 <p>You can also write getters for your different formats:</p> <pre><code>public function getGeoAsString() { // Create the string from your DB value. For example: return implode(',', json_decode($this-&gt;geom)); } </code></pre> <p>Then you can use the <code>geoAsString</code> like a regular (read-only) attribute. You can also add a setter method, if you want to make it writeable.</p>