CAZA Architects

SURBA

Project Size: Small

Tan Mausoleum

How can physical materials reflect the immateriality and ephemerality of life?

For this mausoleum, we treated materials in a way that makes the building appear insubstantial, testing the boundary between materiality and immateriality. Designed with parametric design principles, the form is optimized for lightness and proportion, while its modular elements emphasize repetition and rhythm.

The glass enclosure of the building is treated with a cloudy substrate that fades from opaque to transparent. The volume is lifted off the ground and accessed through a broken stone. Inside, a fragmented stone ceiling appears to float above the space, lending the mausoleum a sense of both weight and fragility—a reflection of life’s fleeting, yet grounded, nature.

House of Many Moons

How can a home act as a bridge between earth and sky?

The House of Many Moons is a meditation on two modes of seeing: telescopic—looking up to the heavens—and terrascopic—looking out to the earth. This duality defines the home’s metabolic architecture, which weaves energy-conscious design and regenerative health principles into a retreat that connects its occupants to both planetary and celestial rhythms.

Comprising two tall, heavy volumes clad in natural stone, the secluded residence exemplifies a new techno-tribal aesthetic, merging modern innovation with primal materials. The house’s distributive network of social spaces is arranged around a low-slung pentagon with a central courtyard, which doubles as a thermal moderator. Below, a drum-shaped family room acts as a cooling chamber, circulating air through the house in an energy-efficient cycle.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

Each bedroom orbits the central space and features an enclosed patio punctuated by moon-shaped oculi. These apertures create a dynamic relationship with the sky while functioning as natural venting chimneys—an example of how the design channels energy flows between earth and atmosphere. The house also establishes a counterpoint to the lush tropical environment through its constellation of manicured gardens. This layered landscape speaks to the home’s ethos of regenerative health, balancing human habitation with ecological care.

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

By integrating distributive networks of air, light, and energy, the House of Many Moons transforms from mere shelter into a living system—a bridge between earth and sky.

FR House

Can we bring together whimsy and rationality in a living space?

Located in the beachside town of Punta Fuego, the FR House enriches the experience of the waterfront through architecture. This cast-in-place concrete home perches on a bluff overlooking the South China Sea in Punta Fuego, Philippines. The design was guided by two goals: to integrate with the steep topography and waterfront views, and to create natural ventilation that minimizes mechanical cooling and conserves energy.

The steep, narrow site determined the project’s character from the start. To fit within its context, the house is conceived as a modular cluster of equally-sized concrete cubes resting on the slope, each oriented through parametric design strategies to maximize views of the sky and ocean while minimizing the need for traditional façade windows. This thoughtful configuration reflects an approach rooted in metabolic architecture, where spatial and environmental flows interact to create a home attuned to its surroundings.

The home takes the form of a collection of volumes arranged around a ground-floor garden. Each modular volume defines a distinct room, with a single window or skylight framing a unique view of the ocean, landscape, or sky. This deliberate yet whimsical organization creates a series of intentional, interconnected spaces that celebrate both individuality and connection.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

The home’s two staircases become outdoor experiences linked to nature: the private stair features horizontal planters that buffer the house from its neighbor, while the public stair acts as an open, tilted tunnel connecting terrain and sky — a dynamic expression of energy and movement within the architectural form.

By using cast-in-place concrete, the design minimizes structural footprint to maximize living space on the narrow lot. The material also supports passive temperature control: it absorbs heat during the day and releases it when temperatures drop, conserving energy and maintaining indoor comfort. Raw and unfinished, the concrete lends a sense of casual sophistication to the interiors, while light wood finishes at key points of human contact — door handles, handrails — add warmth to the tactile experience.

Raw and unfinished, the concrete lends a sense of casual sophistication to the interiors, while light wood finishes at key points of human contact — door handles, handrails — add warmth to the tactile experience.

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

Each room’s skylight is oriented differently, framing specific views of the ocean, sky, or garden. Initially-identical modular volumes are thus transformed into unique spaces, each with its own natural light and privacy. At the top of the house, an open box connects inhabitants directly with the outside environment, embodying the home’s integration of metabolic architecture, energy-conscious design, and poetic whimsy.

Delgado Mausoleum

How might we design for remembrance and reflection?

Currently under construction, this mausoleum offers a place of refuge and contemplation through a pair of modular self-supporting brick parabolic cones, designed with parametric-driven software and inspired by principles of metabolic architecture. The cones are tilted at different angles, creating a ring-shaped passage that loops around the main space. This dynamic yet efficient form reflects an understanding of energy flows — both spatial and symbolic — guiding visitors through a measured journey of remembrance. The passageway culminates in a double-arched entryway that opens onto a sanctuary overlooking the crypt.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

Creating a sacred space
The passageway invites mourners to circumambulate the crypt, offering a powerful ritual journey defined by the shifting spatial experience created by the tilted modular cones. Designed through parametric design, the elliptical skylights topping the cones bring in natural light and frame views of passing clouds through a weightless pair of curving brick planes. This interplay of light, air, and material speaks to the energy embedded in the architecture — an environment in constant dialogue with its surroundings.

ADU

Can design help solve a complex economic problem?

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a smaller, independent dwelling unit located on the same lot as the main residence. Although ADUs have long existed, they have recently garnered more attention as a potential solution to the affordable housing crisis — one that leverages existing city infrastructure, limits urban sprawl, and enhances resiliency in urban environments.

The design minimizes the units’ environmental impact through principles of energy efficiency and metabolic architecture, making the ADU type — which typically carries a large carbon footprint — a more sustainable housing solution. The prototype is the first ADU to receive an Energy Star rating. Roof-top solar panels generate energy to power the unit, strategically located windows maximize cross-ventilation, and the exterior walls support plantings. Sliding glass panels allow residents to open the house directly to a deck or garden, creating indoor-outdoor living environments that promote regenerative health.

Studio ADU view toward kitchen and deck with clerestory windows, ceiling fan, and a large sliding garden door.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

Studio
The nimble 400-square-foot studio uses a modular approach to create a compact kitchen and a flexible combined lounge, workspace, and sleeping area. A surface that slides out of the built-in dresser can serve as both a desk or dining table. When the Murphy bed is folded into the wall, its cross support becomes a work surface.

Studio ADU interior with built-in bed alcove, green sofa, compact kitchen, and clerestory windows.

Our approach is strategically driven and informed. Click here to learn about our process.

One Bedroom
This option includes an expanded kitchen, dining, and living area as well as a full bedroom. As in the studio option, the living area is lit by both clerestory windows and sliding wall panels that open to a garden. A built-in desk beside the bed offers a dedicated workspace.

Working closely with the biggest prefabrication company in the northern United States, CAZA developed a customizable design scheme using parametric design and existing production capabilities, supply chains, and customer-service infrastructure. These distributive networks make it possible for a customized home to be ordered online, delivered, and installed on-site within weeks.

Section perspective of CAZA’s studio ADU showing storage wall, workspace, and centralized bath and utility core.
ADU
Front elevation of CAZA’s studio ADU with sliding glass doors, vertical slat cladding, and an accessible entry ramp.
ADU

The two prototypes — a studio unit and a one-bedroom unit — can serve as a self-use office, an intergenerational home, or a rental investment. Designed with eco-industrialization in mind, these ADUs illustrate how thoughtful design can help solve complex economic and environmental challenges.

Axonometric view of CAZA’s one-bedroom ADU with rooftop solar panels, sliding doors, and a wraparound wood deck.
ADU

The Wave

What roots a beachfront residence in its place?

This cluster of 36 apartments set on a secluded beachfront on the Philippines’ Siargao Island emerges from the forms of the surrounding landscape. Taking inspiration from ocean waves, the apartments are arranged in an arching building that recalls a swell, opening unimpeded views from each of the units over the water beyond.

We consider each project on its own terms and develop tailored responses. Learn about our vision and mission.

The roofs of each home vault upwards from the balcony, creating an undulating rhythm that carries across the entire complex. Designed using parametric design tools to optimize airflow, shading, and views, the form integrates seamlessly with the site. A balance of lively communal spaces, secluded coastal gardens, and private terraces creates a richly varied experience, while distributive networks of amenities connect residents to shared resources and public areas.

At the center of the arch, an open-air lounge offers a place where residents get together, enjoy a drink at a sunken bar, or take a swim in a multi-level pool. This lounge is anchored by a beach-side restaurant that sits at the crest of the arch, where it commands sweeping views over the Pacific.

Rooted in place
The building itself is made from natural materials chosen to bring guests close to the land while conserving energy and supporting regenerative health through biophilic connections and passive cooling. The residences are perched on cast-in-place concrete plinths that host communal spaces and elevate the homes above sea-level. Each residence is clad in hand-milled coconut husks harvested from the island, deepening the connection between the building and the surroundings and embodying the principles of metabolic architecture.