SM Nuvali to open in November with indoor garden that uses SG's Gardens by the Bay technology
SM Supermalls is set to open SM Nuvali on Nov. 27 featuring an indoor garden that uses Singapore's Gardens by the Bay technology to stay cool.
According to SM Supermalls president Steven Tan, the main attraction of the mall will be a one-hectare air-conditioned indoor garden surrounded by casual dining restaurants, each with a view of the garden.
More than its size, however, what's remarkable about the garden is that it uses technology lifted from Gardens by the Bay, a popular tourist spot in Singapore.
Gardens by the Bay is a sprawling park with outdoor and indoor attractions. Its indoor Flower Dome, as big as 75 Olympic-sized swimming pools, houses plants from all over the world. Despite it being covered with 3,332 glass panels, the temperature inside ranges from 23 to 25 degrees Celsius.
This technology will keep SM Nuvali's indoor garden cool, in addition to its air conditioners.
Tan explained that, like Gardens by the Bay, this new indoor garden will be covered by two "membranes." Heat from the sunlight will be trapped between the two layers and will eventually disperse.
The use of this cooling technology isn't just to elevate customers' mall experience, shared Tan. "We're using technology to keep on improving our shopping centers not just for the experience but also for sustainability because you use less air-conditioning, you use less power to cool your shopping center," he said.
Tan added, "We are expanding our business footprint in the emerging growth corridor of South Luzon and CALABARZON with an innovative upscale mall concept never experienced in the Philippine market before," he continued. "SM Nuvali is something I myself have never seen anywhere in the world."
The new flagship mall will be SM Supermalls' 91st shopping center and is located on the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road in the city of Santa Rosa, Laguna.
According to Tan, the company's goal is to keep evolving by introducing new brands, fresh cinema and entertainment experiences, and leisure offerings.
"We're very optimistic about (the remainder of 2026). As with what happened in the first six, seven months of the year, it has always been very positive," Tan said.
SM Nuvali's November opening comes just in time for the country's peak Christmas fever.
"It's September already, and we all know that the longest celebration of Christmas is here in the Philippines," Tan said.
"So despite all the challenges we're encountering, with all the floods and all these things in our country [happening], you cannot take away the merrymaking or the spirit of Christmas. We really try to make our centers more festive so that everybody can come," he added.
