Full Moon House

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Sitting firmly on a plot of land in Bulan, Sorsogon, the Philippines, the Full Moon House is the culmination of a 24-year journey of a family’s quest to build a house that they can call their own. With just a few thousands of pesos in their bank account, a pocket full of determination, and a handful of courage, the owners laid the first foundations of the two-storey house in the summer of 1988. The construction went on and off for the next three years until the works ceased in 1991 due to a lack of funds. Unpainted, unsecured, and unfinished, the house lay neglected and has deteriorated over the years.

The move to save it from further decline started in late 2008 when a brief was put forward by the owners that call for a complete re-design of the house. On top of the owner’s wish list is the elimination of inefficient and poorly lit spaces, the arrest of its structural deterioration, and more importantly, the reinvention of the structure as a contemporary house that will be in tune with the modern times. We immediately revisited the floor plans, and a new set of layouts were prepared for the client’s approval. The proposed layouts maintained the original 3-bedroom set-up but reconfigured them to receive as much natural light and ventilation as possible. The elevations were then studied to how best express the intent to project a modern house while at the same time staying within the parameters of the existing. Addressing the issue of structural deterioration involved the replacement of the rotting timber-framed roof with steel trusses and a pre-painted roofing system. It was followed by the complete demolition of the sagging and under-reinforced concrete floor slabs. An all-steel girder system topped with marine-grade plywood sub-flooring was put in its place. Most of the internal hollow block walls were removed and replaced with a drywall system based on the approved layouts. It also makes the structure lighter at the same time. The facade walls were torn down to give way to a wider living area and to facilitate the necessary facelift. A double volume foyer which takes in a good amount of the morning sun was also created in the process.

As a design practice with with a LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP), we have considered and incorporated a good amount of sustainability features in the project. All efforts were made to re-use as much existing materials as possible. Core components of the house were sourced within 500 kilometers of the site and a 100% local labor force was employed. Excess earth from the excavations was moved out of the site to elevate a portion of a flood-prone road 1.60 kilometers away in Sitio Pawa. All furniture in the house has high contents of recycled and recyclable materials. Due to the careful placement of walls, the house has better acoustics than before, albeit using a drywall system. Sound transmission between rooms is quite low. A combination of foil-faced roof insulation, high-density plasterboard walls, solid concrete blockwork, and neoprene underfloor sheeting comprises the thermal and moisture containment system. The house is passively cooled for most of the year but can switch to mechanical ventilation during the hot summer months. Airconditioning units that were installed have high Energy Efficiency Ratios (EER) which reduces power consumption. Shading elements were used on South facing walls to reduce heat gain from the afternoon sun. All lighting fixtures have warm white LED lamps in it which enable the house to use up to 80% less electricity in terms of lighting power consumption. Paints used have low levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) to avoid irritation to the occupants during the off-gassing period. The proposed landscaping has minimal softscape and high amount of porous hardscaping to reduce water demand and to help rainwater absorption. The pre-painted roofing was further coated with highly reflective paint to deflect heat back to space, thereby reducing heat gain in the house and the heat island effect in its immediate vicinity.

The owners’ building endeavor finally came to an end with the completion of the house in 2012. While the house is tucked away from the road, it is well known among the locals due to its design. To this day, it remains one of the modern-looking residential buildings in the town of Bulan even though the groundbreaking started well over 30 years ago. As-built images can be viewed here. 3D animation can be viewed here.

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Project name: Full Moon House
Location: Bulan, Sorsogon, Philippines
Architect: Michael Gracilla, UAP, LEED AP | ARKMIKEL Design Architects
Features: Residential, G+1, 3BR, 2-car parking, partially xeriscaped
Architectural style: Asian Contemporary
Scope of work: Design & Build (Renovation)
Lot size: 175.00 sq.m. (1883.68 sq.ft.)
Total built-up area (BUA): 149.57 sq.m. (1609.96 sq.ft.)
Project status: Completed, 2012

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