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SKYLINE SPACES
CASE STUDY 2

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LOW COST HOME CASE STUDY
Our Learnings and Findings

Some findings on our previous Low Cost Home Project in Urdaneta Pangasinan, Philippines.
Designed by Principal Architect Marcelino De Peralta Jr.

The Two Story Project is situated on a 50 square meter area of a larger residential lot in Macalong Urdaneta, Pangasinan.
The clients wanted a separate home from a larger home inside the property, and it was located at the right side property line.
They wanted to have a complete home which includes a kitchen, dining, living area, toilet and bath, 3 bedrooms, and a balcony.
A 700,000 PH Pesos Budget was given to construct this tiny house.

For a fully finished low cost house in the Philippines, the usual unit cost would be around 11,000 PH Pesos per square meter.
Using a 137.5 square meters, which was derived from the 50sqm building footprint multiplied by a factor of 2.75 from the floors, foundation, and roofing cost. We were able to get a rough estimate of 1,512,500 PH Pesos for the material cost only.
The cost of the manpower used to construct the building is roughly at 25% ratio from the material cost.

A total estimated direct cost was computed 2,016,700 PH Pesos. This amount does not include professional fees yet.

The budget that the clients needed to create their dream house had to be tripled.

The architect had to create a design solution to fit the given budget, so there were a few adjustments made to the initial plan of the home.

The first solution was to keep a minimal design which had no much decorations, and minimal corners and edges, this was to save up on the amount of materials needed as well as the amount of work needed.
With just eight tiny columns, the house could be built.

From the initial design, the architect and engineer had to reduce the area of the building footprint, leaving a patio area instead.
The floor area decreases once again at the second floor. This led to just having two bedrooms left instead of three.
The ground floor had to be a studio type. All the areas were open to each other and only an island counter served as a divider.

With the small allotted area for the roof and considering that the building was located at the edge of the property firewall, a shed type roof was the design chosen. Shed type roofs are one of the lowest costing roof design, and the roof had to slope away from the firewall to avoid rain water from sinking into the inside of the building.
The clients insisted to have a gable type roof, but due to the limited budget and the small area, the gable roof wasn't really feasible.

Finally with the finished design of the house, the architect and engineer recalculated the cost estimation.
From a 100sqm initial plan of the total floor area to a 89.8sqm using a factor of 2.25sqm and a 10,000 PH Pesos per square meter cost which came from the minimal design of the building. A lower cost of 1,010,250 PH Pesos for the materials was computed.
Multiply this material cost to the ratio of the labor cost and we get a total direct construction cost of 1,347,000 PH Pesos.

The cost of the new building design was decreased by two thirds of the original estimate.
This was decreased a lot but still not enough to meet the 700,000PH Pesos budget.

1,347,000 PH Pesos was the lowest cost the architect and engineer can make for this house since the building system was of hollow blocks and cement.
The architect then had to advice the clients to increase the budget by double or more for the construction of their dream home.

When planning for your building project in the Philippines, make sure to consider all the expenses involved in the construction industry, and remember to add a contingency to this total cost.
The said estimated cost was 1,347,000 PH Pesos for this project, but the recommended budget would be roughly 1,750,000 PH Pesos.
This is to consider the other external elements of the building such as the septic tank, electrical wire tapping, water tapping, patio space, and the professional fees and contingencies.

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.

Planning for your dream project?
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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

Like case study 1, the architect opted a minimalist design style. This keeps the cost of the construction low and fast to complete.
The design solution appear to prove a good and secure circulation around the building, having a large glass sliding entrance that lead toward the public space of the building and having a separate entrance wooden floor to ceiling door for the private spaces or the bedrooms.

The interior designs were also kept simple with minimal circulation patterns while still maintaining a level of privacy and security.

-Less is more-

SITE DEVELOPMENT DESIGN

The clients did not want to cut down or move the existing tree that extended towards the proposed building. The solution to this was to have the balcony adjacent to this tree, this was the only way to not disturb the tree as the balcony was open.

As for the roof design. Due to the small available space and the ease of construction that had to be done, a shed type roof was the best option.

When designing for the roof of a building that is beside a firewall, make sure that the roof slopes away from the firewall to avoid rain leakage inside the building.

FLOOR PLAN DESIGN

The center island counter is multipurpose which serves both for cooking and a nook for dining, this awesome design solution has been underrated many times in Philippine homes.

At all times, try to keep the toilet and bath room door hidden from public sight. Notice this good design example done on the ground floor, the pantry and the toilet and bath were both covered by the cabinetry of the kitchen.

The clients wanted to have privacy for each bedroom while having the doors left open, so the architect decided to add a partition between the bed space and the storage space on the second floor, this allows fresh air to circulate with the door open.

BUILDING ELEVATIONS DESIGN

The front of the building faces north which is away from the direct sun raises that passes from east to south, this allows us to use a glass façade opening at the ground floor which permits natural lighting from the outdoor skylight.

These window fenestrations are made of light metal aluminum and glass which costs lower compared to PVC windows. These fenestrations don't require much water proofing in a well dry and warm climate like Pangasinan.

Depending on the situation of your project site, try to keep your ground floor level a step or more higher from the ground level outside the building, this is to keep rain water from entering.

BUILDING SECTION DESIGN

For a low budget, it is important to keep the conformity of the building design for an easier structural planning and development.
The easier and simpler the skeleton of the building is put, the faster and the cheaper the building will be made.

LIGHTING PLAN DESIGN

The lighting design has to be arranged to illuminate the each area in the building brightly at night.

Pin lights distributed equally around the ceiling along with decorative drop lights does the job every time.
You may consider cove lights for your building project interior, but remember that this will require more carpentry work.

The panel board must always be accessible, as seen on the left side of the sliding glass doors.

POWER PLAN DESIGN

When locating your power sockets in your building project, make sure to keep them at least 300mm above the floor level.

Power sockets that share the same amperage can run through the same lines towards the circuit breaker of the panel board.
A circuit breaker will provide protection for your devices, and it is important to group these electrical outlets per amperage level.

Remember to have spare breakers for future extensions in your project.

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