Rewriting the rules of design
Gone are the days when housing sheltered us from the elements as we knew them. For years now, the world has had to deal with the effects of climate change of course: extreme heat, flooding, rising sea levels, and the dearth of shade trees.
Then came the SARS-CoV-2 virus and a pandemic that forced people back into their homes; homes which are ill-designed to serve as the makeshift “classrooms,” “offices,” self-quarantine facilities that they are now. This is not to mention, ill-conceived as enclosed 24-hour living spaces that gather the entire family, for prolonged periods.
But this is a way of living now defined as the New Normal and which will stay “for good,” so to speak — the quarantines have allowed the city to breathe, and is now ingraining in human culture, health and safety protocols some of which we should have had in the first place.
Besides, COVID-19 is now, by all accounts, expected to become endemic.
And so the extreme weather changes we have experienced for some time, plus a still raging pandemic, has demanded from designers and architects to continuously rethink what the future home should look like, and how our living spaces can not only keep us sheltered but truly keep us comfortable, productive, safe and healthy (physically and mentally).
Take Revolution Precrafted Philippines, Inc., the property tech firm which I founded. Operations-wise, we have not been spared the economic and supply-chain disruption of COVID-19 — a situation that forced us (in the language of startups and tech firms) to “pivot.”
In our case this pivot entails Revoluiton Precrafted going back to our nature as an asset-light, IP-based company, pushing our designs (as opposed to being contactors or project managers at the same time).
As we pivot back to our core business of licensing our revolutionary home designs to end-users and contractors alike, we are continuously working with our “revolutionaries” — the world-class architects, artists, and designers we have partnered with, so as to create designs that are now more both responsive and sustainable.
Our design portfolio now pushes sustainable materials and designs that are resilient to the changing climate, and adaptive to New Normal ways and protocols, to truly ensure safety and comfort at home, where we now spend most of our time and will continue to in the post-COVID world.
Revolution’s Butterfly House, designed by French-Brazilian architect and urban planner Elizabeth de Portzamparc, features a façade that is covered with sunbreakers that allow natural light to pass through, casting dramatic shadows on the inside.
Dutch architect Ben Van Berkel of UNStudio created our Ellipsicoon Retreat Pavilion, a tranquil space for moments of rest and solitude, made from woven strands of 100% recyclable high-density polyethylene.
Meanwhile, our Sphere Greenhouse Pavilion crafted by Tokyo-based architect Sou Fujimoto contains a flexible space for seats and pots, transporting the occupant into a place where he and the plants can co-exist.
Affordable but sustainable, climate-responsive design
Architects play a critical role in reducing the world’s carbon dioxide emissions through the use of ecological and energy-efficient designs that tap solar power and other renewable energy sources, rain collection, proper insulation, day lighting, and natural ventilation.
The climate in the Philippines, in particular, is characterized by relatively high temperature, high humidity, and abundant albeit seasonal rainfall. It calls for design solutions that can make Filipino homes resilient against storms and floods while providing a respite from the glaring heat of the midday sun.
Yet, while Revolution strives for climate-responsive architecture and sustainable housing designs, we remain in line with our goal of democratizing luxury by making these masterpieces affordable and accessible to the mass market.
Small but Digital (and well-ventilated) homes
As the pandemic forced people to retreat to their homes, it also accelerated the need for the digital transformation of Filipino houses.
This has prompted us to conceptualize homes with ready, multiple, accessible ports and high-tech features but also interior designs that can maximize the propagation of signals, so as to adapt to the emerging trend of work-from-home for parents and online classes for kids. These ensure quiet and distraction-free spaces, ready for smart technologies, fixed broadband connections and home entertainment systems.
ADVT.
