Salungo House

Area: 275 sqm

Location: Paraoir, La Union

Status: Tender Phase

Team: Ar. Jaime Recto, Ar. Deeno Singson

Designing with Surprise. Unpredictability in architecture that provides an element of delight or an environment that is better than expected encourages a pursuit of beauty for its intrinsic qualities.

This beachfront vacation home is East-facing to the public highway while west and sunset facing from the beach side. The design juggles a lot of contrasts; curiosity vs familiarity, privacy/ security vs transparency, rigid vs natural, tropical vs modernist, necessary vs economy. Guests enter the house through narrow hallway with curved terminations that somehow suggest entry despite being flanked by heavy rough-textured concrete and natural local stone. They are greeted by the panoramic view of the ocean complimented by bright and crisp natural interiors.

The subtracted curved volume is accentuated by an urchin shell and/or coral exposed aggregate concrete. This will be an interesting sampling process for the studio later on. A frameless glass balustrade will be inconspicuously installed to allow for the living spaces to open up and double as a full al-fresco terrace. The sand colored metal staircase adds a pop of color and sheen to the otherwise neutral structure. Gaps between the stacked stones will be left un-mortared to allow light and ventilation to pass through.