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 sea. Picture glass curtain walls open all the main rooms to the ocean side of the house. There, horizontal white railings "float" to barely outline the tiled terraces, or rise to "frame" private views of the seamless ocean. A trapezoidal-shaped infinity pool on the edge of the main level complements the azure hue of the sea, while a low white terrace juts out over the water, forming a perfect place for enjoying evening cocktails.
Calma muses: "The Knox house is a multilevel house which responds to the slope of the site. It starts out as a modular mass at the entrance level, designed for privacy, and gradually opens up fully to frame views of the South China Sea. The site is deep with a narrow frontage. The multilevel solution allows each space to be organized along the broad length of the site to have views of the sea... and nothing else."
"Bellavista" is awesome, inside and out, its purist form designed with an instinctive awareness for orientation and ventilation. As the east—west axis is not ideal—the house receives a large amount of sunshine—Calma shifted the house's west volume toward the sea, to shade the balcony on the east volume from the afternoon sun. He also limited the use of glass, even though this is one of his favorite mediums, instead allowing for cross-ventilation through high-placed vents among the clerestory windows. High ceilings also allow heat to rise and exit, while the cooler air circulates low over the sleek all-white furnishings by B&B Italia and Boffi.
Josephine Knox and Ed Calma collaborated closely for over two years to produce the Punta Fuego showcase. The Manila-based designer and his jet-setting client, who was an exacting project manager, pushed their mutual passion for architecture to the limit. She was the instigator, full of ideas and images of the type of architecture she loves. "Bellavista" thus contains influences adapted from her favorite modern architects: a white cantilevered fence imbedded in a giant boulder from Gae Aulenti and John Lautner; smooth white masonry from Richard Meier; seven tall vertical slit openings from her Mexican idol, Ricardo Legoretta; and concrete modernist water spouts from Luis Barragan. All details are beautifully merged in the gleaming sculptural work of Eduardo Calma.
The pristine white Knox house, built high between earth, sea, and sky, is vastly different from its colorful neighbors in Punta Fuego. "Bellavista" was inspired by the white cliffside houses that dot the Mediterranean seascapes of Italy and Spain.
The modernist seaside "sculpture" comprises four portals soaring up to the sky and three cantilevered terraces reaching out to the sea. The lower white block is the retaining wall of the trapezoidal pool that spills over its infinity edge.
This longitudinal section reveals how the house is cantilevered on a slope. A small terrace at the lowest level, beyond the pool, juts