ICE Tower offers a new take on live-work spaces
As ICE Tower at the Mall of Asia Complex transitions into its handover phase, its residential-office concept is now welcoming residents daily. Owners can comfortably move between meetings, focused on work, deliveries, exercise, dining, and relaxation all within one convenient address.
Work as a design brief
ICE Tower thoughtfully considers how people use its spaces, recognizing that they serve both personal needs and professional tasks. It’s designed with activities such as consultations, client meetings, business calls, deliveries, and administrative work in mind, recognizing that these daily routines are an essential part of life at the tower.
SMDC’s project brief highlights various permitted uses, such as clinics, business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, service agencies, satellite offices, and traditional offices, all in accordance with building policies, permits, and government regulations.
Whether it’s a dentist, consultant, entrepreneur, or small business, each needs reliable access, privacy, strong connectivity, and a welcoming environment that can comfortably host clients or colleagues.
Space beyond the door
ICE Tower has 844 units, with studios starting at approximately 17.84 sqm and larger configurations extending to two-bedroom end units of about 48.57 sqm. Compact dimensions place greater importance on what the rest of the building can contribute.
Meeting rooms, a boardroom, the Business Hub, the Commercial Hub, and the Delivery Hub expand the usable area available to owners. These shared facilities allow certain professional activities to move out of the private unit when a larger or more formal setting makes sense.
A resident can preserve the intimacy of home while gaining access to spaces designed for discussion, collaboration, or meetings.
“We designed flexibility into ICE Tower at different levels. Inside the unit, owners can decide how much of the space they want to devote to living, working, or both. Outside the unit, the Business Hub, meeting rooms, boardroom and multi-purpose hall give them places to meet or collaborate without having to bring everything into their private space,” said Jessica Bianca T. Sy, VP and head of Design, Innovation, and Strategy at SMDC.
The quiet machinery
The design indeed ensures that units and common areas have reliable, full backup power, fast, high-speed fiber optic internet, and convenient RFID access.
Units, when turned over, also come equipped with handy audio-video intercoms, extra power outlets, and upgraded fixtures. These thoughtful details really contribute to making the place feel dependable and welcoming in subtle yet meaningful ways.
For anyone conducting consultations, managing digital transactions, or leading a team remotely, ensuring continuity is truly important.
Changing pace
A convincing residential office should recognize when work ends.
ICE Tower brings together the central pool, kiddie pool, fitness hub, social hub, multi-purpose hall, outdoor amenities, and sky lounge, all within one vibrant building ecosystem, along with professional facilities. These thoughtfully designed spaces offer residents delightful opportunities to relax, switch up their environment, and enjoy a variety of activities throughout the day.
Moving between private units, meeting rooms, pool decks, and fitness areas creates unique environments, each offering a different ambiance to support various attention states.
A well-designed mixed-use living experience beautifully balances these spaces, giving residents areas to focus, connect, relax, and find sanctuary.
The larger room outside
Sunrise Drive and the wider Mall of Asia Complex place the tower within a thriving district of offices, retail, dining, hotels, convention facilities, entertainment and transport connections.
For professionals and entrepreneurs, such surroundings can function as an urban support network.
Meetings can continue over lunch. Visitors can arrive from nearby hotels or convention venues. Services, shopping and recreation sit within the same district. Access toward Roxas Boulevard, Manila-Cavite Expressway (Cavitex) and
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) adds another layer of practical value for
people whose work regularly crosses city boundaries.
The address is part of a broader working environment, connecting with others rather than functioning as a standalone vertical community.
A restrained identity
The architectural character takes inspiration from ice, featuring clean lines, symmetry, reflective surfaces, glass, silver tones, metallic finishes, and crystal-like details. These elements work best when kept disciplined.
A residential office benefits from clear visuals that cater to different occupants and activities. Its main strength is in creating a well-organized space where residents can confidently express their professional identity.
“The goal was never to make home feel like an office. We wanted owners to have the right environment for different parts of their day. We did not want to erase the boundary between work and home. We wanted to give owners more control over where that boundary sits,” Sy added.
