: November 10, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

How to respond to clients who want cheap or free design

This is every architect’s dilemma: Being asked for cheap or free architectural design. Most architects get insulted by this scenario but do not know how to respond to it.  I interviewed Principal and Managing Partner of Asian Architects and Former Chairman, Green Architecture Advocacy Philippines, FUAP, APEC Architect, Associate of AIA, Ar. Mike Guerrero and he has shared some valuable things on how to respond to clients who want a cheap design or…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Drywall and concrete walls

Drywall and concrete walls are two different walls of a building. They are seldom interchanged but there is also a question about what is a drywall in the first place. A dry wall is a wall composed of plasterboard, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, or gypsum pane and all the other boards manufactured. It is set up using either wood frames or wall studs. You can…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Panolong

Panolongs are end beams of a Torogan, a traditional royalty house of the Maranao. It is the most distinctive feature of the royalty houses because it protrudes in front of the house and on the sides making the royalty house an architectural marvel. There are usually seven panolongs around the Torogan, five in front and two at the back. They have intricately carved okir, the naga or serpent like carving…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Breeze Blocks

Breeze blocks blend stability, capacity for natural lighting, and ventilation, all in one.  These architectural screen blocks are walls or fences specifically designed to let structures and areas maintain ventilation, despite their solid form. Essentially, any structure can breathe with these walls letting air pass through instead of around or against it.  Breeze blocks are commonly used in residential buildings and commercial buildings.  These decorative concrete blocks made their way…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Zaguan

The Zaguan is one of the major elements of a bahay na bato. It is the space where the family’s carriages are stored. This area is usually finished with Piedra china or Chinese stone. In modern times, this would be the carport.  During the Spanish Colonial Period of the Philippines, families often go to churches and participate in processional carriages. That is why carriages are an important part of the…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Fiberglass vs. Polycarbonate Roofing

Most urban and rural home canopies or extensions in the Philippines use a roofing material that can cover the space from rain but not block sunlight. These are translucent materials that home makers are very fond of. Usually, we use either Fiberglass or Polycarbonate Roofing.  So what’s the difference between the two? First of all, fiberglass roofs are roofing made of a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber.…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Scandinavian vs Modern Architecture

Let’s talk about prevalent designs. We often refer to the light palette design that is very popular and in fact has become the design trend of 2019 as Scandinavian design. We also refer to it as Modern. They are actually similar but are not quite the same. The trick to determining the design uniqueness of these two kinds of trend is in the color palette.  Scandinavian design has a lighter…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Bypass Doors vs. Pocket Sliding Doors

There are more than one kinds of sliding doors. Here, we discuss the Bypass Doors and the Pocket Sliding Doors. These two types of sliding doors are often interchangeable because they seem alike but actually quite different.  Bypass Sliding doors are doors that slide on in front of the other. They have two openings on both sides because two doors can pass from one another. These types of sliding doors…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Picket fence

Tall enough to keep children and pets at home, but short enough to maintain a view, the picket fence has often been associated around the world as a symbol of comfortable suburban living.  Picket fences are evenly spaced vertical boards attached to horizontal rails. In popular culture, picket fences are famous in the United States and they symbolize the suburban middle class. Traditionally, picket fences are made of wood but…

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: October 29, 2020 : Gracie Li : 0

Entresuelo

In a traditional Filipino Bahay na bato, there is a space called an entresuelo. The entresuelo is a mezzanine that divides the function room and home office and the guest rooms. It is where the clients, tenants and estate managers wait prior to getting into the home office. It literally means “intermediate floor” or “between floors” and is located underneath the main living area of the bahay na bato.  Reference:…

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