Glorietta

Glorietta (; stylized in all lowercase), also known as Ayala Malls Glorietta and formerly known as Quad, is a shopping mall complex in the Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall is owned by Ayala Land and operated through its subsidiary, the Ayala Malls. The mall is divided into five sections (named Glorietta 1 to 5) and contains many shops and restaurants, as well as cinemas, gyms, arcades and two central activity centers. Visitors have described the mall as maze-like, due to the complexity of its interior layout.

Glorietta 1 to 4 is integrated with the nearby Greenbelt, SM Makati, Rustan's Makati, and The Landmark. Glorietta 5 is detached, located on the former site of an open parking area between Hotel InterContinental Manila (later replaced by One Ayala) and Rustan's Makati. Coinciding with the redevelopment, the tenants affected by the October 19, 2007 explosion were given an option to relocate there.

Name

The mall got its name from the Spanish word ''glorietta'', which used to describe the public meeting place in Spanish colonial-era designed towns throughout the Philippines; the spelling with double "t" reflects the Old Spanish alphabet.

Until 1997, the mall was previously named Quad, a name that was also borne by The Quad, which contained four cinemas that would be integrated into it. The name ''quad'' is a Latin word for four, coincidentally the mall's original number of divisions.

History

Glorietta was originally a park centrally located in the Makati Commercial Center complex. The Glorietta park, with its outdoor stage, was built in the 1970s. It was landscaped by Ildefonso P. Santos Jr., a National Artist for Architecture who was also credited for designing the entire complex. It was then surrounded by small shopping arcades, The Quad theater, and the Makati Supermart.

In 1990, Ayala decided to redevelop Makati Commercial Center, then branded ''The Center Makati'', into a new development named the Ayala Center. The plan called for the redevelopment of the Glorietta park and the surrounding shopping arcades into a single shopping mall. Makati Commercial Center and the nearby Greenbelt complex were later merged to become Ayala Center in 1991.

As Glorietta

The new Glorietta mall opened in 1991 with a gross leasable area of , envisioned as one of the largest malls in the Philippines. The mall was divided into four sections:
* Quad 1 - which retained the original four Quad cinemas until 2009;
* Quad 2 - which had an indoor theme park named Glico's Great Adventure, a shopping arcade named Goldcrest, and was soon to become the main setting for a deadly explosion in 2007;
* Quad 3 - which would soon be the home of international restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe and TGI Friday's;
* Glorietta 4 - a new hub for entertainment with a Timezone branch and seven additional cinemas, and also the home of Oakwood Premier (now Ascott Makati), a premier hotel that stood on top of the mall.

All four components were home to a variety of shops and restaurants. Quad 1 and 2 opened in 1991 after renovation was completed in 1990, while Quad 3 opened in 1992 and was completed in 1993. Glorietta 4 opened in 1998, the same year as Oakwood Premier, whose construction caused delays, and was completed in 1999. Quad 1, 2 and 3 would later be renamed Glorietta 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Those were divided by walkways radiating from the activity center to their namesake major roads (clockwise from north): Ayala Mall, EDSA Mall, Pasay Mall, and Makati Mall.

Tenants that set up shop in Ayala Center prior to Glorietta's development, most notably Mercury Drug, Automatic Centre, Jollibee, Max's, and McDonald's, also found a home in Glorietta. The department stores surrounding the mall – SM Makati, The Landmark, and Rustan's – were utilized by Glorietta as its anchor tenants for its supermarkets and department stores.

In the mid-1990s, Glorietta emerged as a premier mall, boasting an air-conditioned atrium, children's playground, and activity center. The mall transitioned to its present name from "Quad" in 1997 and underwent expansions from 1999 to 2005. Glorietta 5, an additional wing detached from Glorietta 1 to 4, was opened in 2008. As part of the Ayala Center Redevelopment, reconstruction work on Glorietta 1 and 2 began in 2010, with reopening on November 5 and December 7, 2012, respectively, along with the addition of Holiday Inn & Suites Makati (opened in 2013) and two office towers on top of the mall. On November 29, 2012, ''Move to the Vibe of Glorietta'', a fashion show, was held at the mall's new Palm Drive Activity Center and broke the Guinness World Record for the “Most People Modeling on a Catwalk” with 2,255 participants.

A Chuck E. Cheese's's flagship and largest Southeast Asian store at Glorietta 5 in 2018, the unveiling of "Top of the Glo" roof deck in 2019, and the completed renovation of Food Choices in Glorietta 4 and of the atrium in the same year. The renovation on the mall's fitness and wellness zones was completed in 2021, with the launch of Wellness Place and the opening of the country's largest Adidas store. In 2024, the Philippines' first BYD Experience Hub and Southeast Asia's first physical Anko store were opened in Glorietta. On April 24, 2025, Muji Philippines's first flagship branch was opened at Glorietta 3, occupying Mercury Drug's former three-level space.

Future redevelopment

A major redevelopment of Glorietta is being done in phases since the first quarter of 2024. It will feature layout changes, along with new interiors and exteriors, and increase its gross leasable area (GLA) by 10 percent. It is expected to be completed in 2026. Ayala Malls has tapped Australian architectural firm Buchan for the redesign of Glorietta.

Features

Glorietta, located in Ayala Center, has a GLA of , making it the ninth largest shopping mall in the Philippines in terms of GLA, tied with Greenbelt. It is divided into five sections: the contiguous Glorietta 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the fully detached Glorietta 5. Glorietta 1 to 4 features up to five levels of retail. Glorietta 5 has three retail levels and five levels of BPO offices. Although detached above, it connects to the rest of Glorietta through a pedestrian underpass at Basement 1. Level 2 walkways link Glorietta to SM Makati and The Landmark. A Level 3 walkway links Glorietta 5 to One Ayala, while elevated and basement links from Glorietta 4 to the complex are pending. Previous links to the former Park Square 1 and Park Square 2 existed before the 2010–12 redevelopment. Adjacent parks are Glorietta 3 Park, Dolphin Park, Palm Promenade, and Terraces Square.

Glorietta 3 is home to clubs and restaurants (including Hard Rock Cafe) and international luxury labels. Glorietta 4 is home to seven cinemas, Food Choices food court, Rustan's Department Store (shared with the adjacent Rustan's Makati building), and The Marketplace supermarket (formerly Rustan's Supermarket and The Marketplace by Rustan's), which is located within Rustan's Makati but considered part of Glorietta. Glorietta 5 is home to Uniqlo's largest Southeast Asian branch and the Makati church of Christ's Commission Fellowship.

"Top of the Glo" is an al fresco roof deck attraction featuring Japan Town (under Mitsubishi's partnership), K-Park, and the Omniverse Museum at Level 4 of Glorietta 1 and 2. Its retail area has a GLA of . An atrium is situated at the center of the contiguous Glorietta, as well as an activity center in between Glorietta 1 and 2, facing the Palm Drive entrance. Both spaces are frequently utilized for hosting events.

Hotels and office buildings

Above the contiguous Glorietta stand office buildings such as Glorietta 1 Corporate Center and Glorietta 2 Corporate Center, as well as hotels such as Holiday Inn & Suites Makati and Ascott Makati. Those buildings are all accessible at Glorietta's ground level, with Holiday Inn & Suites Makati accessible through the Level 4 as well.

Parking

Glorietta is supported by three levels of basement parking shared with the aforementioned hotels, interconnected with the basement parking of the adjacent Park Terraces residential complex and Terraces Square. It is also served by other distinct parking facilities nearby, such as The Link, 6750 Steel Parking (under redevelopment since 2025), 6750 Ayala Avenue Office Tower, Park Square, and One Ayala's basement parking, which is planned for connection to Glorietta's.

Gallery

File:Mamma Mia! Promotions in Manila.JPG, Entrance at Ayala Avenue in 2012
File:Glorettamakatifacade.jpg, The rebuilt Glorietta 1 & 2
File:Glo12facade.jpg, The facade of the rebuilt Glorietta 1 & 2 along Palm Drive
File:Glorietta Park View.jpg, Glorietta 4
File:Glorietta Mall - Building 5 (Ayala Center, Ayala Avenue, Makati CBD, Makati; 2012-11).jpg, Glorietta 5

Incidents and accidents

2000 bombing

On May 17, 2000, thirteen (13) people were injured in an explosion at Glorietta 2. Police said the blast (by a homemade explosive) originated from a restroom of a restaurant and affected a nearby branch of Timezone, as well as the ceiling of the bridge between Glorietta 2 and Park Square 2. Two rival gangs were seen fighting near the restaurant shortly before the blast occurred.

Oakwood mutiny (July 27, 2003)

Magdalo soldiers led by Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes IV took control of the Oakwood Premier. Glorietta, where the hotel stood, was also closed during the siege.

2007 explosion (October 19, 2007)

An explosion in Glorietta 2 killed eleven people and injured a hundred others. Initially, authorities termed it a liquefied petroleum gas explosion at Luk Yuen Noodle House, but later began investigating the possibility that the explosion may have been a C-4 bomb. The explosion destroyed much of Glorietta 2's main lobby and vehicles parked outside. Several days later, October 23, 2007, senior government officials expressed "a high level of certainty" that the explosion was an accident, but the bomb theory has not been totally ruled out. This was brought on by the inability of experts to find bomb components after four days of rigorous investigation. It is believed that the explosion was caused by underground structures in the mall that might have triggered the blast, pending further investigation.

Following the explosion, the mall was temporarily closed, but Glorietta 1, 3, and 4 were reopened on October 25, 2007.

Fire incidents

*October 21, 2007: A fire broke out at noon PHT (GMT+8) in the kitchen of one of the restaurants in Glorietta 4, not affected by the 2007 Glorietta blast two days earlier. It was put out by firemen an hour later.
* November 20, 2016: At around 8 in the evening PHT, a fire struck a restaurant in Glorietta 3 right above the Gold's Gym branch, without injuries or casualties.
* April 10, 2017: A minor fire broke out at the Glorietta 2 roof deck past 6:00pm. A fire out was declared less than 25 minutes later. There were no reported injuries.
* May 19, 2019: A minor fire incident occurred at a milk tea shop being renovated at Glorietta 2 at between 5:59pm and 6:20pm PST. Bureau of Fire Protection declared a fire out at 6:31pm. The incident left one injured.

Other incidents

*On July 16, 2014, the façade of Glorietta 5 was damaged by winds brought about by Typhoon Rammasun (Glenda).
*On January 3, 2016, past midnight, a call center agent from Sykes Philippines fell to his death from the 10th level of the Glorietta 1 Corporate Center, where the company is located. His body was later found on the building's roof deck at the 4th level at 1:20am, according to police.

See also

*Ayala Center
*List of largest shopping malls
*List of largest shopping malls in the Philippines
*List of shopping malls in Metro Manila

Notes

References

External links

Glorietta Official Website
*

{{Manila landmarks

Shopping malls in Makati
Buildings and structures in Makati
Makati Central Business District
Ayala Malls
Shopping malls established in 1991