Filipinos value health. Many consider it a luxury.

Studies and research show that people spend 60 to 70 percent of their time at home. It was also found that majority developed health issues due to poor living spaces and exposure to toxins. Thus, looking for a green home comes as highly essential.

Mariposa Mews, a low-density midrise development located at the boundary of Quezon City and San Juan, is on track to be the only LEED for Homes Gold-compliant project in the Philippines.

Much like the BERDE Certification, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a building rating system given to projects that is healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving.

Mews was born of Gerrett Lim and his wife’s vision of looking for a green home in the Philippines, having moved back from Canada about seven years ago.

“What we noticed when we were shopping for homes here, is that there weren’t any healthy homes. There weren’t any green homes. That made us wonder, why? There were so many green developments and green offices. When you look at Makati or BGC, all of those offices built for the last 12 years has some sort of green rating on them, whether it’s LEED or BERDE. But when you look at the home sector, there’s no commercially available,” Lim, chief executive officer of Mews Development, told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Valuing health and energy efficiency is something they prioritize. He said, “A healthy home is what we’re looking for. That’s really the impetus for the project, to bring a green home to the Filipino market. We have green office spaces but where do we spend most of our time? At home. We’re hoping that this project pushes the envelope also for other developers to start thinking healthy or green being something to strive.”

Mariposa Mews only has 36 units spread over its eight residential floors. Units range from 81 sqm, 145 sqm, 155 sqm, 162 sqm and 166 sqm. There are two basement parking levels, rooftop amenities and landscaped gardens.

“There are only 36 homes available across eight floors. It was a very conscious effort to have low density development. Part of it is, the smart use of land is not necessarily maximizing profits. Part of it also is we want to have a certain exclusivity in the development. We also want to use the land property in such a way that it’s not just a single family living on a lot. At the same time, we didn’t want to abuse it like a 20-storey tower. The location being near Horseshoe Village near New Manila is quite sensitive to the density. We kind of struck a good balance,” Lim said.

Mariposa Mews is in development with Makiling Mews. Target completion is next month.

As it proudly pursues to be the first certified LEED for Homes, Mariposa Mews has sustainable features such as fresh air filtration, mechanical ventilation, low volatile organic compounds, eco-friendly and hazard-free materials and variable refrigerant flow air-conditioning.