The first steps to a new home

Basicallly the first steps in house design are done in the back of my head, between 6 and 8 in the morning. That time of day seems best for undisturbed thinking and imagining. The hardest part is, to store it all in my head, and keep it there until I can handover all to my macbook. From there, the real sketching begins. So all is visualized and secured.

Now where does the basic design originate? To be honest -I don't pretend to be a God- I get my inspiration by watching other creations. I can get inspired by a good concept or by an original colour scheme.

The color scheme for the outside appearance

Its no use to invent what's been invented already. Sometimes its better to take an existing plan, and morph it to perfection, to a perfect fit for the future residents.

It is, in my opinion, important to create a visual connection to different objects. I call this "a theme". The theme for this house, I got from a picture I took in a Japanese Ryokan, a few years ago. It is shown in the image below. 

opaque glass door and standard door

A simple design like this, can be applied to different objects in and outside the house. First of all, the theme will be used for the doors on the second floor, adding a touch of Japanese feel to the spaces. But also the staircase balustrade, or some figure in mosaic tiling in the bathroom can refer to the theme.

same theme, applied to tiling in shower or bathroom

A theme like this blends the individual assets. In addition it shows a personal touch.

This emphasizes my approach to architecture: Average is never good enough.

Recently we visited our friends in Silang to join the blessing of their new house. I know the blessing is an important ceremony, in other Asian countries its a tradition too. Even carblessing is done in temples, in Japan e.g.
We were requested to be there around lunchtime. Lunchtime is 12 noon, so we came in 15 minutes later, and expected to be the first guests. All according to Philippine timing. But we got it wrong this time. The ceremony was already in full swing. And it took much less time than i anticipated, actually I even forgot to take some pictures. The photo's in this message were 'stolen' from the internet. (apologies to the maker).

We just got in time to catch some blessed coins that were thrown by the priest, but I stopped quickly as I found out only kids were joining me in collecting the silver. Then the family members were blessed. And after the priest got his doggy-bag, he disappeared from the stage.

The main activity on blessing day are: food and drinks. Amazing how much the hosts prepared for the buffet. And it was goooooood! Some of the other guests were expats and retired folks from US, Canada, England. The owner of the house came from "Down Under"

It's always useful to talk to experienced immigrants, they know where to go and where to buy. I got lots of new places to visit, to get the best sausages, beef or brandy. Not to mention all the mega-stores for the new house's ingredients: tiles, hollow blocks, doors, bathroom accessories, and  more.

Meanwhile the buffet remained popular, and at the end we all got our doggie bag, and we were personally driven home by the family's driver. Looking through the back window of the car, we had a last glimpse of the blessed house, now guaranteed free from evil ghosts and spirits. Free of spirits anyway, because we drank them all....

Some 14 years ago I had the chance to buy a 550 square meter lot, in the Netherlands. Until then, I owned only a small house, and it was time to grow. And I started making up a plan. But during the next months, I lost the appetite, as I was confronted with all kind of barriers. The builder wanted to stick to his standard ways, and the so called Committee of esthetics gave me a hard time. At the end, the house became not what I intended. I promised myself never ever to build a house in the Netherlands again.

Now I live in the Philippines, so this is the start of a new adventure, new chances. And in a world with more freedom in personal choices and less limitations. Time for MY house!  

The time line is unclear, but there is no reason not to start sketching.

The picture above is an example of the Philippine style, based on Mediterranean architecture. You'll find mansions like these all over the country. It looks nice and charming, but its NOT what I intend to create.

Over the years I made a number of trips to Japan. The perfect balance in shape and colors has always impressed me.

Recently we were taken to a villa in a new project here in the Philippines. I was shocked in many ways: positively caused by the brilliant design in Japanese style, and the volume of it. The bad news: it would cost 35 million pesos (580.000,- euro). That's comparable to the booming prices in the Netherlands, before the crisis struck. Nevertheless, I took the inspiration with me, and made a calculation.

A few weeks later we had a look in another place, called Silang. At the information center we soon got in touch with a lady who's job appeared to be an advisor, for those who seek to buy a property. Ofcourse she was eager to show us around. After a few mishaps, (places where you definitely don't want to live) she took us to a compound called Metro Gate. We made a brief stop to see a lot next to a finished house.

We soon got in touch with the lady owner of the adjacent house, exchanged cell phone numbers, and 2 weeks later we had a fine meeting with her and her husband, inside their mansion. 

The owners told me us they just bought the lot, and got a builder to construct the house. Supervision was a must however, it seemed that average is good enough for the Filipino workers. But that was not good enough for them, so they kept a keen eye on the process. At the end, the house had cost them half of what it would cost "ready made". That was great news.
Tomorrow, saturday, we will visit the place again, we are invited to join the house blessing ceremony.