Cebu Exchange: What Its Zero Carbon Badge Actually Means

Cebu Exchange is not an observation tower or a conventional tourist attraction. It is a working office building. But if Cebu’s changing skyline interests you, this 39-story landmark on Salinas Drive is worth understanding from the ground up.

If you have ever waited at the Salinas Drive junction and looked toward the silver tower opposite the Cebu IT Park gateway, you have seen Cebu Exchange. Its scale is obvious. The story behind the glass, vertical fins and planted terraces is less obvious.

It is the kind of building people use as a landmark before they know its name. At 164 meters it is the tallest office building in Metro Cebu, topped out in 2020 and finished in 2022. It also carries a stack of green-building labels, including an EDGE Zero Carbon certification achieved in 2025.

Those labels can sound like a wall of corporate initials. Here is what they mean, what visitors can actually see, and whether the tower deserves a stop on a Cebu City day out.

The quick answer: what Cebu Exchange is

• What: A completed office and commercial tower with retail levels
• Where: Salinas Drive, Lahug, at the edge of Cebu IT Park
• Height: 164 meters, the tallest office building in Metro Cebu
• Floors: 39 above ground, finished in 2022
• Best for: Architecture fans, urban photographers and travelers already exploring Lahug or IT Park
• Important: It has no verified public observation deck or general building tour

A tower inspired by salt

The name Salinas comes from salt beds, and the tower’s design carries that idea upward. Arthaland’s own brief for the building was the crystalline structure of salt. From the street the reference shows up in the strong vertical lines, the faceted surfaces and the way the mass is stacked rather than poured in one slab.

The building does not rely on one simple glass box. Its mass steps back as it rises, which breaks up the height and creates room for planted outdoor areas. After dark, the illuminated fins make the tower easier to read from across Lahug.

Architecture International led the design, with GF & Partners Architects as architect of record. Cebu Exchange was developed by Cebu Lavana Land Corporation, an Arthaland company.

How big is Cebu Exchange?

39 stories above ground and 164 meters to the architectural top. You will see 38 stories and 165 meters in circulation too, and both come from counting differently rather than from anyone being wrong: a service level in or out at the top, and a meter either side depending on where the measurement stops. It topped out in 2020 and opened in 2022, which makes it younger than most people assume.

The complex has roughly 108,500 square meters of gross floor area, including four retail levels. Office floor plates reach up to 5,150 square meters. That is why the tower can look broad as well as tall when viewed from Salinas Drive.

Inside, 25 destination-control elevators are designed to group passengers by floor. The building also lists full backup power, fiber-optic pathways and a smart building management system. These are office features rather than visitor attractions, but they explain why Cebu Exchange functions more like a compact business district than a single tower lobby.

What the green labels actually measure

Cebu Exchange has several certifications because each one measures a different part of the building. They are not interchangeable badges.

• LEED Gold looks at areas such as energy, water, materials, transport and site design.
• BERDE 5-Star is the highest rating under the Philippine Green Building Council’s local building system.
• EDGE Advanced requires substantial modeled savings in energy, water and embodied energy in materials.
• EDGE Zero Carbon adds a net-zero operational-energy requirement through renewable energy or approved offsets for the balance.
• WELL precertification and the WELL Health-Safety Rating concern planning and operational practices linked to occupant health. They should not be confused with full WELL Certification.

In December 2025, Arthaland announced that Cebu Exchange had achieved EDGE Zero Carbon certification and called it the world’s largest single-tower project with that certification. The superlative comes from the developer, but the certification itself is current.

Zero carbon does not mean zero impact

This is the useful distinction. EDGE Zero Carbon addresses the energy used while a building operates. It does not mean the concrete, steel, construction process, daily commutes and every activity inside the tower have no carbon footprint.

Cebu Exchange began sourcing renewable electricity from the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant in 2024. Its efficient lighting, air-conditioning, double-glazed envelope and other systems reduce demand before renewable power covers the remaining operational electricity.

The water side matters too. Low-flow fixtures and systems that recycle rainwater, air-conditioning condensate and greywater reduce the need for treated water. A high-efficiency air-filtration system addresses indoor air quality, which is especially relevant in a large sealed office tower.

The green spaces are part of the building

The planted terraces are not decoration pasted onto a finished facade. Cebu Exchange has a Terrace Garden, a Sky Park, a Penthouse Deck and a potager garden for edible plants, with the vegetated open space put at more than 2,600 square meters.

From directly overhead the terrace reads as a small park with a building growing out of it: a wide timber deck on one side, mown lawn on the other, planting beds along the edges, and the tower’s illuminated fins closing it in. It is the clearest answer to the question of whether the green claims are real or a rendering.

There is an important catch for travelers: do not assume those upper-level gardens are public parks. They are building amenities, and access depends on security and tenant rules. The exterior and street-level retail areas are the realistic parts of an independent visit.

Can travelers visit Cebu Exchange?

Yes, but think of it as a short architecture stop, not a tower tour. There is no current official listing for a public observation deck, rooftop admission or regular architecture tour.

The easiest plan is to look at it from Salinas Drive and fold that into IT Park, Sugbo Mercado or Ayala Malls Central Bloc. The Waterfront Cebu City Hotel is directly across the road, which makes the two an easy pairing and a strange one: a 1998 hotel built to look like a palace, facing a 2022 tower built to burn as little energy as possible. Anyone with a meeting inside should bring a valid ID and allow time for security. Photography near the entrances should be discreet, and security instructions take priority.

For a formal visit or an appointment at the Arthaland Gallery, contact the property through its official page before going. Do not rely on an old event post for opening hours.

Getting there without overthinking it

Use Cebu Exchange, Salinas Drive, Lahug as the ride-hailing pin. The tower sits opposite the IT Park side of Salinas Drive, close to the junction near JY Square and the road toward Busay.

• From IT Park: Walking is possible, but use the proper crossing. Salinas Drive is busy and the direct-looking route is not always the safest one.
• By jeepney: Routes through Lahug and Salinas Drive change, so check the current route in the Cebu City jeepney guide or ask the driver before boarding.
• By car: Expect slower traffic around office start and finish times. Parking access is controlled by the property.

Why this tower matters to Cebu

Cebu Exchange represents a shift in the city’s skyline. Older landmarks announced commerce through shopping centers, hotels and ports, the way SM City Cebu still does from beside a working container port. This tower announces something quieter: office work, technology services and large business campuses, stacked vertically on a road that used to lead to an airfield.

Its most interesting claim is not simply that it is tall. It is that a building of this scale can cut operational energy and water demand, use renewable electricity and still function as a busy commercial address. The certifications do not make it impact-free, but they create measurements that can be checked instead of leaving sustainability as a vague promise.

For a broader view of Cebu’s modern business districts, compare the area with Ayala Center Cebu and Cebu Business Park. For the skyline from above, the view from Tops Cebu puts the tower into its citywide context.

The Suroy verdict

Cebu Exchange is worth a look if you enjoy architecture, city planning or the small details that explain how a skyline changes. It is not worth crossing town for if you expect a viewing deck, museum or guided attraction.

Pair it with an IT Park meal, a Salinas Drive stop or an evening walk around Central Bloc. Look up at the planted setbacks, notice how the fins divide the facade, then remember that the systems doing the actual work are the ones behind the glass. A skyline that changes this fast is worth claiming, which is what the Queen City tee is for.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cebu Exchange inside Cebu IT Park?

It sits on Salinas Drive at the edge of the IT Park district, opposite the main IT Park side of the road. Use the exact Cebu Exchange pin rather than a general IT Park pin.

How tall is Cebu Exchange?

164 meters to the architectural top, across 39 stories above ground. Figures of 165 meters and 38 stories also circulate, and the gap is a counting difference rather than a dispute.

Does Cebu Exchange have an observation deck?

No public observation deck or regular rooftop admission is currently advertised. Upper-level gardens and office areas should be treated as controlled-access spaces.

What does EDGE Zero Carbon mean?

It means the building meets EDGE Advanced efficiency requirements and addresses the remaining operational energy through renewable energy or approved offsets. It does not mean every part of construction and use has zero carbon impact.

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Planning note: building access, tenant rules and retail hours change. Heights, floor counts, certifications and access details were checked on 1 September 2026. All photographs are Suroy.ph originals, flown over Lahug on 27 November 2022 and 24 November 2024.