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knox house

Josephine & Eirvin Knox

PUNTA FUEGO, NASUGBU, BATANGAS

ARCHITECT EDUARDO CALMA LOR CALMA DESIGN, INC.

"Architecture is not about style, it's about deriving a form from material technology. It's about original concepts. Architecture should be innovative and true to one's materials." EDUARDO CALMA

The upscale development of Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas, two and a half hours' drive from the chaos of Manila, comprises a number of prime rambling resort homes overlooking the South China Sea. Among them, cantilevered on a slope over the azure waters of Batangas, is an outstanding all-white concrete-and-glass structure. The pristine building, perched between earth, sea, and sky, resembles a stunning work of art, a cubist sculpture with flying buttresses and planar terraces.

International banking couple Josephine and Eirvin Knox commissioned Filipino designer Eduardo (Ed) Calma to build their retirement house, engaging the idealistic designer's passion for "Architecture with a capital A." It was a dream project on Philippine shores for Manila's up-and-coming young modernist, a graduate of the New York Pratt Institute and Columbia University.

An outdoor lounger by designer Richard Schultz complements the white portal frame of architect Ed Calma. The purist cubist house that Calma built opens up to views only of the South China Sea

The rectilinear portals of "Bellavista" soar into the sky over the sea. The gap in the horizontal railing is a modernist twist to a cubist work.

Josephine del Gallego-Knox says of her spectacular home: "This is a modernist Italian beach house, inspired by the white cliffside houses that dot the Mediterranean seascapes of Italy and Spain."The house, named "Bellavista" after her favorite Italian wine, had been simmering in her mind for as long as she can remember until, with the aid of Calma, it finally came to fruition in 2003.

The location of the Knox house was a challenge to the architect. The 1000-square meter property stands high on a rugged cliff, exposed to both tropical storms and fierce winds. Regardless, Calma chose to build the cubist house in glass and concrete. Four rectilinear "portals" soar up to the sky, while three terraces are cantilevered toward the sea. Picture glass curtain walls open all the main rooms to the ocean side of the house. There, horizontal white railings "float" to barely outline the tiled terraces, or rise to "frame" private views of the seamless ocean. A trapezoidal-shaped infinity pool on the edge of the main level complements the azure hue of the sea, while a low white terrace juts out over the water, forming a perfect place for enjoying evening cocktails.

Calma muses: "The Knox house is a multilevel house which responds to the slope of the site. It starts out as a modular mass at the entrance level, designed for privacy, and gradually opens up fully to frame views of the South China Sea. The site is deep with a narrow frontage. The multilevel solution allows each space to be organized along the broad length of the site to have views of the sea... and nothing else."

"Bellavista" is awesome, inside and out, its purist form designed with an instinctive awareness for orientation and ventilation. As the east—west axis is not ideal—the house receives a large amount of sunshine—Calma shifted the house's west volume toward the sea, to shade the balcony on the east volume from the afternoon sun. He also limited the use of glass, even though this is one of his favorite mediums, instead allowing for cross-ventilation through high-placed vents among the clerestory windows. High ceilings also allow heat to rise and exit, while the cooler air circulates low over the sleek all-white furnishings by B&B Italia and Boffi.

Josephine Knox and Ed Calma collaborated closely for over two years to produce the Punta Fuego showcase. The Manila-based designer and his jet-setting client, who was an exacting project manager, pushed their mutual passion for architecture to the limit. She was the instigator, full of ideas and images of the type of architecture she loves. "Bellavista" thus contains influences adapted from her favorite modern architects: a white cantilevered fence imbedded in a giant boulder from Gae Aulenti and John Lautner; smooth white masonry from Richard Meier; seven tall vertical slit openings from her Mexican idol, Ricardo Legoretta; and concrete modernist water spouts from Luis Barragan. All details are beautifully merged in the gleaming sculptural work of Eduardo Calma.

The pristine white Knox house, built high between earth, sea, and sky, is vastly different from its colorful neighbors in Punta Fuego. "Bellavista" was inspired by the white cliffside houses that dot the Mediterranean seascapes of Italy and Spain.

The modernist seaside "sculpture" comprises four portals soaring up to the sky and three cantilevered terraces reaching out to the sea. The lower white block is the retaining wall of the trapezoidal pool that spills over its infinity edge.

This longitudinal section reveals how the house is cantilevered on a slope. A small terrace at the lowest level, beyond the pool, juts out over the see.

The street level (top) and lower level (bottom) plans.

An indoor courtyard complements the minimalist spiral staircase leading to the guest rooms. The built-in vertical water feature (left), outlined with fiberoptic lights that change color, cascades down into an indented floor, a design inspired by en Australian garden magazine. An early nineteenth-century Man pottery jar from Burma sits on a pedestal in the corner The glass art pieces inset in the wall (above) are from Arcade, Italy, and are called "Zen."