Situated along a cul-de-sac, the house’s irregular shaped 498 sq.m. lot has a narrow 6.5 meter frontage, opening up to a wider area at the rear.
The starting point for the house design was to relate it to the cul-de-sac. A concaved façade became an apt physical strategy for the house’s front, thus welcoming the tightly-clustered yet highly-inclusive nature of houses that share the cul-de-sac. This curved gesture was then mirrored to the rear to relate towards a garden – a strategy to regain a feeling of expansiveness and relief, especially after going thru the constrictive experience of the narrow entry.
All spaces within the house are oriented towards this garden, ensuring a constant connection with the outdoors. Transitory spaces negotiate the interiors with the exterior in thru an expansive lanai at the ground, a balcony on the second floor, allowing the users to expand the spaces within, especially when guests and extended family come over, a practice common to Filipinos.
Basic passive cooling techniques are a constant in this house. The shallow-plan layout combined with full-height louvered windows ensure cross ventilation. Extra wide canopies prevent direct heat to infiltrate both the internal and external the spaces of the house. A horizontally slatted sun-screen functions similarly, while providing privacy for the spaces within.
To unify the architecture, a free-flowing curved language was used to negotiate contrasting elements such as surfaces (vertical vs. horizontal), function (canopy vs. column), and spaces (indoor vs. outdoor); resulting in a dynamic yet meticulous architectural composition.
Project Team : Principal Architect – Jason Buensalido; Lead Project Architect – Jerome Bautista, Technical Innovations Architect – Ed Canda