Home tour: inside The Columbian, a modern San Juan residence with Filipino sensibility

That same sense of sequence continues into the San Juan home’s living room. Double-height spaces have become almost obligatory in contemporary houses, but scale alone rarely creates generosity. Here, the proportions are quietly controlled. Wood veneer cladding wraps around the room before disappearing into the private quarters above, lowering the perceived height just enough to make the volume feel inhabited rather than monumental.

The room is organised in the same manner. Pale stone floors meet walls lined in oak. Daylight passes through sheer linen curtains, softening the garden beyond without disconnecting it from the room. A curved Minotti Goodman sofa interrupts the otherwise disciplined geometry, joined by rounded Torii Bold ottomans in Napa leather and Drake verde lepanto marble coffee tables whose softer forms prevent the architecture from becoming overly severe. Beneath them, bespoke Studio Soliven rugs establish separate seating areas while allowing the room to remain visually whole. Sheer curtains by Mema Berto also help soften the forms, providing a counterbalance to the sculptural quality of the home.

Even the artwork, a sculpture by Arturo Luz and a painting by Lao Lianben, seems aware of the architecture around it. Hung against an uninterrupted plane of timber, its composition quietly echoes the curve of the gallery overhead.

In case you missed it: Home tour: a family’s nature-filled escape in Antipolo, Philippines

Nazareno returns repeatedly to a singular idea throughout our conversation: wholeness. He notes, “I believe that for every project we may exercise a level of restraint but at the same time try to attain a high level of completeness.” His way of doing things is holistic, one that his own daughter Bea has described as “even his clothing looks like his designs.”

Restraint is often misunderstood as subtraction. His definition is far more demanding, far more exacting. It asks every element to justify itself, not through novelty, but through contribution. The dining room demonstrates that principle.

The garden sits only a few steps beyond the Kensington dining table by Poliform, matched with Poltrona Frau chairs. Above the table are Dot 600 Lite suspension lamps by Lumina, which lend a subtly playful energy to the room. Floor-to-ceiling glazing dissolves the boundary between indoors and out, allowing mature trees and open lawn to become part of the daily experience of the room. Wood veneer panelling lends warmth, but the landscape remains the dominant presence. It is a room equally suited to a large formal dinner or an ordinary Tuesday lunch.

“We try to define luxury through understated design,” Nazareno says. He adds, “Architecture free of visual excess demands craftsmanship and enduring quality.”

When asked about his thoughts on luxury, a word overused in our time, he notes, “Luxury is inherently bespoke, meticulously tailored to the client’s personality while remaining deeply rooted in daily functionality.”

The kitchen follows naturally. Storage disappears behind full-height timber cabinetry. Appliances retreat into the joinery. A generous stone island occupies the centre of the room, functioning as workspace, breakfast table and gathering place without changing character. Oak, pale stone and black lacquer provide enough contrast to distinguish the architecture without overwhelming it.

When asked what conversation comes up most often in the studio, he responds, “What is the right plan for this client?” He explains that every project begins there.

“Architecture begins with understanding how people live, work and move through space. Rather than approaching each commission with a predetermined aesthetic or formula, we begin by studying the client’s routines, aspirations, relationships and the unique conditions of the site.” Only afterwards does the architecture begin to take shape.

“The plan becomes the first and most important design exercise. If the plan is strong, the architecture, structure, materiality and expression follow naturally,” he shares. Looking at how the kitchen was laid out, it is easy to understand what he means. The room does not rely on unusual materials or overt displays. Its ability lies elsewhere, in how everything appears to occupy exactly the place it should. The practical is precise in Nazareno’s lexicon.

If the San Juan home’s living spaces open generously towards the landscape, the den moves in the opposite direction. Wrapped in dark timber, it exchanges openness for enclosure. Books, objects and artwork occupy the shelving with restraint, while a long floating cabinet extends the architecture rather than interrupting it. There is very little visual noise. The room feels less arranged than edited.

Nazareno admits that this process of elimination happens long after construction drawings have been completed. “Every aspect of what is edited from or included within a space is carefully determined during the furnishing, styling and art curation stage. While we have pre-determined most of what goes in a room, having these in front of you and composing the space as you fill it up is very important.”

That attention to detail continues in the staircase, where oak treads rise behind slender timber battens whose rhythm carries uninterrupted to the landing above. There is little here to distract from the construction itself. The handrail folds cleanly into the wall, while timber cladding allows the staircase to read as part of the architecture rather than a separate object placed inside it.

The family room adopts a lighter register. Poliform’s Saint Germain sofa sits alongside a glass sculpture by Ramon Orlina and a painting by Soler Santos, introducing moments of colour and texture without disturbing the room’s composure. Wallpaper by RA Sekkei lends subtle depth to the walls, while engineered Oak Fumé flooring by August Quality grounds the space.

The bedrooms continue the same discipline. Timber panelling establishes a calm backdrop, softened by linen curtains that diffuse rather than block the tropical light. Furniture is given generous room to breathe. A woven lounge chair is positioned towards the garden instead of the bed, quietly suggesting that the room accommodates reading, conversation and moments of solitude as readily as sleep. Nothing feels over-furnished. The architecture is allowed enough confidence to leave space unoccupied.

Outside, the same judgement governs the landscape of the San Juan abode. Seen from above, the most important element is not the house but the mature trees around which it has been organised. Rather than clearing the site to create a singular architectural object, Nazareno allows the existing canopy to establish scale, shade and orientation. Broad roof overhangs extend the living spaces into sheltered terraces, while reflecting pools and planted courts create moments of pause between one part of the house and the next.

“It depends on what the project asks for,” he says. “There are projects that need to stand out. However, there are many instances where a quiet reveal or unfolding is more appropriate. It tends to be more appropriate for residential architecture.”

At a time when houses often circulate first as images, Nazareno remains more interested in how they perform ten or 20 years after completion than how they appear on publication day.

The position is not theoretical. Early in his career, one commission altered the way he approached residential architecture altogether. “The Sampaguita Street Residence,” he recalls. “It was a home I designed in Pasig City 20 years ago. The homeowners were very design-aware. However, they also understood what I could do for them.”

It was also the first time he was entrusted with both the architecture and the interiors. Underlying all of it is an unusually persistent belief that residential architecture should begin with the realities of the Philippines rather than borrowed aesthetic fashions. He shares, “The Filipino architectural identity should be paired with vernacular tropical climate response and design innovation.”

Consequently, he notes, “Together, they should form an identity that is inherently functional, sustainable and distinctively Filipino.”

He is equally direct about what continues to hold local architecture back. “I believe the misconception is that Western aesthetic trends are superior to tropical, climate-responsive design. Vernacular wisdom matters,” he says.

He points to the bahay kubo, not as an object of nostalgia but as an enduring lesson in passive cooling, cross-ventilation and proportion. High ceilings, deep overhangs and naturally ventilated spaces remain as relevant today as they were generations ago. Contemporary architecture, he argues, should reinterpret these principles rather than abandon them. It is an argument that also shapes his understanding of constraint.

“Limitations are intrinsic to what architects do. We provide solutions to problems. We are never without restrictions, whether in code, context or budget. The more enjoyable times in the office are when we turn these constraints into design opportunities.”

That optimism explains much about the measured quality of his work. Nothing appears arbitrary because every decision has first negotiated a series of competing demands. The San Juan home’s architecture is neither minimal nor excessive; it is not defined by the quantitative. Its qualitative aspects are what strike its viewers and occupants most. There is an intangible quality to how well-designed his properties are.

When I ask which project best represents the future of the practice rather than its past, Nazareno names the Residence at Makiling Reserve, winner of the Tatler Homes Award for Best Architectural Concept in 2023. He speaks about biophilic planning, sustainable materials and modern innovation less as trends than as directions the studio intends to pursue with increasing conviction.

He hopes this generation of architects will be remembered for shifting architecture “from purely aesthetic expression to a tool for ecological harmony, human empathy and educational advocacy.”

This statement feels entirely consistent with his ideology. The Columbian home in San Juan, for instance, is not preoccupied with novelty or spectacle. Perhaps that explains why one of the smallest details lingers longest.

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