Playa Laiya

San Juan, Laiya, Batangas, Philippines, 2018

The site is within a private beach town enclave, 3 hours to the south of Metro Manila. The developer focuses on creating new kinds of seaside oriented lifestyles, and they envisioned the clubhouse to be the crown jewel of the residential area, from which the community can connect with each other, enjoy the views of the sunset, sky, and the ocean, and access the beach – all to enhance and uplift the residents’ well being.

The chosen site has a certain prominence in relation to the village plan, as it is a punctuation of the grand central avenue that users would take to approach the beach. As such we thought of the structure to simple be a portal through which the sea, the beach, nature can be enjoyed, as well as a a backdrop and a place for convergence for the residents and community that would be staying in this beach town.

Client \ Landco

Location \ San Juan, Laiya, Batangas

Building Area \ 6,500 sq.m.

Program \ Clubhouse

Status \ Completed

Brief

The brief was to design a 6,500 sq.m. clubhouse for a sea-side, beach-oriented residential enclave in San Juan, Batangas. The structure would have a lobby lounge, a social hall for various types of events with ancillary spaces, village administrative offices, a couple of leasable spaces, and a large swimming pool.

One of the aims of the developer is to create a new way of living that is oriented to the sea – the water, the breezes from it, and the views it offers (including the spectacular sunset). Access to nature is proven to have a soothing effect to the soul and general well-being of people, and so this connection with nature and the sea was a must for the design of the clubhouse.

Plan

The site development and the plan was developed through the establishment of two axes. The first one being a continuation of the axis of the grand avenue, along which was placed the main drop-off, a elevated open-air lobby, a grand pool, and the beach, respectively. By elevating the main structure, unimpeded views towards the ocean and the skies are afforded.

The second axis runs perpendicular to the first, the left side of which are placed the administrative spaces and leasable area for a neighborhood coffee shop and convenience store. On the other side are the more public functions for larger events and gatherings such as the social halls.

Through the straight-forward use of axial-planning, the spaces were zoned well, successfully separating private from public, quiet from busy, transactional from leisure. Through the play of elevations coupled with strategic placement of openings, both the visual and physical connection to the sea was achieved for all the spaces.

Conceptual Framework

Due to the prominence of the site, we told ourselves that that architecture that we wanted to introduce would be intentional and significant as well – it should not only respect and enhance the essence of the place, but it should also represent the values of the company (sustainability, a pioneering mindset, distinction) and of course enable the new kind of lifestyle that is envisioned for this development.

With that, we took inspiration from nature, and the beauty that is formed by its complexity and multi-layeredness.

When we view nature with our eyes – beauty is seen and felt through an immense sense of balance and peace. Though, like people where external beauty are simply manifestation of our inner workings, nature is the same – What is responsible for nature’s beauty are its inner workings as well, its the multi-layered systems that make nature work.

The earth’s core; the atmospheric layers that allow us to breath and enjoy sunlight; soil layers that allow plants to thrive, layers of tree canopies in rainforests that create interesting eco-systems, layers of underwater reefs that then support an abundance of marine life, to name a few examples.

We envisioned the clubhouse to be topped with discs of varying height, suggesting the hierarchy of the spaces underneath. Spaces would be encased with curved walls, with openings strategically located to take advantage of the sea and garden views.

Nature’s layered complexity in nature is the essence that inspired this architecture, and we hoped it resulted in something beautiful as well.

Community and Nature

Two of the main goals of the project is to a) be a hub of community connection for the residents of the village, and to b) be a space where the idea that nature is essential to uplift one’s well being can be communicated and experienced.

One of the basic goals of the project is to be a hub of community connection for the residents of the village. Through clear zoning strategies and intentional differences of elevations per zone, various activities can occur separately at the same time within the clubhouse, increasing the chances for community to be built.

Another goal is be a space where the idea that nature is essential to uplift one’s well being can be communicated and experienced. By allowing the architecture to be inspired by nature, whose spaces are always oriented towards the outdoors and the sea, nature’s importance is clearly expressed.

Sustainability

Sensitivity to the topography, thermal comfort, and spaces that enhance well-being, were some of the major aims of the design.

The structure has two main elevations – the upper pad where the main spaces are (such as the social hall, administrative spaces, etc), and the lower pad where the pool and its ancillary facilities are placed. This elevation difference is simply the result of respecting the topography of the site, where the land rolls down gently from a higher start at the drop off going down towards the beach and the sea. By allowing the structure to be influenced by the natural topography, minimal disturbance of the earth was attained, with only minimal cutting and filling of the soil.

Though the structure looks complex, the construction techniques used were fairly straightforward and relatively easy to execute as it was built monolithically using just one material for the structure – concrete. The foundation, posts, beams, even the roof were all constructed with in-situ reinforced concrete, which is the technique that local builders know how to do therefore limiting the consumed energy from transporting specialty materials and workers from other cities or even countries. Even the pallette of finishing chosen was fairly straightforward (predominantly stucco), something that the local workers can do as well.

The goal of the designed spatial experiences was to enhance well-being through a constant orientation and access to nature. Starting with the views, all spaces were laid out on site to have access to the ocean views, the sunset, and the flora and fauna surrounding the structure. The quality of “maaliwalas”, of having this light, lofty, and airy feeling – was the main design strategy for the spatial experience of the structure. Spaces are surrounded with floor to ceiling glass fenstrations that allow natural light to flood the halls of the clubhouse. Furthermore, transom windows in between the layered roof discs also provide top lighting that fill up even the middle parts even of large rooms such as the social hall. All these glass surfaces have operable doors or windows, that allow the ocean breezes to cut through all the spaces to achieve an effective cross-ventilation, as well as physical access to outdoor spaces, lawns, and outdoor lounges that surround the clubhouse.