- LOCATION: Santa Rosa City, Philippines
- STATUS: Construction Documentation
- ARCHITECT OF RECORD: NSI
- PROJECT TEAM: Carlos Arnaiz, Jessy Yang, Demitra Konstantinidis, Minkyung
- CONSULTANTS: Guy Nordenson, Transsolar, ECCruz Corporation, Punsalan and Associates, Landstyle, WE Design
A secluded retreat home outside of metro Manila, The Home is a meditation on two modes of seeing: telescopic, up to the heavens, and terrascopic, out to the earth. Visitors are presented with two tall and heavy structures, clad in natural stone, registering an image of a new techno-tribalism.
The social spaces are organized around a low-slung pentagon with a courtyard in the middle. The bedrooms pivot around a drum-shaped family room, located beneath the courtyard, that serves as a cooling chamber. Each bedroom has enclosed patios with moon-shaped oculi, which offer a distinct view to the sky, while also serving as venting chimneys.
The house sets up a counterpoint to its surrounding lush, tropical landscape through a constellation of carefully manicured gardens. This juxtaposition encapsulates the dualities inherent in the home: to be both present and detached from the shifting geographies of our planet.