Serene Geometries: Ed Calma Finds Clarity Through Quietude

“I always consider a house as having two lives,” Ed Calma states. “One is the architect’s vision for the house, and the other is how the clients live in it.” The first is the one imagined by its creator—a vision of light, form, and intention. The second, more complex life begins the moment someone walks through the door. It is the life of habitation, of memories collected and objects accrued, of daily routines that trace paths across a floor. It is a life that is fluid, unpredictable, and often at odds with the purity of the original design.

Few understand this duality better than Calma, a figure who stands as a quiet titan in the landscape of Philippine architecture and interior design. For him, the genius lies not in resisting this second life, but in creating a vision so clear and a structure so profound that it can gracefully contain all the beautiful chaos that living entails.

This acknowledgment stems from profound understanding. It is the foundational principle for a body of work that spans private sanctuaries and institutional buildings. In navigating this tension, Calma forged a signature style and shaped a philosophy of space that continues the pioneering legacy of his family while casting a long, unwavering light toward the future of Filipino design.

The Calma Continuum

To understand the work of Ed Calma is to first understand the ground upon which he builds. He is the design principal of Lor Calma and Partners, the firm founded by his father, Lor Calma, a trailblazer widely regarded as one of the fathers of Philippine interior design and modernism. The elder Calma was a master of integrating minimalist forms with a distinct Filipino cultural context, creating furniture and interiors that were both internationally sophisticated and locally resonant. His work was about a certain kind of perception, a quality that Ed would inherit and evolve.

“My father’s work has never been able to be photographed really well,” Calma explains, offering a crucial insight into his own inherited perspective. “Because you need to see things as he moves through the space. You need to see what he sees.” This was a lesson in phenomenology—the idea that space is a kinetic, sequential experience. This foundational lesson in seeing was coupled with an equally important lesson in freedom. “He never really pinned you down to a certain style or a certain design approach,” Calma recalls of his father. “He wanted you to be completely open, free to be able to go beyond what he knew or what I know currently. He was very open.”

This encouragement to go beyond is precisely what defines Ed Calma’s practice. While he undoubtedly took up the mantle, he also expanded its reach, building upon his father’s mastery of the interior to command the entire architectural envelope. Where Lor Calma pioneered modern interiors, Ed Calma extended that language to the structure itself, creating a holistic vision where the line between outside and inside dissolves into a single, powerful statement. He introduced a new scale of thinking, most notably in the realm of environmental sustainability, that would come to redefine what a modern Filipino building could be.

A Synthesis by the Shoreline

BluPrint spoke with Calma in one of his most recent projects, Élan by the Bay, a social space along the city’s shoreline. It is also home to Ed Calma’s first attempt at sculpture, Steel Cloud; the bright yellow is a clear nod to the objet d’art found in his father’s home.

Élan aptly serves as a clear synthesis of his design philosophies; an exercise in his brand of contextual modernism. Its placement and form are a direct response to the location, with clean architectural lines and an artful restraint that defers to the vast, serene horizon. The building engages in a quiet dialogue with the environment, using panoramic views to turn the bay’s cinematic light into a defining feature of the interior experience.

The concept of architecture as a journey is central to the design. The interior—choreographed to guide movement from the main hall’s transition to an intimate garden or the upper floor that opens onto a balcony—embodies Calma’s belief in a kinetic spatial experience. This orchestrated flow through the building is a narrative tool that shapes how the space is perceived and inhabited during a gathering.

Designed with inherent flexibility as a versatile canvas, the structure provides a pristine architectural vision intended to host a wide array of functions. In this, Élan is a compelling case study of the Calma approach, where an enduring structure is built to gracefully embrace the many vibrant second lives curated within it.

A Modernist Dialogue

If modernism is the foundation of Ed Calma’s work, his practice is a continuous conversation with its principles. “Architecture will always have its foundations—in my case, the modern movement,” he affirms. “It’s a dialogue between what was done before and how architecture responds to current conditions [and] the program.” For Calma, true modernism transcends any rigid set of stylistic rules imported from the West. It is a flexible, problem-solving methodology, a way of thinking that must, above all, respond to its specific context.

This philosophy is most evident in his masterful adaptation of modernist principles to the unique challenges and opportunities of the tropical climate. In a country defined by intense heat and light, his extensive use of glass walls might seem counterintuitive. His designs, however, exercise environmental sensitivity. His residential projects feature thoughtfully designed facades that balance a desire for openness with the critical need for privacy and heat mitigation. He orients his buildings to minimize solar gain. Roofs and exteriors are often solar-reflective, and the layouts promote natural ventilation. This is a breathing, responsive architecture intrinsically tied to its place.

His influence extends far beyond the residential. The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City, a landmark project, is a clear example of his vision of a sustainable future. Earning a LEED Gold Award for its environmentally conscious design, the museum incorporates features like grass roofing, rainwater harvesting, and passive cooling strategies, setting a new benchmark for public architecture in the Philippines. Similarly, his designs for the College of St. Benilde’s School of Design and Arts building and the Chapel of St. Benilde showcase a contemporary approach to institutional and even sacred spaces, stripping them down to their essential forms to create environments conducive to learning, creativity, and contemplation.

His modernism also responds to a shift in how people live. “The way people live in houses now or go to work is different,” he observes. “Now, it’s more open, not compartmentalized. Before it was very formal; now it’s not.” This understanding fuels his frequent use of open-plan living spaces, where living, dining, and kitchen areas flow seamlessly into one another and often extend into the outdoors, breaking down the rigid formalities of the past to embrace a more fluid and connected way of life.

The Lived-In Perspective

Central to the experience of a Calma space is the concept he inherited from his father: the journey. His buildings are designed to be experienced sequentially, as a narrative that unfolds through movement. “I always see space as one travels right through it,” he insists. “I never look at it like a single area that should be ‘here,’ but the whole. You just have to really travel through it.”

This philosophy explains why his interiors, though often minimalist, are never sterile. They are stages for life, designed to create dynamic spatial experiences. In projects like the Cliff House, he utilized the steep terrain as an opportunity to orchestrate a dramatic journey through the home, with shifting volumes and carefully framed panoramic views that reveal themselves as one moves through the space. His sculptural staircases, sometimes featuring uneven steps to create a subtle rhythm. They are choreographic elements that guide the simple act of moving from one floor to another.

This emphasis on the kinetic experience creates a visual continuity that is a hallmark of his style. Unified flooring materials often run from inside to out, large sliding glass doors erase the boundary between a living room and a garden, and double-height ceilings create dramatic volumes of light and air that are meant to be felt as much as seen. The architecture itself becomes a form of storytelling, guiding the inhabitant through moments of compression and expansion, creating what he calls “moments of self-reflection.” It is architecture designed for the body in motion, not for the stillness of a photograph.

The Language of the Interior

While his architectural vision is grand, his command of the interior is equally precise. Here, his philosophy of clarity and purpose translates to a language of material restraint and sophisticated composition. His approach is often described as creating a “total work of art,” where the interior is a continuation of the architectural thought process. Ed Calma designs the space to be a pristine, minimalist vessel, a quiet stage upon which light, material, and life can perform.

Intentionally restrained palettes focus on natural materials that speak for themselves. Rich wood paneling, tile surfaces in muted tones, and subtle metal accents create a calm, cohesive environment. This material sophistication serves a distinct purpose. He sees the interior as a refined backdrop for art and furniture, a principle that allows him to create spaces that feel curated rather than merely decorated. This philosophy allows his clients, who are often collectors, to bring their own narrative into the space without disrupting its core identity. He provides the “good bones”—the thoughtfully composed canvas—and the client provides the final layer of personality.

This is where the second life of the house comes into sharp focus. “All the clients who come to me now know my work and what to expect,” he says, acknowledging the trust he has built. “Yet, there are still others who populate spaces with what they already have.” The challenge, then, a central tenet of his interior practice, is to create a vision so cohesive that it can gracefully absorb these personal elements. This often comes down to a negotiation, an understanding of what must remain pure and what can be flexible. “Maybe you won’t get 100%,” he admits with a refreshing honesty. “Maybe you’ll get 80% of what you like, but I can live with that.”

Far from diluting his vision, this pragmatism strengthens it, allowing his work to be both aspirational and deeply livable. He meticulously designs joinery, cabinetry, and lighting to align with the architectural grid, ensuring a seamless integration between the building’s structure and its interior details. Even functional elements are imbued with sculptural quality. There is no excess; every element has a reason for being. This approach, rooted in a deep respect for form and function, has profoundly influenced Filipino interior design, moving the conversation away from decorative excess and towards a more meaningful, sustainable, and spatially intelligent modernism.

The Enduring Vision

Ed Calma operates at the confluence of legacy and innovation, of architectural form and the intimate details of living. He continues a dialogue with modernism as a living language capable of responding to the urgent questions of our time—of climate, culture, and community. His work champions a quietude that feels radical in a world of noise, proposing that the greatest luxury is not what we can add to a space, but the quality of the space itself.

By embracing the two lives of a house—the enduring vision of the designer and the ever-changing story of its inhabitants—Ed Calma created a body of work that is both monumental and deeply human. The clean lines, the pristine surfaces, and the dramatic volumes of light make up the grammar of a powerful design language, creating a soul in the structure so clear and resonant that it elevates the very act of living. And long after the residents have changed, the architecture itself will remain.

Read more: Unrestrained Modernism: Advancing the Contemporary Architecture and Design Dialogue

Photographer: Excel Panlaque

Hair and Make Up: Cats del Rosario

Sittings Editor: Geewel Fuster

Managing Editor: Katherine Lopez

Shoot Coordinator: Mae Talaid

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