDD). “During the design phase of SM City Marikina,
we considered the long-term flood cycles of the Marikina Watershed, which was
identified to be a high-risk area by the World Bank in 1977.”
"SM Marikina’s resiliency saves an average of Php1 billion in terms of business losses during calamities which helps MSMEs who rely on the mall for their business growth."
Building on stilts traces back to ancient civilization from different parts of the world. The answer lies in its powerful functionality. Elevated construction had been the way earliest people groups would protect themselves from flooding, moisture and surface organisms. It also gives them provision for open space storage or cultural activities. Lastly, it reduces cost in modifying natural terrain. While building on stilts have been adopted by modern architects through the years, people had lost interest in it during the rise of urbanization.
SM
revisited the functionality of ‘building on stilts’ and reinvented the concept
as a climate resilient feature. This design was complemented with other
disaster preparedness considerations to help reduce the risk of damages during
extreme flooding. As such, SM City Marikina was built an additional 20 meters
farther than the suggested 90-meter distance from the Marikina River
centerline. Moreover, the ground floor parking was purposely laid out as an
open-design, without walls to allow water to flow, while the second floor was
elevated at 20.5 meters, which is higher than the maximum recorded flood
levels.
"For its neighboring communities, SM Marikina also serves as a safe haven and a first responder to families who are affected during calamities."
During super typhoons, SM Marikina’s resiliency saves an average of Php1 billion in terms of losses from business sales alone. This means that it is able to help its tenants, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises that depend on the mall for their business continuity and growth.
For its neighboring communities, SM Marikina also serves as a safe haven and a first responder to families who are affected during calamities. It also provides free parking spaces for those who are stranded and need a safe place to wait for flood water to recede.
“Our
ultimate goal is to help build the resilience of our stakeholders. This begins
by building our own resilience to serve as a good foundation they could rely on
especially during calamities,” Garcia-Hsu said.
Beyond
the city of Marikina, building on stilts may be experiencing a revival in other
parts of the world as urbanization begin to rise along with a greater demand
for greener spaces. This would allow for high rise developments while keeping
ground levels reserved for much needed green open spaces.
While it took SM an additional 15% in its capital investments to make SM City Marikina a disaster resilient mall, the group sees it as an essential investment in its commitment to create shared value for its stakeholders. This, complemented with a science-based approach on climate scenario risk analysis, allows SM City Marikina to defy odds and prove that integrating resiliency is the way to a climate resilient future.