JCCA Design Studio frames outdoor views with Balai Bakuran
Making a home perfectly customized to the client’s interest and vision of their house is JCCA Design Studio‘s constant pursuit. The studio strives to design a house that features passive effects such as natural lighting and ventilation to reduce the energy consumption of the house. So, when a family of five asked the studio to design a rest/vacation house while making the most of the outdoor surroundings, JCCA Design Studio brought nature into the home, where less decoration makes more sense. The result is a structure that could be as open as possible to create a fluid and open environment between the indoors and the outdoors.
The site is situated on a quiet subdivision within Antipolo City, a city widely known for its quiet, peaceful, and nature-oriented communities. The lot where the house stands has a rectangular shape with existing trees that the design team took advantage of. Making the most of the lot’s form, we designed the house to set at the rear edge of the lot. JCCA Design Studio created a small footprint design to embrace the expansive front outdoor space that showcases the owners’ love of nature. The architect then designed a large window punctuated on the north elevation to pull views of the landscapes.
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The project named “Balai Bakuran” is a two-pronged term wherein “Balai” refers to a traditional Malay/Filipino word that translates to a house and “Bakuran,” a Filipino term for a yard, specifically an area of open landscape adjacent to a structure. Balai Bakuran was inspired by the setting of the house on the rear side of the lot while having a vast front yard landscape. Typically a south-facing home gets sun for most of the day, especially at the front of the house, and is therefore usually brighter and warmer. Hence, JCCA Design Studio provided a large front yard to counter and provide ambient winds from the outdoor trees to the indoors.
The design concept and approach was minimalist and open. The art of the house was the mixture of a Filipino heritage vibe within a modern minimalist structure. The owner is widely exposed to and is an enthusiast of classic Filipino homes, thus allowing us to combine some of its features within the house’s interiors and landscapes.
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Simple yet elegant, the main features of the house we consider was creating full-height windows to blur the distinction between indoors and outdoors.
Over-extent height doors and windows will be the harmony and symmetry of the house, from the gate to the main entry door to all the windows and glazing of the house, providing an excellent height clearance from the start. Glazing was also created frameless to maximize the natural lighting and views of the exterior.
The plan of the house is designed to be as simple as possible. The open layout will be for the ground floor, consisting of standard housing needs such as living, dining, kitchen, etc. We even created the staircase without railings to achieve such openness and connections within the ground floor area. The kitchen is situated where we can see a vision of the outdoor pool area to create that relaxing mood through the glazing reflections of the sun on the water.
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The ground floor also has bi-folding glass doors and sliding doors that can be opened without obstructions to the front garden area, giving the owners the luxury feel of connection between the indoors and the outdoor pool and landscapes. Both the bi-folding glass and sliding glass doors are positioned in a parallel to provide cross ventilation of outdoor-indoor-outdoor.
Minimum setbacks are provided for both sides and rear of the lot to give slight natural lighting gazing from above.
The bridgeway access from the stair landing on the second floor to the master bedroom provides a full front up view of the front landscape as well as the ground floor’s open plan. For the interiors, a combination of wood, concrete, and white paint provides a sleek, minimalist, open, and airy vibe with a touch of indoor plants and minimal furniture. Having these simple finishes throughout the house gives a balanced and diffused natural light when exposed to sunlight.
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Project information
Project Name: Balai Bakuran
Completion Year: 2020
Lot Area: 360 square meters
Gross Built Area: approx. 135 square meters
Project Location: Antipolo City, Rizal, Philippines
Project credits
Architecture Firm: JCCA Design Studio
Firm Address: No. 32 Sanciangco St. Brgy. Tonsuya, Malabon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Website: https://jcca-design-studio.business.site/
Contact email: [email protected]
Lead Architect: Justin C. Chua
Design Team: Justin C. Chua
Engineering:
- Structural – Mark Ian Vega
- Electrical – Edgardo H. Ligas
- Plumbing – Justin C. Chua
