Architect Kaydee Velasco leads her company through greener, more sustainable designs. KMVAsia Development Corporation recently won the Best Real Estate Development and Management Company in the Philippines by the U.K.-based Build magazine’s 2020 Real Estate and Property Awards.
The Real Estate & Property Awards is one of Build magazine’s flagship annual awards program which recognizes firms across USA, Europe and Asia that have shown excellence and tenacity in ensuring their clients dream homes and properties are realized. Winners are selected through a stringent process wherein companies are nominated, shortlisted and thoroughly reviewed by an impartial and international panel of experts in the industry and academe.
Awarded this prestigious honor after only a few years from its inception in 2016, the company is gaining recognition for being one of the most innovative and energy-efficient architecture firms in the country today. Leading the company is Architect Kaydee Velasco or KMV who built the company with the dream of designing more sustainable, eco-friendly homes and buildings.
Long-term Planning
As with any industry, the architecture field is ever-changing and tries to adapt to the current needs of the people. That said, no one has had the clearest foresight than KMV who has been a leader in designing and developing green buildings. KMV is one of the first female professionals in the Philippines to be certified by BERDE (Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence) for her visionary plans. She founded KMVAsia after seeing a gap in the market for sustainable buildings.
A Dynamic Firm
KMVAsia is a dynamic firm that offers start-to-end services of real estate, from master planning to interior design. Regardless of what they do, the team is driven by their unwavering passion to use eco-conscious methods. The result is buildings using renewable and environmentally-friendly materials and installed with energy-efficient appliances. These buildings typically last longer than traditional structures because they work with the environment rather than against it.
This is what KMV is passionate about. Her dream is to transition the Philippines into a country with more sustainable – and consequently, more resilient – buildings. This cannot be overestimated, especially given the turbulent times. Whether it is from the restrictions set by the community quarantine or the various inclement weather systems hitting the country, the Philippines needs to have buildings that can last longer while still protecting the environment. KMV is slowly shifting the way people view architecture in general. It is not an “either-or” situation, where one has to choose between a beautiful structure and a durable one. With the right resources, a unique mindset, and effective designs, architecture can be a “both” event.
Coping with the Pandemic
KMV has not let the global health crisis slow her or her company down. In fact, she sees the pandemic as an opportunity for her to improve KMVAsia, how it designs its structures, and how it communicates with its clients.
Using social media effectively and providing a fresh and new outlook for traditional architectural concerns, KMV believes that innovation is the only way forward. Her team of similarly-minded architects try to think of new and better ways to meet their clients’ needs without sacrificing quality, beauty, and the environment.