An eclectic, elegant space for Two Roxas Triangle

The walls have a certain shimmer to them but you can’t quite put your finger on what kind of material it is; in the foyer is a mounted abstract photograph by Don Jaime Zobel; on the desk in the girls’ room are a pair of gorgeous Bang & Olufsen dock speakers and, two feet away, a small celadon bowl on an acrylic square; in the master bedroom, a faux shagreen screen serving as headboard. And in the hallway, ancient text from a Burmese bible.  

These are some of the touches in the show flat (“don’t call it a model unit,” says the designer) of Ayala Land Premier’s Two Roxas Triangle, the second and final tower that forms Roxas Triangle — possibly the most expensive residential real estate in the Makati Central Business District.

Architect J. Anton Mendoza is the designer who brought this 302-sqm., three-bedroom space to life,  distilling into this showpiece unit his 20-year experience in designing the homes of some of the country’s who’s who, filling their spaces with gorgeous touches and a sensibility that is both subdued and eclectic.

 “I design by instinct,” says Anton and then adds, ‘I have a pragmatic approach to design. Nothing is arbitrary, nothing left to chance.”

Indeed, nothing is left to chance in this space. The walls, Anton explains, are actually covered in abaca wallpaper, strips of handcrafted abaca applied to the wall— in a color which Anton worked closely on with the manufacturer. “I call it ‘graige,’ a combination of gray and beige.”

The resulting color dictated the palette for the entire unit; in fact, it even set the tone of the textural style — rich and layered, and in places you don’t expect it.  

“Abaca wallpaper has been used since the ‘60s,”he says. “But this one was especially made and exclusively for this project by the manufacturer, so they can’t use it until the show flat is dismantled and they cannot sell the color to anyone but me for my clients. They polished the abaca so there’s a bit of sheen on it.”

The cohesiveness of both color and texture is highlighted in the girls’ bedroom, for which he designed the wooden beds back-grounded by Armani veneer panels imported from Italy echoing the color of the desk opposite. Under the beds is a seagrass rug bordered by the same color of the veneer, while the upholstery of the B&B Italia chairs mimics the texture of the linen beddings.  

You don’t really notice that each piece’s color and material are a continuation or an echo of another piece — but you know that the look is so pulled together and organically seamless. 

In the open-space living and dining rooms, Anton used a custom-made carpet by Iñigo Zobel, which follows the shape of the room. Here, as in the master bedroom, one wall is covered with a bronze mirror.  

The dining space is framed by a wooden architrave, which is repeated throughout the house. On the wall is a Japanese-style four seasons artwork.

Anton explains that his idea for this space is a “seasoned house — it’s classic, classy, not everything is new, some are inherited or bought from trips abroad. It’s filled with personal mementos.”

But how do you do that when designing a show flat — literally a new, unlived space, one that isn’t even existing yet but you want to show the best possibilities?

For that, Anton turned to local manufacturers, including Prizmic & Brill, a company that specializes in leather valises, drawers, chairs and other furnishings that have that vintage, old-world feel. P&B has furnished some of the world’s best designer hotels and safari lodges — why not Manila’s most expensive condominium?

Anton put a P&B desk and chair in the boy’s bedroom and beside these, a Le Corbusier chaise lounge and Flos lighting.

Anton also turned to Betis Crafts, an old, trusted name in furniture, Delfino’s Furniture, Linda Lazo  for the dining table, and to Jo Lisa’s for an antique set of drawers — originally a man’s dresser —  in the master bedroom.   

“It’s a good mix of local and imported,” he says. 

And where does his inspiration come from? “I am easily inspired. I find that my inspirations come in many forms. They can be a beautifully designed paper clip or a sharp looking black chair, hauntingly beautiful sunsets in my beach house. Even a smile or the gaze of someone dear to me can ignite creativity.”

The brief that Ayala Land Premier gave designer Anton Mendoza is actually the general profile of the residents of the fist tower, One Roxas.  Architect Manny Illana, head of Ayala Ayala Land Premier Studio, Innovation and Design Group, says that these are homeowners who prefer exclusivity and privacy over being located a few steps from a mall.

“It’s mostly heads of prominent families, foreign dignitaries from the embassies, taipans, and top corporate expats. They like the security of a condominium development, they can travel and leave their home and know it will be secure. They like Roxas Triangle also because of the fewer number of people that live in the building.”

Eunice Acejo, marketing head  of the Residential Business Group, adds, “In an 11,000-sqm. lot, we have only two towers One Roxas, which was completed in 2001, and Two Roxas, which will be completed in 2019. For a one-hectare property, there would normally be three buildings or 800 units. Two Roxas will have 52 stories and only 182 units, so for the whole property — One and Two Roxas — that’s only 364 units.”

Che Uy, project development manager, says, the luxury starts with the space. Their smallest unit is a three-bedroom, 302-sqm. Standard and Sky Residence, which is what Anton designed. Garden Residences can go up to 331 sqm. with their own private garden areas that range in size from 59 sqm to 161 sqm. The Penthouse Bi-Level units have three bedrooms and are approximately 480 to 493 sqm. in size. The Penthouse Flat is a vast 550-sqm. four-bedroom residence which can come with or without a balcony area.  The balconies for these units range from 58 to 82 sqm. Prices for the units are from P60 million to P190 million.

All Two Roxas units come with walk-in closets for the master bedroom, designer gourmet kitchen systems with appliances (Miele, Subzero and SieMatic), utility kitchens with appliances (range hood, cooktop, washer, and dryer) with a separate service entrance, and maid’s bedroom and toilet and bath. Finishes include stone flooring in the living, dining, gourmet kitchen, and master bathroom; and engineered wood flooring in all bedrooms.

The two towers will look the same, both designed conceptually by Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM) with local architect Pimentel, Rodriguez, Simbulan and Partners (PRSP).

Manny says that Roxas Triangle has always been planned to have two towers and One Roxas was designed future-proof.

“We didn’t do any major change. We had to review the plans and the only thing we really needed to do was make sure that it’s still code compliant — because there have been new fire  and building codes because of the new technologies available. The interior layouts that you see here are a rehash, a revisit of the original plans but a little more updated, like the kitchen is now open (but with sliding doors) because lifestyles have changed, homeowners like to cook more, they like to entertain in the kitchen, so we’ve put a nice island with generous counter space.” 

The two towers are built 13 years apart — some things have changed but some things, like people’s idea of high luxury and their preference for exclusivity, have remained the same.

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