linear interior derives its theme from modern Japanese design, visible in the sliding panels and doors, the aluminum framing on glass, and the "folded walls and ceilings" (smacking of origami) on the upper level. At the center of the double-height atrium, a lofty skylight contains a "suspended sculpture box"—the designer's centerpiece and the main point of visual interest in the duplex—that refracts light falling into the space.
Home owners Ricky and Eleanor Sy enjoy an informal lifestyle, hanging around the open kitchen together or with friends, dining on an extra-long worktable, and listening to music in the audiovisual den. Yupangco deliberately oriented the "social zone" toward the rear, near to the swimming pool, which is set right up against the back fence. "Our lifestyle faces the back yard," says Sy, an IT dealer. "We have the outdoor greenery and pool in view, but there is no garden to take care of!" When guests do step out to view the façade of the "new" house, the old elevation is seen to the right, merged with the grid of steel and glass of the modernist insertion on the left.
At the back of the long apartment, light shines strongly through translucent glass curtain walls. Bold, colorful standing lamps provide the only ornamentation in the sparse space.
The sculptural boxes suspended high up in the atrium are Yupangco's modernist "lamps"—architectural elements designed to both accent the giant skylight and to filter the light pouring into the interior.
"Brutalist" or raw concrete wells—formed in place—and large windows shielded by micro-mesh shades and trees make for an unusual treatment in the master bathroom. The porcelain sinks and the innovative wooden bathtub are by Agape.
The ground floor plan shows the linearity of the site and house.
The lounging area at the rear is where the owners entertain close friends. The spiral staircase which climbs to the bedroom was built by Filipino carpenters who painstakingly beat the stainless steel by hand
The bright red egg chair—a classic by designer Arne Jacobsen—is a bold presence among the cool and translucent glass panels and linear aluminium frames of the Sys' modernist dwelling
Architectural elements, such as the installation under the skylight, are the main decorative features of the space. Furnishing is minimal. The bright oil painting by a young Philippine artist stands upright on a movable frame stand.
This cross section of the Sy house reveals the new modernist unit under the original 1980s bungalow roof.
An abstract design of four mirrors faces the traditional wooden front door at right. Beyond this stunning minimalist foyer is a series of sliding glass panels leading to the inner quarters
Within the atrium, a metal plank staircase ascends to the mezzanine, from where one can look over a balcony to the living/dining/work area below. Bedrooms are small and cozy, their translucent sliding panels or lightweight walls all non-loadbearing and flexible so that they can be adjusted as the family grows! Most of the corridor walls, made of aluminum banding with translucent glass panes, are bent or "folded," for dynamic visual interest. "These folded walls allow natural light to creep into all corners," explains Yupangco. "This is a new way of interpreting architecture, one that is both ambiguous and flexible."
The designer has used a limited palette to exploit the contrast and juxtaposition of solid concrete with glass and metal. Materials shift from solid to transparent and from rectilinear to vertical, expressing an interesting dynamic between common building materials. Structural walls have been "cast in place"—a signature treatment of beton brut or raw concrete by the cutting-edge modernist: "The design derives from the process: we use architectural strategies to create shifts, skewing from conceived perceptions."
Everywhere sheet glass is widely used: as walls, cabinet panels, and large sliding doors. One expanse of frosted glazing hides a segmented wall closet, storing household belongings. All is neutral, without paint or color, reduced to silver, white, and metal gray from the sheen of steel and aluminum. Yupangco points proudly to the handcrafted workmanship on the spiraling steel stairway by the back. He explains, "Here the architecture is the artifact and the furnishing.... The house can stand with or without art because it's already an art form in itself."
knox house
Josephine & Eirvin Knox
PUNTA FUEGO, NASUGBU, BATANGAS
ARCHITECT EDUARDO CALMA LOR CALMA DESIGN, INC.
"Architecture is not about style, it's about deriving a form from material technology. It's about original concepts. Architecture should be innovative and true to one's materials." EDUARDO CALMA
The upscale development of Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas, two and a half hours' drive from the chaos of Manila, comprises a number of prime rambling resort homes overlooking the South China Sea. Among them, cantilevered on a slope over the azure waters of Batangas, is an outstanding all-white concrete-and-glass structure. The pristine building, perched between earth, sea, and sky, resembles a stunning work of art, a cubist sculpture with flying buttresses and planar terraces.
International banking couple Josephine and Eirvin Knox commissioned Filipino designer Eduardo (Ed) Calma to build their retirement house, engaging the idealistic designer's passion for "Architecture with a capital A." It was a dream project on Philippine shores for Manila's up-and-coming young modernist, a graduate of the New York Pratt Institute and Columbia University.
An outdoor lounger by designer Richard Schultz complements the white portal frame of architect Ed Calma. The purist cubist house that Calma built opens up to views only of the South China Sea
The rectilinear portals of "Bellavista" soar into the sky over the sea. The gap in the horizontal railing is a modernist twist to a cubist work.
Josephine del Gallego-Knox says of her spectacular home: "This is a modernist Italian beach house, inspired by the white cliffside houses that dot the Mediterranean seascapes of Italy and Spain."The house, named "Bellavista" after her favorite Italian wine, had been simmering in her mind for as long as she can remember until, with the aid of Calma, it finally came to fruition in 2003.
The location of the Knox house was a challenge to the architect. The 1000-square meter property stands high on a rugged cliff, exposed to both tropical storms and fierce winds. Regardless, Calma chose to build the cubist house in glass and concrete. Four rectilinear "portals" soar up to the sky, while three terraces are cantilevered toward the
