Taupe, a grayish-brown hue, goes with almost anything. It is this characteristic that prompted Francis Tolentino, Executive Chef of Taupe in Bonifacio Global City, to name his restaurant after this neutral. It is also his favorite color, and for him, donning the restaurant interiors in monochromatic tones allows the food to shine. Tolentino worked with […]
Borderless House: Blurring the Boundaries of Modern Life
One of the most interesting things about architecture is how it can condense the obsessions of the age in its design. With Borderless House, one sees the environmental influence, the modernist take, and the current desire for open space and contemporary aesthetics.
Borderless House, located in Malaysia, owes its design to FORMZERO, MOA Architects, and Caleb Ong Designs, led by Lee Cherng Yih.
The owner desired a building that offers the family open spaces and easy connectivity. They also wanted it to be interconnected with nature, with overlapping or nonexistent borders.
A Breathable Urban Environment
Borderless House creates what architects defined as an “outdoor dynamic park-like experience,” purpose built for leisure and relaxation. The design uses sixty concrete walls across the property, integrated with the garden to form the main volumes of the house. The walls overlap and fragment, but also create a cohesive whole to make up the outer walls and the inner buildings. These elements provide shade, ventilation, and privacy, while strategically-placed windows allow for a better view of the outdoors.
Several individual buildings interconnect within the residence. From the outside, the overlaps form a silhouette akin to a cityscape. For these structures inside the residence itself, it utilizes sliding glass partitions and floor-to-ceiling windows that create the illusion of borderlessness.
The residence is split into two distinct sides separated by a swimming pool. The living and dining room are to the south of the pool, with a smaller living room area to the north.
The compound has four bedrooms, each with its own en suite. The design of the building creates a resort-like ambiance, providing privacy for each room while maintaining a sense of connection through its communal areas. This layout ensures that each room remains independent yet seamlessly integrated with the rest of the compound.
Lush Design and Landscape
The most interesting thing about Borderless House isn’t the design of the building itself, but why it’s designed that way. It allocates more room for the cultivated open spaces and landscaping. The architects even boast that 77 percent of the residence is devoted to “outdoor spaces and lush landscapes.”
Its garden-like environment works as a relaxing venue the owners. Over 15 types of trees were used for the landscape, with more planned on the way. Even the concrete walls perform the function of changing the way light communicates with the garden. All the elements add to create an atmospheric place that encourages relaxation.
Borderless House responds to the urban environmentalism movement with its own miniaturized version. It works as a home, a place to host events, and as a relaxing retreat from city life. But most of all, it works as a microcosm of the concerns and trends of architecture in this decade.
Related reading: This Tropical Garden Completes a Gorgeous Family Home
Interior + Design Manila 2025 opened at the SMX Convention Center from March 6 to 8. The showcase of the local design industry by the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID) hoped to go beyond just exceptional design—but to make the case for the future of interior design in the country as well. This trade […]
Artist Patrick de Veyra has always been obsessed with the idea of images and appropriation. As recently as last year, he curated two exhibits for Faculty Projects which tackle the idea of how we deal and define the images we use today. Storm in a Teacup, his most recent exhibition at West Gallery, circles around […]
Smart Home Philippines continues to solidify its position as a leader in smart home innovation, receiving the prestigious Best Interior Design Smart Home in Asia Pacific award at the IPAX Global Property Awards 2024-2025. Held at the Savoy Hotel in London, this recognition underscores the brand’s commitment to seamlessly integrating state-of-the-art technology with modern, functional […]
Kärcher, the German multinational company known for their cleaning machines, debuted the newest part of their 2025 Cultural Initiative as they partnered with the Intramuros Administration to clean up the walls of Fort Santiago. A “restorative cleaning effort” done to celebrate the company’s 90th anniversary, Kärcher’s team focused on cleaning up the wall facade and […]
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Primex Printers, Chief Marketing Officer Mariel Ching and Creative Director Gio Prado put together The Infinite Dot. The exhibit functions as a showcase of the capabilities of modern-day fine art printing, giving audiences a taste of the flexibility of the form to different ideas. The exhibit’s name comes from […]
Download this month's BLUPRINT magazine digital copy from:
Subscribe via [email protected]