Bali-wood in suburbia
November 12, 2005 | 12:00am
When architects in the US saw the portfolio of Atelier Almario, a project jumped right out of the book and prompted them to ask, "Where is this?" The pictures were of Bali Mansions, a phase in South Forbes City which is being developed by Cathay Land in Silang, Cavite. They were just some of the prints that are compiled in the voluminous portfolio of projects Atelier Almario has worked on in the past years – residences, offices, model units, and restaurants.
Interior designers Ivy and Cynthia Almario did South Forbes’ Coralia, the first model unit in the Bali phase, last summer and last month they completed Lovina, the second one. When the interiors are done by the Almarios, you can expect the "gasp factor" – and it doesn’t matter if it’s Asian style, western, minimalist or Filipino – we’ve never seen an Almario design we didn’t like. It’s no wonder that the sisters are doing projects for the hospitality industry in places such as Shanghai, Guam and the Maldives.
"America is now just doing East meets West," says Ivy Almario. "Here in Manila designers have been doing it for the past seven or eight years and we do it so well."
What did their American counterparts love about Bali Mansions? "The volume, the accessories. They all said it looks so clean."
Bali Mansions, as with the other phases of South Forbes which was originally master-planned by Palafox, was designed by SC&A Architects and Planners. Unlike Coralia, Lovina has bigger lot cuts and comes with a third-floor attic that can be turned into a den or guestroom.
This phase of South Forbes City promises to be one of the best, says architect Lawrence Santos of SC&A. "We want to promote the Asian look. My personal preferences are the Bali Mansions and the Tokyo Mansions which will be up soon. I think nobody has done a modern Japanese community in the country or even so many internationally themed phases. Even the planting material for the landscaping is very different with each phase."
South Forbes City is the baby of Jeffrey Ng, a visionary in the real sense of the word. He’s building not just a community but a city complete with a golf course, residential communities, condominiums, and a commercial center. The architects and designers involved in the project have one thing to say about this development: it’s a joy to work on since Jeffrey gets things implemented right away. He makes decisions fast and he challenges them every step of the way not just with the deadlines, but with how they can top their last work with the new one.
In terms of floor space, the ground floor of Lovina is bigger than the previous model unit, but it does appear smaller because of the wall between the living room and the den. The only advantage is that it allows the homeowner to convert the family room near the foyer into a ground-floor guestroom.
"We tried to explore different layouts," says Lawrence. "As opposed to the other unit where the living room is right after the main door, we decided to put it in the middle this time. But because of the high ceiling, the effect is a feeling of space."
Like all the model residences in South Forbes, which include the more modestly priced South Forbes Villas, Lovina brings the outdoors in with a lanai that is accessible from the living room. Even the treatment of the tall windows brings in the Balinese characteristic of putting nature right inside.
The architectural space, of course, dictated how the interiors would be done, specifically the choosing of the furniture and accessories. Ivy explains that it took some balancing to do the task. "As a designer you have to play to the strengths of the room, and our strength was length, not width. We wanted to accommodate as many family members as possible in the living room, so we indulged ourselves with a nine-foot-long sofa. Because we didn’t have any width, we put our accent chairs in front of the sofa."
While the pictures may not show the scale of the furniture, believe us when we say the pieces are big! "If we had put something puny, it wouldn’t have fit the volume of the room."
A sofa that long deserved an equally long coffee table. This design was inspired by a piece by French designer Christian Liaigre – a long, graceful affair that looks like it’s standing on tiptoe with its curvaceous legs. Ivy laughs as she recalls how difficult it was to achieve the right proportion for the coffee table. "It arrived when we had just finished installing because we kept rejecting the prototypes. It took so long to get the proportions right, like the first time it looked like a pinball machine."
The accessories in the living room had to satisfy the same balancing requirement. Because the ceiling was so tall, the Almarios decided to get framed kimono lithographs to fill the length of the wall. "We needed something that was a series. When we were sourcing in Bangkok, the only artworks they had were a series of either kimonos or bells. We fell in love with the kimonos as soon as we saw them."
As for the colors, Ivy says, "Because we’re doing three houses, we have to make a distinction between them. One of the ways you can do that is through color scheme." With Lovina, the colors they used are mostly light cream, brown, pale gold, and champagne.
One will also notice the abundance of textures in this home. Whether it’s in the upholstery of the chairs or the Chinese matting on the closet doors or the textured wallpaper, there seems to be little smooth surfaces. Even Cynthia’s signature jaw-dropping quilts in Thai silk (they really are truly gorgeous) give the space an added layer of interest. Ivy says Cynthia is so patient and creative in designing the bedspreads – from one-inch horizontal lines to two inches to tiny squares, the covers make the beds look fit for royalty.
Upstairs, the girl’s room is treated with much respect for a young lady’s femininity and needs that you wish you had this kind of room when you were growing up: lots of storage space for your things. A desk in one corner is actually the top of a series of cabinets where she can put her diaries and the countless knickknacks teenagers accumulate. She has a four-poster bed with sheer Belgian linen to give the room an airy feel, and to complete the tropical look, the room is painted with a bamboo mural with little birds perched on branches.
"Every room has to create an impact. Luckily, we have a group of very skilled artists to do the mural," says Ivy, then she adds with a laugh, "We did wallpaper in one room, vivid paint in another, and so the only trick left in the book was hand-painting."
The master’s bedroom has an interesting corner: a balcony of sorts with windows that open to the living room below. Ivy said that to provide a seating area, they had to get space, but there was no space left since the master bathroom took up a sizable chunk, so they had to get "air space," which resulted in an instant indoor "balcony."
"We had to study the space from the vantage point of the owners. We wanted them to see a nice view but still afford them privacy."
On the third floor is the attic, which they made into another family den. Even the Almarios were surprised at how big the attic is. Homeowners can do practically whatever they want with this room; it can be another guestroom that can sleep a family of four (which would make the bedrooms five, including the family den on the ground floor); or a family den so they can tear down the wall that separates the existing den on the ground floor for a more spacious living room; or as a library/study for everyone.
As with the rest of the house, the flowers are kept in interesting vases (from test tubes to sinuous vases) – anthuriums this time, whereas the first model unit featured calla lilies. We teased Ivy that perhaps her sister is doing the church-flower series in their projects.
So, what’s the satisfaction designers get from doing model units?
Ivy lets out a giggle and says, "The absence of the missus. The owners are mythical, given by the marketing group. I love that! The husband is an executive, the wife loves to paint and cook. We’re designing for the perfect couple, with the perfect income, with the perfect children and the perfect taste. All I have is the wife’s profession; she has no opinions, no personality."
And no 101 photo albums to display.
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