An Arboreal Abode

BluPrint

2 Tropical Architecture for the 21st Century

The dynamic play of contrast between solid and void, cold and warm, rough and smooth, organic and abstract, opaque and transparent strike a pleasing balance to create an architecture of rich vitality.

The Camia Residence. The three-storey house is located in a quiet gated community a stone's throw from one of Metro Manila's bustling central business districts. The site is a roughly 429-square-meter lot on a corner formed by its street and pedestrian path leading to a park behind the property. Prior to its construction, the location was dominated by a majestic, full-canopied mango tree that Nazareno was eager to embrace as part of the experience and character of the house.

Adhering to a straightforward program for a single-family home, prime consideration was given to natural light, the flown of air, and views in service of the well-being of the future occupants. The house is zoned according to its three floors and the sequence from bottom to top creates transitions from the communal and lively, to the private and quiet, to the social and festive, respectively.

The house illustrates succinctly the necessity of nature in modern urban life. In a hot busy city with its harsh and inhospitable infrastructure where lives are led at a frantic pace, it is crucial to human well-being to have the occasion to shrug off the city for a while and luxuriate in the restorative qualities of nature.

• Ramos, Nick. "An Arboreal Abode." BluPrint. 2 Tropical Architecture for the 21st Century. 01 February 2019.