Just when you’ve finally saved enough to build your own home, finding the best person to design and build it, while staying within your budget, is tricky. She joined NATMO Asia, an architecture firm that has been in the design-build business for 20 years. Architect Neil T. Monzones, a graduate of Mapua Institute of Technology College of Architecture and currently serving as Vice President of United Architects of the Philippines, has been designing and building structures that are well planned and fit any requirements of budget.

Bow. Monzones’ own house in Batangas is proof of how the contemporary 3-story structure fits into the trapezoidal shape of his lot. The house rises at an interesting angle, easily making it a prominent feature in the community. With its characteristic round “holes” on the exterior and extensive use of glass both inside and outside the house, the Monsoon house never looks dated. One of the interesting features of the interior is a bridge that overlooks the living room and connects the rooms on the second level, as well as a mezzanine on the third level of the house. A guest bedroom, currently used as a multi-purpose room, is built on top of the office space and detached from the main house, ensuring privacy for owners and guests alike. A circular bedroom wall with its generous use of glass plates adds a thoroughly modern touch to the front of the house.

Bow. Monzones’ genius reached its peak with the renovation of a very small house in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Originally a two-bedroom bungalow of Lilliputian proportions, it is now a marvel of architectural creativity. Transformed into a spacious house for a family of four, a spacious bedroom was created in the loft area with its own toilet and bathroom. A glass-enclosed balcony from the spiral staircase allows for stargazing and enough space for a garden. The entire lower part of the house has been expanded but does not reach the maximum space allowed, a common error of builders who expand to the edge of the property and give a feeling of narrowness in exterior views. With this extension, the kitchen and laundry areas are relocated to the rear to give ample space for the living and dining room. Restraint and ingenuity, as well as a clever mix of materials, give this home the perfect mix of efficient floor plan and smart style. Now this modern Asian house is the very model of what happens when you build a beautiful house (with a carport and little gardens on 3 sides for starters!) without breaking the bank.

Read more about NATMO at activephilippines.com