House NA10 - Modern 2 Storey Residential Building

Location: Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City

Year: 2010

Floor Area: 236 sqm.

Lot Area: 1,291.71 sqm.

Located at an interior lot at Barangay Basak San Nicolas, the site was suitable for a residential building. The house is directly accessible to the national road but is far enough that there is hardly any traffic noise entering the house. The initial plans for the project were to retrofit an existing structure into a home. Due to the existing structure's constraints, we presented a proposal that would optimize and maximize space use. 

House AS08 - Second Floor House Extension

Location: Tisa, Cebu City

Year: 2008

Floor Area: 230 sqm.

Lot Area: 246 sqm.

The project is for a renovation of an existing single-story residential building. The client wanted to retain the existing structure and build an extension on the second floor.

The ground floor's exterior walls remained the same, but we removed some of the interior partitions to accommodate the stairs. To make the ground floor spacious, we opted for an open floor plan and sliding glass doors that opens to the garage. The garage also serves as an extension of the dining and living room area.

To maximize usable space, we laid out the second-floor rooms around the family room. A shared bathroom serves the three bedrooms on the upper ground, while the master bedroom has a separate master bathroom.

House HFMA11 - Three Storey Dormitory and Residential Building

Location: Banilad, Mandaue City, Cebu

Year: 2011

Floor Area: 540 sqm.

Lot Area: 585 sqm.

House MKA11 is a renovation for a two-storey residential building. The site had 585 square meters, and the building only occupied half of the lot area. 

The client initially hired me to design the interior of the building. The client's original plan was to use the ground floor as his residence and utilize the second floor as an office for his outsourcing company.

Micro Compact Home: An Efficient Use of Space

Tiny living spaces have always been of interest to me. It always astounds me how a well-designed small space can still offer comfort to the user. There is one project that is an excellent example of the quality of tiny homes. The Micro Compact Home (m-ch), designed by Richard Horden, has introduced me to well-designed tiny homes. 

The project led by Architect Richard Horden was a collaboration between student teams at the Technical University, TIT Tokyo, and Haak and Hopfner Architects. The team designed in 2005 for short stay accommodation for students and business use. 

Old Structures Converted into Exceptional Homes

I've always enjoyed designing. Since I was in college, I've always preferred to create designs from scratch.  I wanted to explore different possibilities without any constraints. One advantage of being a student is that there are no limitations.

We have always been given the freedom to express our creativity. Our school encouraged us to explore new designs. After becoming an architect, reality has crept in. Restrictions and budgets have always been present in almost all projects. In order to accomplish my projects, I had to adjust to reality.

Barn to House adaptive reuse Designed by: Bjarne Mastenbroek (SeARCH)

Inspiration for Designers Block

It's been a while since I posted it to this blog. I've been busy with a few things recently, and I've just come back from a long Christmas holiday.

Since I got back from my holiday, I was faced with a lot of deadlines in the workplace. I had to work twice as hard to meet the deadlines in the office. What worried me most was the deadline for one of our residential projects. We only had a week left, and my brother and I still haven't had a design proposal.

I've had a hard time coming up with a design. No matter how hard I try I can't come up with a concept. So I searched the net for inspiration. I found a website with a lot of incredible designs that started to work again. This was one of the best websites to feature many good architectural designs.

They feature a lot of architects and designers who showcase their designs. Trendir is the magazine's website and brand. It has many useful sources for trends in architecture. What I really liked about their site is that they have a user-friendly design. Architectural Record is another website I frequently visit. Thanks to these two websites, I was able to come up with a design concept to present.