Perched House
Pasay City
Perched House is our most challenging project to date. The House is located on top of an existing row house inside a family compound. The client, now with his own young family, needs a separate dwelling unit but there is no more room to expand horizontally. The budget is very limited so all the spatial dimensions, construction method and materials specifications should be coherent and well-planned. Privacy of the neighbors is also a critical consideration in the ongoing construction.
The clients have the rights to alteration and construction on a limited area starting from the existing second floor only and extending one more level upwards as a 3rd floor with only the same floor area as the second floor- a condition agreed upon with their relatives who own the rights of the ground floor and the main lot where the house will be constructed. The structural foundations from ground, floor to ceiling (second floor line) cannot be touched or augmented as part of the restriction. We had to use lightweight materials and finishes for the house so the existing foundation can carry the additional load without being further disturbed.
As if the project is not complex enough, the floor at the second level of the existing house to where the project will sit atop is already deteriorating. We needed to replace the second floor framing without disturbing the ground floor ceiling owned by a different family.
The main entry of the house is through the second floor dwelling unit owned by the client's mother - the client's former home where he grew up as a child. The client needs a master bedroom and a kid's room. He also needed the living room to have a furniture that can be good for sleeping in case there are visitors staying for rest.
The client needed more storage units despite the house's small area. To compensate, we made the entire ceiling a bit higher than standard and elevated the clients' beds making more room underneath. The space created underneath the master bed was made into some sort of a "walk-in-closet/storage" while the space created underneath the kid's bed was made into a study/play area that is also furnished with his own closet. We designed a daybed for the living area that serves as its main seating. Bedroom walls that serve as partition are chosen to be transparent. We used clear twin wall polycarbonate sheets so that the interior still feels light and open despite the room partitions. Curtains are available for the rooms in case there is a need for privacy.
A compact kitchen and dining shares the open plan with the living area.
Floor Plan (not to scale)
View from Main Stairs
View from the Dining Area
Kitchen and Kid's Room
Section (not to scale)
The house framing is made of tubular steel that also serves as its main structural body. Fiber cement boards are installed only on the exterior side of the frame, with the exterior side painted with a bright Yellow hue and applied only with sealer and clear coat on the side facing the interiors to preserve the material's raw finish. This already defines the whole interior of the house. An accent plywood panel in Birch is installed at the living area breaking the monotony of the interior aesthetic. Most of the furniture and lighting will be fabricated using economical and practical materials to be fabricated by our workshop.
Construction for the Perched House in ongoing and is expected to finish soon.
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