Investing in building your residence is a daunting task to have, you have to filter the right architect that will give you the right product to execute. Every house we design has its own soul and story, and that is where we took the project moving forward. Situated along the main artery of a known residential enclave in the heart of metro manila, the site was presented with a challenge:  a huge regulatory building setback eating up the lot and an array of houses that monotonously line up the street.

A weakness that turned into one of its best asset, the architects drew up the house facing the setback and added more garden space to strengthen the opportunity of having an open space courtyard. This creation became the masterpiece of the whole project, having all of the functional spaces embrace the courtyard and still maintain its privacy. We love injecting surprises, our designs tend to differ from what the norm is doing.

The first entry point of the house is an open foyer connected to the main courtyard. The foyer gently divides the house to two volumes, to the left is the entertainment room, where the users greet their guests and to the right is the main living space.  Once you enter the living room, you are greeted with a double volume living room embraced by a garden at the back and the courtyard at the front, this gives the space maximum light and ventilation. Adjacent to the living room is the dining room where the courtyard is intimately framed as one enjoys the space.

An added designed brise-soleil over the open walkway adjacent to the living room and the dining room filters the sun going thru, thus keeping the living and dining rooms which are facing the sun cooler in the afternoon. Every phase you arrive at in this house is an interconnection between the landscape and the indoor space. This concept of layout is also evident as you walk up the main staircase designed behind the living room with a strip of dense landscaping embracing it. 

Bedrooms are designed to have their own suite, complete with walk in closets and own bathrooms. The bedrooms face the courtyard and enjoy unobstructed views while maintaining its privacy. The road and the setback of the next residential lot magnifies the vast open space the bedrooms enjoy. We love maximizing our openings, attaching terraces and balconies right next to the bedrooms and having longer shelter eaves allow us to bring the glazing all the way down, giving the user maximum light and ventilation for the space. 

Another well kept secret was the placing of an intimate garden inside the master’s bathroom and walk in closet. The injection of this space allowed us to flood light in without compromising its privacy.  Light and volumes are the subjects we love playing around, we take careful thinking on how we transition spaces and how we can incorporate added value to it. By doing this, it allows us to formulate different story board for the houses we design and make them unique in itself but having a very evident display of process. For this house, this is his story.