"To breathe" - from the Latin word spirare.

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The inspiration of this modern house comes from the client’s connection to the medical field, the combination of neuro science to the practice of Architecture, and the latest pandemic which is COVID-19.

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“The Breathing House” is located on a 488.22 sq. meter corner lot in Capitol Hills, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The house, which is lifted 90cm from its natural grade line, has a total of 377.25 sq. meters of construction floor area and has two sets of carports in the north and west side accommodating a maximum of 2 cars each. It is offset from its property line by 3 meters on the north and west side as stipulated in the Village’s design guidelines, creating a space for a landscaped area directly viewable from the living and dining room. Plants are integrated throughout the house site, improving the quality of air. A courtyard is strategically located in front of the kitchen and adjacent to the dining area as well, providing a stunning view from within the property. This acts as an open play area as well and thus becomes an awesome oasis for the family from the urban environment.

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The design has strategically located large jalousie and casement windows allowing natural light inside and provide continuous natural air through passive cooling - catching breezes from the north east and south west sides of the property. Shade for areas facing the East, South and West sides of the house is provided through proper planning of the walls and windows. Integration of floor to ceiling wood-cladded battens to the large windows act not only as part of the exterior design, but also function as sun buffers. The wide canopies also help in shading the indoor spaces by not allowing direct sunlight to reach indoors easily.

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The interior spaces feature a modern minimalist look which avoids clutter with a lot of wood features promoting a stress-free lifestyle to the client when they’re at home. The open floor plan allows the users to move around and entertain guests much easier. This also allows the natural light entering the house to reach all common spaces avoiding the use of artificial lighting during daytime.

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The result of all these features is a pleasure living, breathing, sustainable space for the users.