Enviroclean

Overview

Client

Enviroclean Headquarters, Inc.

Location

Paseo de Roxas, Makati City

Area

sq.m.

Services

Interior Design

Concept

The original house was built in the 1960s by Leandro Locsin and was completed in 1968, two years after the completion of the CCP. It is no surprise that this 450-square meter bungalow’s pitched roof with a 6-meter cantilever was double the height of the structure itself. As a product of the same time, but hugely different scales, this house was not dissimilar in elements to that of The CCP – in monumentality and graceful lyricism of line and motif.

P+P felt strong reverence toward keeping Locsin’s original program, so our only major change was to treat the backyard as a courtyard, moving the house’s center of gravity from the living room over to the garden. By removing solid partitions that separated the indoor and the outdoor, the living room was extended towards the lanai, accommodating a casual dining and entertainment setup. This extension is separated by transparent glass bi-folding doors that open up a panoramic vista of the garden and swimming pool from the living room that the client loves.

Recognition of the house's strong elements enabled me to re-envision a home that remains faithful to the original program, but relevant to the new owner. I like to use a little quote from The Little Prince, “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away". Locsin was well ahead of his years in creating architecture with timeless form and function. Half a century later, his understanding of space and program is still very much relevant. The process was more to do with creating a home relevant for the next fifty years.