What if your next mall trip came with a garden walk, cool air, and a little taste of Singapore?
SM Supermalls is set to open SM Nuvali in Santa Rosa, Laguna on November 27, 2026, with one of its biggest attractions being a one-hectare air-conditioned indoor garden that uses cooling technology inspired by Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.
SM Supermalls will open SM Nuvali on Nov. 27 with an indoor garden using Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay technology to stay cool.
The garden will sit at the heart of the new mall, surrounded by casual dining restaurants designed to give diners views of the greenery. But beyond making the space more visually appealing, the technology behind it is intended to help keep the massive indoor area cool while reducing the mall’s reliance on air-conditioning.
A garden inside a mall
The idea of placing a large garden inside a shopping center is already unusual, but SM Nuvali’s version goes a step further by making the garden a major part of the mall experience.
According to SM Supermalls president Steven Tan, the indoor garden will cover about one hectare and will be surrounded by casual dining establishments. The mall will also feature playgrounds, a paw park and other nature-inspired spaces, including Sky Pods.
The concept fits the character of Nuvali, a master-planned community in Santa Rosa known for its emphasis on open spaces and a more relaxed environment outside Metro Manila.
Instead of separating shopping from outdoor leisure, SM Nuvali is designed to combine the two.
Borrowing an idea from Singapore
The most interesting part of the garden may not be the plants themselves, but what is happening above them.
SM says the indoor garden will use technology inspired by Gardens by the Bay in Singapore to help regulate the temperature inside the space.
Gardens by the Bay Singapore | Sky Garden & Light Show
Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay includes the Flower Dome, a massive climate-controlled conservatory that maintains temperatures of around 23 to 25 degrees Celsius despite being enclosed by thousands of glass panels.
SM Nuvali’s indoor garden will similarly use a two-layer membrane system. Heat from sunlight will become trapped between the two layers and eventually disperse, helping reduce the amount of heat entering the garden.
The technology will work alongside the mall’s air-conditioning system.
The goal is not just to make it cool
For a tropical country like the Philippines, keeping a huge enclosed space comfortable can require significant energy.
That is where the garden’s design becomes more than an aesthetic choice.
Tan said the cooling technology is intended to improve the customer experience while also supporting sustainability by reducing the amount of air-conditioning and power needed to cool the shopping center.
SM Prime has also said that sustainability is being integrated into SM Nuvali’s wider design and operations. The mall is planned to include solar panels, water recycling systems and energy-efficient lighting across more than 82,000 square meters of gross leasable area.
It will also have 24 electric vehicle charging stations, a Trash-to-Cash recycling program and an e-waste collection facility.
In other words, the indoor garden is part of a larger attempt to make the mall feel less like a conventional enclosed shopping center.
More than shopping
SM Nuvali is being positioned as a lifestyle destination rather than simply another place to shop.
Alongside its retail spaces, the mall will have open-air promenades, green zones, leisure areas, premium restaurants and global brands. A bridgeway will connect the mall to the planned Park Inn by Radisson and SMX Trade Hall developments.
SM Nuvali in Laguna
The development is also part of SM Prime’s expansion beyond Metro Manila. SM Nuvali will become the company’s 91st mall and its fifth and largest SM mall in Laguna.
That location is significant as South Luzon continues to grow as a residential, commercial and business corridor.
Tan described the project as part of the company’s expansion in the emerging growth corridor of South Luzon and CALABARZON, calling it an upscale mall concept that has not been experienced in the Philippine market before.
A new kind of mall experience
For years, malls in the Philippines have been more than places to buy things. They have become meeting points, dining destinations, entertainment centers and, for many families, weekend hangouts.
The next evolution may be about making these spaces feel more experiential.
SM Nuvali’s indoor garden is a good example of that shift. Instead of walking through another conventional atrium filled with shops, visitors will be able to spend time in a large landscaped environment while dining, shopping or simply taking a break.
The combination of greenery, temperature-control technology and open lifestyle spaces also reflects a growing interest in bringing elements of nature into urban environments.
Just in time for the holiday season
SM Nuvali’s November 27 opening will also place the new mall directly in the middle of the Philippines’ busiest retail season.
Tan pointed out that the opening coincides with the country’s long Christmas celebration, when malls traditionally become major gathering places for shoppers and families.
That could make the indoor garden one of the mall’s first major attractions as Filipinos begin their holiday shopping and weekend outings.
And for people in Laguna and nearby parts of Cavite, Batangas and Metro Manila, the appeal may be simple: a new place to shop, eat, meet friends and escape the heat without having to give up the feeling of being surrounded by nature.
SM Nuvali is betting that the future of malling is not just about what’s inside the stores.
Sometimes, it is about what grows between them.
