RCBC Plaza is an office
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
complex located in
Makati
Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. It is home to the offices of the
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (), commonly known as RCBC (), is one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines with total consolidated resources of Ph₱ 1.2 trillion. It was established in 1960 as a development bank and is ...
(RCBC) and is composed of two buildings: the taller RCBC Plaza Yuchengco Tower (Tower 1) and the smaller RCBC Plaza Tower 2. The taller tower stands at from the ground to its architectural top,
and is currently the 8th tallest ''complete'' building in Makati, and is the
16th-tallest building in the Philippines, while the shorter tower stands at . At the time of its completion, the complex, as a whole, was considered by its developers to be the largest and most modern office development in the country.
[
]
Design and construction
The RCBC Plaza was designed by international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, in cooperation with local architectural firm W.V. Coscolluela & Associates. The structural design was provided by international engineering company Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire in cooperation with local engineering company R.S. Caparros Associates & Company. Project management services was provided by Bovis Lend Lease, while construction management works were provided by Pacific Orient Consultants & Management, Inc. The Main Contractor was ECW Joint Venture consisting of EEI Corporation (Philippines), Concrete Constructions (Australia) and Walter Bau (Germany). The superstructure construction works were self performed by ECW JV. EEI Corporation is also a part of the Yuchengco Group of Companies.[RCBC Plaza websit]
''RCBC Plaza Project Consultants''
Besides these groups, other members of the design team include Ove Arup & Partners New York (Conceptual Services/Engineering/Transport & Traffic), DCCD Engineering Corp. (Electrical, Mechanical, Sanitary & Fire Protection Engineers); Davis Langdon & Seah (Quantity Surveyors); Hassell Ltd. (Landscape Consultants); ALT Cladding & Design (Cladding Consultants); Fisher Marantz Renfro Stone (Architectural and Theatre Lighting); and Shen Milsom & Wilke LL
(Acoustical Consultants).[
The external finishes of the buildings feature aluminum panels with ]fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...
paint finish to towers, curtain wall of clear and solar reflective glass and stone cladding to podium.[RCBC Plaza websit]
''RCBC Plaza Technical Specifications''
Location
RCBC Plaza stands on an island site bounded by thoroughfares in the Makati Central Business District
The Makati Central Business District (Makati CBD) is a privately-owned financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically and administratively known as "Central Cluster ...
such as Gil Puyat Avenue
Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, also known simply as Gil Puyat Avenue and by its former official name Buendia Avenue, is a major arterial thoroughfare which runs east–west through Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, Philippines. It is one ...
(Buendia) on the north, Ayala Avenue
Ayala Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Makati, the Philippines. It is one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila, crossing through the heart of the Makati Central Business District. Because of the many businesses along the avenue, Ayala Avenue i ...
on the west, Geronimo Street on the east, and Salcedo Street on the south.[RCBC Plaza websit]
''RCBC Plaza Location''
Around its area are the Ayala North Exchange, educational institutions like the Asian Institute of Management
The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) is a highly acclaimed management school and research institution located in Makati in The Philippines. Established in partnership with Harvard Business School,, AIM Historical Highlights. in 1968, it is ...
, the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, Ateneo Law School, Mapua Institute of Technology Makati Campus, Centro Escolar University
Centro Escolar University (; ), commonly referred to as CEU, is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational institution of higher education located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1907 by Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna, CEU is recognized a ...
Makati Campus, CEU School of Law and Jurisprudence and the Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...
Makati Campus - Business School. It is also a few blocks away from residential buildings like The Columns, Alphaland Makati Place, The Lerato, The Rise Makati, and SMDC Air Residences, plus the service facilities of the Makati Medical Center, Makati Central Post Office, and Makati Fire Station.
The RCBC Plaza is the home of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), as well as the Yuchengco Institute for Advanced Studies (a partnership between RCBC and De La Salle University
De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...
Professional Schools) and Yuchengco Museum.[Philippine Business Magazin]
''Volume 9 No. 1 - Towers of Power''
/ref>[RCBC Plaza websit]
''RCBC Plaza Overview''
It also houses the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, an auditorium with a capacity of 450 seats. It currently hosts the Repertory Philippines since 2024.
Features and amenities
The building complex features include perimeter located columns that offer a whole floor efficiency of 90% to 91%; floor-to-ceiling height of with provision for raised flooring; external Curtain Wall System facade; provision for Executive Toilet; Fiber Optic Telecommunication Backbone carrying telephone, data, security and building management signals; Fire Protection System with sprinklers, smoke detectors and pressurized stairwells; designated High Loading Zone; 100% emergency back-up power System; State-of-the-art invisible security system; central chiller-type Air-conditioning System; and digitally controlled and monitored Building Automation System.[RCBC Plaza websit]
''RCBC Plaza Key Features and Amenities''
Amenities of the complex include banking chambers; convenience and specialty shops; gymnasium and health spa; food court restaurant; open-air courtyard; and a Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
chapel. Parking services are available at its 7-level basement that can accommodate up to 1,670 cars.[ ]De La Salle University
De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...
also operates a satellite campus in RCBC Plaza, offering professional and graduate programs including its Masters in Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...
program.
Since September 2023, the RCBC Plaza hosts the Embassy of Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in Manila.
See also
* List of tallest buildings in Metro Manila
This list of tallest buildings in Metro Manila ranks buildings in Metro Manila by height. As of March 2023, Metro Manila has 215 buildings that are confirmed to be 150 meters (492 feet) or higher.
Metro Manila, the most populous metropolitan ar ...
References
External links
RCBC Plaza official website
* at Emporis
Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022.
Emporis was acquired ...
* at Emporis
Emporis was a real estate data mining company with headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. The company collected data and photographs of buildings worldwide, which were published in an online database from 2000 to September 2022.
Emporis was acquired ...
{{Manila Skyscrapers
Skyscrapers in Makati
Skyscraper office buildings in Metro Manila
Office buildings completed in 2001
Bank headquarters in the Philippines
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill buildings