The problem with being the leader is that it gets even harder to top yourself. When Ayala Land created Glorietta on the verge of the new millennium, it outshone the rest of Ayala Center and relegated the ageing Greenbelt mall as a backwater fringe. Now, Greenbelt is the place to be: premier culinary hot spot, garden oasis and art enclave. And it has the awards to prove it.

Greenbelt 3 in December 2004 bagged the International Design and Development Award by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) for “Innovative Design and Construction of a New Project” in Texas, USA. One of the eight winners, it bested 39 semi-finalists from 14 countries.