SM Aura

SM Aura (formerly SM Aura Premier), is a large upscale shopping mall located at 26th Street corner McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Barangay Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Philippines, owned by SM Prime Holdings, the country's largest mall developer. It is the 13th SM Supermall in Metro Manila and 47th SM Prime mall in the Philippines. It was the 2nd SM Supermall to be called "Premier" (now discontinued) after SM Lanang. The shopping center is situated near its rival mall Market! Market!, owned by Ayala Malls, a real estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, and affiliate of Ayala Corporation. It is designed by EDGE Interior Designers and Arquitectonica.

Etymology
The name of SM Aura is derived from chemical symbols Au (gold) and Ra (radium). According to SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the name defines "luxury and elegance that emanates from within."

History
The mall had its inaugural blessing on May 16, 2013, a day before the grand opening. Numerous celebrities, government officials including Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, company officials, and VIP guests attended the blessing, including SM Prime's Henry Sy and Hans Sy, and American actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Parker cut the ribbon for The SM Store, and was the newest endorser for their "Love to Shop" campaign.

Mall features
The development includes the Skypark, a multi-level green roof. It has al fresco bars & restaurants, sculptures and botanical gardens, a 1,000-seat performance hall called Samsung Hall, the 250-seat Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod, and a mini-golf course. A high-end food court named Food on Four is located on the fourth level.

Designed by Miami-based architectural firm Arquitectonica, the structure will be a basic “dumbbell” arrangement determined by the narrow site, with the main entry at the north corner, and the office tower located at the southern end. The main vehicular drop-off is provided on the western side, with taxi stations on the first basement level, accessed from the lower, eastern road.

The high-end mall consists high-end and international fashion brands such as Stuart Weitzman, Joseph (UK), Calvin Klein, Stradivarius, Uniqlo, Topman, and Topshop. Other tenants include Crate & Barrel, Ramen Nagi, Todd English Food Hall Manila (now The Food Hall), and Fitness First Platinum.

SMX Convention Center Aura
The third branch of SMX Convention Center is located at the third and fourth levels of SM Aura. Occupying 6,148 sqm, it comprises 3 function rooms at the third level and 8 meeting rooms at the fourth level. It has a gross leasable area (GLA) of 3,136 sqm and a total capacity of up to 2,480.

SM Cinema
SM Aura offers a total of five state-of-the-art cinemas with two regular cinemas equipped with Dolby Atmos sound system, two Director's Club Cinemas, and an IMAX theater at the fourth level.

Director's Club
SM Aura offers two Director's Club Cinemas with in-butler service. It is the second Director's Club Cinema branch after SM Mall of Asia.

IMAX
SM Aura offers an IMAX theater that is the seventh of its kind in the country. In January 2022, the IMAX theater temporarily operated as a "Large Screen Format" (with films shown in non-IMAX DMR releases) due to undisclosed reasons. The IMAX theater resumed regular operations with IMAX DMR releases on May 4, 2022, along with the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Samsung Hall
Samsung Hall is a 1,000-seat performance theater located at the sixth level of SM Aura. Built through the partnership of SM Group and Samsung Electronics Philippines Corporation, it opened on October 25, 2013. It has a capacity of 1,000 people. It has been graced by multiple international acts such as D'Sound (first performers at the venue), Sungha Jung, Mayday Parade, Charli XCX, Metric, Before You Exit, Oh Wonder, Why Don’t We, and iKon.

Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod
Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod is a 250-seat Roman Catholic chapel located at the 7th level of SM Aura. Opened in May 2013, it is named in honor of the Filipino saint Pedro Calungsod. Shaped like an abstract cave, it has a semi-circular opening that references to the cave of the Resurrection.

SM Aura Tower
The mall is connected to a 29-story office tower named SM Aura Tower, which has an area of 40424 sqm and a GLA of 39654 sqm. The SM Aura Office Tower is built according to international green standards, with efficient use of energy and sustainable operation features. The Office Tower is also home to one of the largest serviced offices in the Philippines, with 400 seats in a 20000 sqm office space. As part of Bonifacio Civic Center, the tower also houses several government offices such as Social Security System, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG Fund (Home Development Mutual Fund), Philippine Postal Corporation, Bureau of Immigration, Land Registration Authority and Taguig City Government. The Aura Tower also houses corporate offices such as Uber, Lixil Philippines, Cisco Systems Management, Inc., Regent Foods Corporation, Teleperformance, and Ezaki Glico International.

Awards and recognition
SM Aura is also the first and sole mall to be certified Gold under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its green features in the retail sector in the Philippines. The LEED Certification is an internationally recognized standard awarded to institutions that follow the strict regulations governing green architecture and construction. It is a citation awarded to a distinct few by the US Green Building Council.

Legal issue
There is a legal battle between the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and SM Aura. The BCDA, in a statement, refuted the claim of SM Prime Holdings Inc. that SM Aura was legally built based on a deed of conveyance (DOC) between the local government and BCDA.

During his term, former Taguig Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga initially went into discussions with the Ayala Group on the use of land. However, the discussions on land use were carried over to the term of his successor, Lani Cayetano.