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Villar City Is Built To Breathe

The Philippine Star

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April 11, 2025

Where nature shapes the skyline and sustainability leads the way

As the sun rose over Villar City in the southern corridor of Metro Manila, a small group had already gathered outside Forresta Café—eyes skyward, binoculars in hand, listening. Not for traffic or construction noise, but for the rustle of feathers and the call of birds.

It's not a scene you'd expect in a city emerging as one of the country's most ambitious urban developments to date. And yet, that's exactly the point. Villar City isn't just being built for people—it's being designed with nature in mind.

Nature As Blueprint, Not Backdrop
A brainchild of tycoon Manny Villar, the 3,500-hectare Villar City is quietly challenging how cities are being designed today.

The vision is not to squeeze nature into token parks, but to let natural systems shape the built environment—an approach that could redefine how cities grow in a climate-uncertain future.

That vision is already taking root in Forresta, a 118-hectare luxury estate and Brittany Corporation's first ultra-luxury development within the city. This much-awaited "city in a forest" rises in Villar City, a megacity that will connect 11 towns and cities across Mega Manila. While Forresta will be home to grand residential lots, high-rise offices, upscale condos, and leisure hubs, 50 percent of its land will remain dedicated to greenery.

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