Originally published in the coffee table book, Inside Cebu.
French businessman Gilles Pochiet and his Filipina wife Cielito, with their three children, have made a home for themselves in the hills of Northtown Homes. When they started with it, they had a few items on their wish list:
First, he wanted to indulge his passion for art and his penchant for a quiet, cultured lifestyle. Thus, the house had to provide ample and appropriate display space for a continually growing collection of contemporary art. Then the importance of family, best expressed through a close arrangement of family spaces, had to come into the picture, too. And yes, they also love to entertain friends at home.
Their house, designed by Architect Ed Gallego, took over two years to construct and six months to furnish. Finished almost entirely in white and glass, the exterior of the house cleverly utilizes line, angle, and shape to achieve geometric elegance. It opens to the outdoors through full-length, clear-glass panels and retractable walls, permitting generous amounts of the incomparable tropical light to pour in.
From the lounge and dining areas, one can enjoy pleasant views of the hills of Cebu. The minimalist theme is emphatic in the dining room, where the square table and the eight chairs around it are enhanced only by water flowing on a floor-to-ceiling stone façade. The sound of trickling water is the perfect accompaniment to life’s best moments.
At first glance, the house may not seem family-oriented, but that is only at the ground level. The family bedrooms are located on the second floor—all with cleverly designed storage cabinets disguised as decorative framed walls. Each of the children’s rooms has its own carefully selected set of artworks, strongly indicating how their parents would love to pass on to them an appreciation for art.
The guest pavilion, uniquely located at the poolside, is fully self-contained, and is actually a smaller version of the main building. It shows the importance that the owners place on privacy; they prefer intimate gatherings of their closest friends, where conversations flow over fine wine and good food.
DETAILS
The homeowners are totally dedicated to contemporary art. Their collection includes paintings by Ouattara, Lindstorm, and Maryan; carpets by Garouste and Bonetti; vases by Gaetano Pesce, and sculptural pieces by Ettore Sottsas. The white walls set off the artworks. The surprising combination of minimalist sophistication and design savvy is achieved throughout the house.
]]>Deciding to build their dream home, Joseph and Cora Gandionco harked back to a vacation they had in Phuket years ago for inspiration. That experience had left an indelible impression on them.
They decided they wanted an Asian-inspired home—something open, minimalist in design, and a place where their family could grow in a relaxed but secure atmosphere. Having four children and preferring the indoor/outdoor lifestyle, they wanted a layout that would allow the family to be within hearing or seeing distance from each other most of the time.
With the help of Architect Ed Gallego, they realized their concept. The result is a house that has a resort feel with water features playing a prominent role in the building complex. The cooling and calming element is found in the garden ponds and the infinity pool overlooking the city.
The Gandioncos being keen collectors of Filipino art and antique furniture, paintings by Filipino masters and artists adorn the walls throughout the house. “I patronize Filipino artists,” Cora Gandionco says. “My preferences are the modernists, especially Mauro Malang Santos, Federico Alcuaz, and Marcel Antonio.”
Additionally, sculptures and furnishings purchased during their extensive Southeast Asian travels can be seen in every room. A close friend, the late Sandy Deen, also contributed some unusual artifacts from Tibet and China.
When it comes to entertaining, the house provides many venues. The glass-encased dining pavilion, strongly Bali-inspired, makes an exotic setting for a sumptuous dinner. On moonlit nights tables are set up in the garden for the cocktail hour. Together with the pool area, these are places most preferred for the gathering of friends.
The master’s suite is a lesson in minimalism: the clean, crisp lines of the furnishings, the spaciousness of the room, the outdoor bathtub and shower area—all redolent of their Balinese experience.
The couple has found a completely new environment in a vibrant and modern home.
DETAILS
The couple chose Ed Gallego as the architect because his design ideas were in sync with their vision of how their house should look like. The resort feel of the house is achieved with free-flowing spaces, the ambient use of natural lighting, and water just about everywhere.
On a steep slope in Maria Luisa Estate Park, the four-level home was cantilevered to conform to the contours of the terrain. Ceilings and doors were built tall, perhaps as the homeowner himself is on the towering side, and an open design was used to maximize open space, much to his liking.
The architecture of the house is classic modernist with touches of industrial. The view from the windows of the house, the ample ventilation, and a healthy dose of monochromatic colors make it breathe. Sliding glass panels blur the line between the interior and exterior.
The living room spills out into the dining area and the kitchen on one side. At the opposite end, the master’s bedroom directly adjoins the lanai and a den with a most advanced movie projector. The home theater system in here can actually rival a hi-tech movie house in terms of audio-visual equipment and acoustics. The lower levels contain the guest rooms for Bunny’s visiting children, as well as extensive area to house his growing car collection.
At the west end of the property, a soaking pool was built for one to enjoy the view of the city. It also overlooks the nearby island of Mactan. “This is where I have coffee in the morning,” enthuses Bunny. “And when the sun is down and the lights of the city come out, the view looks great.”
“The most interesting aspect of the house,” says Architect Ed Gallego, “is the garage located in the lower level to indulge the owner’s obsession with cars.” Indeed, Bunny Pages also often plays host to fellow car buffs in a comfortable lounge, which opens to the garage. On the same level, a huge room connects to a gym complete with state-of-the-art fitness equipment.
]]>By profession Annie Chen is a jewelry designer as well as an art gallery owner in Cebu. She divides her time between her home in Singapore where she lives with her three children, and this home in her native city of Cebu. In designing her home here, Annie, wanted to create something that would give her comfort with a bit of pared-down luxury.
When the owner of this house decided to renovate the interiors, she specified to the architect that she wanted to bring the Indochine theme, which captivated her during a trip to Hanoi; there that cultural hybrid is quite evident. The entrance to the house is a barely perceptible gate in a cul-de-sac dominated by tall fences and breathtaking views of the Alta Vista Estate. Inside, however, the house speaks loudly of its owner’s artistic sense. She has had her house built as nothing more than walls to display art, thus, the interiors are pointedly stark, with bursts of color coming mainly from framed paintings, wall décors, vibrant-color fabrics, and rare antique pieces displayed quite imaginatively.
An avid collector of what could only be described as art exotique, Annie Chen has taken advantage of her many trips abroad to amass a wonderfully unique and diverse art collection. A pair of eclectic montages flanks the entrance door, radiating texture and immediately capturing the visitor’s interest. There are unglazed terra cotta jars and wood sculptures by Jet Florendo.
Many of the paintings are by Nepalese and Filipino artists. Complementing the gallery feel of the house, designer furniture is used in functional precision, as revealed by interior windows and thick-lattice wood-screens. A massive wooden table dominates the dining room as well as a Kenneth Cobonpue two-seater upholstered in bright silk. Most passages are discreet and set in playful floor patterns, but a wrought-iron spiral staircase with solid wooden steps leads down to the more private spaces— three bedrooms, particularly—all furnished and accessorized with natural vibrancy.
“I required romance in the interiors, but I was not also afraid of simplicity,” says Annie. The classic modernist architecture was designed to maximize open space. Says Architect Arsenio D. Abella, “A renovation is an update on an existing building. The architect’s duty is to link his discipline with the client’s dream, passion, and love of life.” And this he has done with remarkable results.
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In her fifty years of interior decorating, Rosebud Sala’s elegant taste and fine eye have strongly influenced the design of some of the best homes in the city. As a matter of fact, Rosebud Sala puts her stamp on everything she does, whether decorating a house or pursuing a charitable cause. Her second house, located on the crest of one of the many hills comprising Maria Luisa Estate Park, embodies the Rosebud style. The simple layout was achieved in association with the architectural firm of Jacinto and Unson, a long-time collaboration that started in the early ‘70s.
The main level is divided into three parts. The principal living room leads to the formal dining area that opens onto the wide trellised verandah. Amidst the orchids and flowering vines, it is in this verandah that the lady of the house does most of her entertaining, giving everyone an expansive view of the city below. On the other end of the house, next to a quiet library, is the master’s bedroom.
The rooms are distinct from one another; each has its own special feel. They almost give the impression of a collection of unrelated nooks rather a singular home. But pulling all the various rooms together into a unifying whole are the neutral palette of textured fabrics and the layered wood surfaces where the art and furniture inside also follow a coordinated pattern dictated by tastefulness and practicality.
The Sala house is full of surfaces which invite you to touch and feel: a smooth waxed antique table, a Persian carpet and a profusion of silk pillows. There is also a sensuousness in the atmosphere that Rosebud very subtly evokes, by “mixing objects and making associations between different periods, between cultural references, between colors and materials,” as she herself puts it. Above it all, there’s an element of harmony.
For a breakfast setting, Rosebud Sala arranges fresh tropical blossoms and fruits around a typical Cebuano offering of rice cakes and fruit compote. The exquisite china service is a touch whimsical, but it works with the vivid organic colors of the cultural fare. The table is set alfresco and offers a panoramic view of the island.
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