SKYLINE SPACES
CASE STUDY 1

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LUXURY MANSION CASE STUDY
Our Learnings and Findings

Some findings on our previous Mansion Design Project in Clark Pampanga, Philippines.
Designed by Principal Architect Marcelino De Peralta Jr.

The Mansion Project is situated on a 4000 square meter residential lot in Clark, Pampanga.
The target market that the developers had in mind where based in the United States .
The Direct Costs from the construction was given 7,000,000 US Dollars or roughly 350,000,000 PH Pesos.

Considering the given budget and the area of the property, a rough unit price of the development was then derived.
With an 87,500 pesos unit price, the project was planned to be a high luxury design with special features.

Despite the large budget that the developer had, the architect decided to keep a minimal and clean design for a well and good reason.

The primary building material is white concrete from pre-casted concrete slabs, this is a building element used in multi story projects.
The concrete and reinforcement itself is expensive, however for a large project like this you can save up a lot from labor cost and time.
This building element is minimalist with no much edges compared to a post and lintel system.
The manufacturing of this building element is done in a different location, and then delivered it to the site for assembling.
The concrete pieces are then left raw, this is the beauty of Béton brut.

Sticking to just one design style and adding a few proportions of steel and glass here and there creates a coherent design.
When designing your own project, try to avoid a mix of too many design styles, this is a common mistake a lot of rookie designers make and it costs the project a lot of time, money, and aesthetics.
A pinch of other designs styles to your modern home project won't hurt but try to keep it clean.

The architect decided to direct most of the developer's budget on the special features of the project.
Waterscapes and large hallways promote natural lighting and ventilation that is perfect for a warm climate like Pampanga.
Large sliding glass panels that open towards the central pool creates a cool evaporation effect inside the building.
The pool was perfectly planned as an interior yard feature to conceal the cold air as it disperses around the building throughout the day, this feature also promotes reflected lighting to illuminate the ceilings of the first and second floor.

Remember to keep the private sections of the building separated from the public sections.
Notice in the building plan, the rooms and the laundry was kept away from the public areas and surrounded with bushes and trees, this gives the residents more privacy from visitors and from the adjoining property of the neighbors.

A helipad was also required by the developer. The initial plan for its location would have been on top of the building,
however the architect and engineer were considering the structural safety of the building as this was required to anticipate the heavy loads of a landing helicopter specially on a foundation that was sided by a large pool.
To avoid costly additional structural expenses and waterproofing problems you need to have all waterscape features far from areas prone to movement. The helipad was then located in a different structure which served both the pad and an underneath studio room.

The center thrilling feature of this home is the glass bridge that passes over the pool.
The bridge was made of thick laminated glass that was screwed to steel beam supports.
Surprisingly many would say that this was an expensive feature, but that wasn't the case here. A few welding points before topping it with a beautiful glass floor, and you're done! The laminated glass may have been more expensive than your typical window glass, but it is quick to assemble, less on labor expense and looks great too.

Another great feature of this home is the underground bar with pool games and a fancy wine cellar for that wine collector goals.
What makes this area so unique is the ambient light that enters the bar through the form of caustic lighting that comes from the pool.
The bar is lighted from one primary side which is the glass pool wall, this allows you to see under water level too.
The glass pool wall is surely an expensive feature for this project, but the attribute it brought truly is worth spending for.
If you are planning to design your own project with this feature, make sure to keep this glass on just one wall and avoid locating it near edges, this will prevent future leakages.

Notice that the building footprint occupies less than 50% of the entire property. While many landowners would desire to utilize the maximum allowable buildable area for the building, you wouldn't want to do this for a large property like this.
You don't always need to fill up your land with usable space, remember to just use what is enough, this will save your budget and at the same time give you the security and privacy that every resident wants.
You see, planning for a large setback on the property will distance your building from your adjacent lot and road right of way, which in return will give you a more secure home from outside property intruders/danger.
The wide yards created from the setbacks will also serve as an open space for landscape features and recreational activities, wide open spaces like this will promote good natural lighting and ventilation.

Unless you are an investor building a project for real estate investment purposes, and you are aware of your target market and strategies, you may utilize the maximum buildable area to your favor to increase the land usage which will bring you a faster return on investment.

There are a lot of factors and considerations that shapes and creates a design solution.
It is always a great idea to have an experienced professional with you when planning for your project.
A professional will save you from expenses and headaches, and will give you calculated recommendations for your own benefit.

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This case study also includes lessons from other projects we have in the Philippines,
and lessons from other professional architects, engineers, brokers, and developers we met.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT LESSONS
More Valuable Takeaways

CONCEPT DESIGN

The design of the project kept with one coherent style through the building with the use of pre-casted concrete slab technology. This keeps it simple to analyze, quick to construct, and cost efficient for the developer which helps bump down the price of the property while retaining a modern luxury brutalist look with the help of the scale of the project along with its features.
The simpler, the better.

SITE DEVELOPMENT DESIGN

Less than fifty percent of the property was utilized for usable space that created more open spaces for landscape elements. Open yards and plant species surrounded the building which gives the property extra security and privacy.

Notice that much of the property areas are open to sky with minimal overhangs and shading elements. This was designed brilliantly to avoid obstructing views and unwanted maintenance.
Remember, people don't stare at roof tops and say "what a beautiful roof," people stare at nature.

FLOOR PLAN DESIGN

The building is divided into two primary spaces, the public spaces and the private spaces. These two spaces were separated by hallways and bridges. This type of movement through the building also allows guests to luxuriate and wonder around the features of the building.

When designing your hallways, make sure that they capture the emphasized features and views of your project.

BUILDING ELEVATIONS DESIGN

White concrete, black steel, and tinted glass. When properly mixed together you achieve an aesthetic masterpiece.
When pertaining to aesthetics, your first consideration should be the elevations and not the floor plans. People don't see the floor plans from first glance, people see the elevations.

A lot of our clients like to start sketching out the floor plan design of their dream home. We as professionals would advice, that you consider and visualize the overall design before finalizing your floor plans.

SITE ELEVATIONS DESIGN

Decorating the site is just as important as constructing the building. You can find a lot of low cost quality plant species that will easily raise the value of your property in the market.

Choosing the right species and arranging them professionally will give the project a luxurious touch, even with a minimalist building design.

BUILDING SECTION DESIGN

The sections of the building were very well studied, taking in consideration the structural elements and the special features.

Structural posts carrying the concrete roof deck and glass bridge passed through the sides of the pool and were given setbacks that were computed by our engineers.
Any structural element that extends high up are prone to wiggling during seismic movements, this can cause cracks to the pool sides which is very expensive to repair.

AUXILIARY LAYOUT DESIGN

Typical modern ceiling designs in the Philippines are over decorated. The more edges and corners of the design of your ceiling, the quicker the build up of dust will be.
As a rule of thumb from the beginning, the simpler, the better.

As for structural, electrical, plumbing, and other auxiliary layouts, leave these to the designer and engineers.

LANDSCAPE PLAN DESIGN

Landscapes and waterscapes are features inspired from the beauty of nature.
Strategically planning the design of these scapes are simple.
Low bushes are there to provide decoration around the building materials and design, tall species were located to cover areas that required more privacy.
Those white Magnolia trees around the site are of medium height with branches that spread wide that can serve as good shading during the middle of the day, this specie of plant is a wonderful choice sided to a modern structure in tropical climates.

LANDSCAPE ELEVATIONS DESIGN

These trees you see at the lower right are Italian Cypress trees, another beautiful plant specie that suits a hot climate used to cover the private spaces of the building, while also shading the west side of the building during low afternoon sun altitudes.
On the other hand, plant species used in the front of the property were smaller and shorter to show the building front and welcome guests.

You may always hire a landscape designer/contractor to render a well thought design solution and contract work for you if you find it too overwhelming to do on your own.

KITCHEN AND DINING DESIGN

The kitchen area was positioned in the northeast corner of the building, this was to allow the morning sun to enter and prevent bacteria build up in this area.

It is important to keep this area open for ventilation and sunlight.
The sliding glass doors at the east of the area opens towards a floating outdoor dining area which serves as a good view for the morning nook.

Who wouldn't want vitamin D in the morning.

BASEMENT BAR DESIGN

Ever thought of playing pool in a public aquarium.
Just two stair cases away from the roof bar, this feature was designed to embrace that mysterious hide out place every millionaire wants.
An underwater bar that gives a cold feel to the bar, right after an exhausting day to lift anyone's spirits up.

A thick laminated glass anchored by class AA concrete shear walls will keep the water from spilling into the basement while allowing a view under the pool.

When adding this glass walled pool feature to your project, try to keep a minimal design with minimal corners. Repairs for these areas are very expensive and you want to avoid that.

COMMON BEDROOM DESIGN

All bedrooms were positioned strategically to allow the sunlight to enter throughout the year.
Each bedroom overviews a small garden outside their respective balcony, this was made to keep those gardens as private areas to maintain the privacy of the room owners.

Sliding glass doors may be left open with no adjacent public spaces near the bedrooms. Bedroom spaces are only visible from the garden.

MASTER BEDROOM T&B DESIGN

The key to designing a well planned toilet and bath is "Freedom."
Every toilet and bath needs to have more than enough space to move your elbows around freely without bumping into something.

This master toilet and bath fully opens to a white gravel filled drying area to dry the wet laundries and allow fresh air to circulate after having a warm steamy bath.

A common mistake designers make when locating their toilet and bath door is making the door visible when it should be hidden.
Toilets and baths should never have their entrance direct with the adjacent space.
An easy solution to this, is to provide a hallway before the toilet and bath door becomes visible.

ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION
A Walkthrough The Project

Clark Mansion Design.mp4