SURBA

Size Bucket: Small

Event Tent By The Bay

How can design activate an urban waterfront?

The Event Tent by the Bay reimagines Manila’s underutilized riverfront as a lively, accessible public space. Inspired by the silhouette of paraws—traditional Philippine sailboats—the structure rises on the waterfront as a series of upturned half pyramids. These modular components are conceived as hexagonal roof units, each fabricated from folded steel plates and supported by an asymmetrical column.

Axonometric diagram of Event Tent by the Bay showing structural layers and components.
Event Tent by the Bay

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

The pavilion employs a parametric design process, enabling the tessellation of triangular forms into a versatile system that can scale and adapt to create both an open field and a sense of enclosure. This modular logic allows the structure to activate multiple centers of activity along the waterfront, accommodating a variety of public events and gatherings.

Colored plan of Event Tent by the Bay showing layout of canopies and circulation zones.
Event Tent by the Bay

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

By combining a modular, parametric approach with cultural references and urban strategy, the Event Tent by the Bay offers Manila residents a renewed connection to their coastal environment—a flexible public venue rooted in tradition yet expressive of contemporary design.

Aerial view of Event Tent by the Bay showing red steel canopy structures by the waterfront.
Event Tent by the Bay
Nighttime view of Event Tent by the Bay with illuminated canopy hosting a public concert.
Event Tent by the Bay

DG Apartment

How can we make the most of modest living spaces?

CAZA gut-renovated a compact 3-bedroom apartment in a tower in the heart of Makati, transforming it into a more open and adaptable space fit for contemporary urban living.

Daytime rendering of DG Apartment’s living room with sofa and large windows.
DG Apartment

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

The original apartment layout was cluttered with unnecessary walls and awkwardly proportioned rooms, restricting flow and usability. CAZA’s intervention created a sense of flexibility and clarity, introducing modular elements and a parametric logic to optimize the small footprint.

At the core of the design is a series of modular storage systems and sliding partitions, which can be reconfigured to adapt the apartment to changing needs. Pocket doors concealed within walls allow residents to seamlessly convert private rooms into extended social spaces. Built-in cabinets and closets, designed with a modular rhythm, fold in and extend out as required, creating an efficient yet elegant storage network.

Rendering of DG Apartment’s dine-in kitchen with island and pendant lights.
DG Apartment

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

Subtle parametric design principles guide the visual delineation of spaces. Two tones of wood flooring arranged in a herringbone pattern shift across the apartment, with lighter tones defining the public, social areas, and darker tones marking private quarters. This gradient effect echoes the flexible boundaries between communal and personal spaces, enhancing both functionality and atmosphere.

By integrating modular strategies and parametric cues, DG Apartment maximizes the potential of modest square footage and redefines what’s possible in high-density urban living.

Floor plan layout of DG Apartment with labeled rooms and furniture.
DG Apartment
Axonometric view of DG Apartment highlighting key design elements.
DG Apartment

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.

Clark Bowling Center

How does a space's function inspire its form?

Our design for the bowling center in SM City Clark takes inspiration from the act of bowling itself—where success depends on tossing the ball with a precise, sloping motion.

Wide view of Clark Bowling Center’s modern bowling alleys with geometric ceiling panels.
Clark Bowling Center

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

The Clark Bowling Center is conceived as a geometric plane, where straight lines from the alleys intersect with oblique, indirect forms. This creates a spatial journey that draws visitors from the exterior, through the amenity spaces, and onto the lanes.

The ceiling integrates linear lighting and conceals the mechanical systems, creating an integrated servicing mesh that is both functional and visually engaging.

Bowlers in action at Clark Bowling Center under a dramatic patterned ceiling.
Clark Bowling Center

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

This innovative approach embodies modular and parametric design, making the Clark Bowling Center an architectural homage to the sport it celebrates.

Pool tables and recreational area inside Clark Bowling Center.
Clark Bowling Center
Exploded axonometric diagram of Clark Bowling Center’s ceiling and interior layout.
Clark Bowling Center

Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Station

Can transit infrastructure be a monument for a city's culture?

As part of the Philippines’ first Bus Rapid Transit system, Cebu needed a system of modular stations that embraced local heritage while projecting a new future for the city. Our design creates a pragmatic bus station without sacrificing expressivity, using a limited set of architectural moves to create an evocative screen of louvers that echo Cebu’s long legacy of textile production. The roof and canopy structure is borne of a parametric design folding operation, whereby the horizontal and vertical surfaces are geometrically matched. The folds create an alternating spatial bias for loading passengers and draining rainwater toward retention tanks, keeping roads dry during the wet season.

Front view of the Cebu BRT terminal at night, with illuminated triangular canopy frames and a “MyBus SM City Cebu” sign.
Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Station

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

By integrating principles of resiliency, energy efficiency, and eco-industrialization, the station stands as a contemporary civic landmark rooted in Cebu’s identity.

Close-up of passengers boarding a bus through the Cebu BRT terminal’s diagonal-striped side panels at night.
Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Station

Bel-Air Townhouse

Can an urban home rebuild our connection to nature?

The Bel-Air Townhouse confronts the steady loss of nature in Metro Manila, one of the most densely-populated and congested cities in the world.

Front elevation of Bel-Air Townhouse featuring vertical greenery and patterned concrete façade.
Bel-Air Townhouse

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

Our design for the Bel-Air Townhouse revisits the story of a house and its garden. Instead of the traditional courtyard house with a garden in the center, or a classical villa with a garden viewed from afar, the Bel-Air Townhouse transforms the garden into a series of horizontal strata for inhabitation. Wrapped by floating gardens, the building redefines the domestic interior as a collection of spaces nested within landscapes that have themselves been turned inside-out. It thus becomes an architectural experience inseparable from the gardens as 3-dimensional volume.

Exploded axonometric diagram of Bel-Air Townhouse showing layered structural components, material finishes, and landscape integration.
Bel-Air Townhouse

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

In response to the diminishing green spaces in Manila, our vision of urban townhouses reconnects people with the lush forests that once defined the city’s equatorial environment. The townhouse applies principles of metabolic architecture, modular systems, parametric design, and resiliency to create homes that are adaptable, efficient, and deeply attuned to their environment—offering a new idea of urban life with nature as both memory and future.

Isometric plan of the Bel-Air Townhouse first floor with interior layouts and landscaped courtyards.
Bel-Air Townhouse
Roof plan of Bel-Air Townhouse highlighting garden terraces and geometric roof patterns.
Bel-Air Townhouse

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.