Designing a masterpiece

Two heads, a wise man once said, are better than one. It is precisely this collaborative spirit that is responsible for the ingenuity of Courtyards of Portofino. A development like no other, Brittany Corporation skillfully sculpted 117 hectares of property along the Las Piñas-Cavite-Laguna-Muntinlupa Link Road to bring a piece of Italy to the Philippines. And behind this masterpiece is a team of experts with a shared vision to combine the luxury of the high-life with the functionality demanded by the real world.

For architect Carmelo T. Casas, a meaningful cooperation is the key to a successful translation of a concept into a concrete structure. His team, Recio+Casas Architects, is partly responsible for the innovative features that make Courtyards of Portofino a truly unique development in the country. He generously shares the credit with Brittany Corporation and its other partners, recognizing that teamwork is the guiding philosophy behind his company and its resulting creations.

"Our design philosophy starts with the clients and their requirements. There is no fixed philosophy or solution. We have to understand the concept of the client because at the end of the day, they will be the ones to present it, sell it, or live in it," says Casas.

"For the Courtyards, it took us a lot of time before we placed pencil to paper. There was an intensive research. Brittany Corporation went to Las Vegas to study projects of a similar nature. On our side, we researched a lot of books and the internet on what the Southern Italian concept was about. The client was actively participating during the design process so we could capture what they really want."

The ideal situation, Casas reveals, is when the client is clear with what they want to happen. This leaves little room for second-guessing. Their participation lies in interpreting the concept in architectural sense.

Inspired By Italy

Architecture, he points out, is one of the primary aspects of the Italian lifestyle that served as the inspiration for the Courtyards of Portofino. The terra cotta roofing, stucco walls painted in sun-drenched colors, and the abundance of balconies and planter boxes were among the elements that evoked a Mediterranean feel.

It is the courtyard, however, that served as the focal point of a typical Italian residence. It is the one area where the entire family can come together, swap stories, enjoy the cool breeze, and be completely relaxed with loved ones. That a specific area is devoted to nurture kinship speak highly of how family ties are valued in Italy — a trait that is shared by Filipinos whose typical household often extends to relatives outside the immediate family.

Brittany Corporation president Jing Serrano discovered that the similarities between the Italians and Filipinos did not end there. The two cultures share a passion for life and a firm belief that living well is an art form. And these qualities were translated in the design of the Courtyards.

"The Courtyards is Brittany’s masterpiece. The romance and grandeur of Italy, you can see that in the paved cobblestones, the walkways, the landscaping, the magnificent architecture. Even the courtyard in itself is very romantic. Italians, like Filipinos, are very passionate and very demonstrative, and that is something you will see in Portofino. We want to elevate the quality of living in the Philippines. You can’t do that by offering houses that are built tightly side by side with hardly any room to breathe. Brittany doesn’t do that," Serrano explains.

Keeping in mind the similarities between both cultures, the design scheme focused on creating an Italian-themed residence that Filipinos would feel comfortable in and not hesitate to call home.

"Having a theme, from an architectural perspective, creates a very strong community feel. What it did was to create an identity for the whole project," Casas confides.

Rembrandt And Raphael

Named after art masters, Recio+Casas Architects were responsible for two of the four model homes at Courtyards, specifically the Rembrandt and the Raphael. These were the result of various renditions of the Italian courtyards concept with the location of this open area as the primary difference between the two units — the Rembrandt’s courtyard is at the center while the Raphael’s is at the side.

"Both are oriented towards living and dining area. And because the courtyard is at the middle for the Rembrandt, it created an opportunity to have a guest room that is not part of the house. It is detached from the main house," explains Casas.

"For the Raphael with a courtyard at the side, its advantage is that it is very open to the outside. It is really more on the exterior part of the house already rather than the interior although visually there is always a connection between the interior and the exterior," he adds.

Another advantage of the courtyard design, he reveals, is that the space acts like a "spill-over" of either the living or the dining area — adding space to an area with limited capacity.

It is the creation of added lighting and cross ventilation as a result of the courtyards design that came as a pleasant surprise to Casas. The amount of natural light spilling into all the corners of the rooms left the homes bathed in radiance made possible through the attention to the most minute details.

"Even if we open only a small window, you can really feel the breeze," he says. "The light was great! Even at 12 o’clock in the afternoon with the sun really right on top of you, the light just filtered through the courtyard and created a lot of soft lighting which is very nice during the day time."

The Courtyards of Portofino is along the Las Pinas-Muntinlupa-Laguna-Cavite link road. Property previews may be arranged at tel. nos. 850 6986, 850 2868, 850 3084.