Townhouses in San Juan are detached from the urban realm, completely disconnecting the private from the public. These types of developments destroy the city fabric, its walkability and its sense of community. How do we respond to the disconnect within the San Juan community? How do we create a viable alternative to the current residential landscape of San Juan? Our design proposal translates sprawl into stacks. Instead of twelve disconnecting townhouses, we stacked twelve residences. The residential units are planned to cater to a unique setting of both private moments and social gatherings. The plan centers around a living and dining suite bounded by floor to ceiling windows that open up to a luxurious veranda. The pandemic has renewed our appreciation for bigger homes. Balconies become our immediate connection to fresh air, to direct sunlight, to the outside world. This personal yet very open space not only allows for a blurring of the indoor and outdoor but likewise creates an affinity with the sky.
The practicality of vertical living meets the comfort of an urban townhouse in this sixteen-storey residential condominium rising on a 586 square meter lot in an upscale neighborhood in San Juan City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Each of the twelve luxurious residential flats is housed on its own exclusive and unique floor with a generous area of 258 square meters per unit. These combined with two storeys of commercial units and another storey for amenities result to a gross floor area of 6,400 square meters.
In Twelve Luxury Flats, each unit is programmed to have generous spaces with day lighting and ventilation on all four faces of every unit. At one floor per unit, it offers the luxury of living in an expansive space with unrestricted views. The residential units are planned to cater to a unique setting of both private moments and social gatherings. The plan centers around a living and dining suite bounded by floor to ceiling windows that open up to a luxurious veranda. This personal yet very open space allows for a blurring of the indoor and outdoor and creates an affinity with the sky.
In form, the verandas sweep in and out creating an organic profile with its soft curves and clean flowing contour contrasting to its solid white and grey palette – humanizing the otherwise cold feel of modern contemporary buildings. This distinct profile, coupled with its light scale works, creates an organic and unique landmark among the surrounding streetscape.
