Almost every man of the house would want to have a space where they can keep their valuables that don’t belong to other parts of the house. This particular space is commonly known as the “man cave,” which is a room designed to be an area for the owner’s hobbies and leisure activities. PEN Works Architecture & Interiors designed the C Studio in Iloilo to serve as the client’s man cave where he keeps his sports cars. 

The project is designed by Architect Oscar Peñasales as the Principal and Architect Jeffrey Seneca as his Associate. Architect Peñasales explains that C Studio is the client’s recreational facility which stands across their house. 

Apart from keeping the owner’s sports cars, the two-storey building also has a lap pool and is equipped with a kitchenette, a dining area, a laundry room, a storage area, and a toilet and bath on the ground floor. The mezzanine was strategically designed where the owner’s office is located. 

As a whole, the design of the space combines industrial and brutalist features. The ground floor has an open plan layout which creates a wide sense of space. It also has a high ceiling, featuring painted exposed steel decking. The concept is very straightforward and modern. Concrete is heavily used in the overall design. The floor has polished concrete in harmony with the plain cement wall treatment. For the dining area, the polished concrete floor is accented with Machuca tiles. 

One of the highlights of the space is the mural on the side wall of the lap pool. Not only does it add color to the gray wall but it also gives the space a tropical ambiance. The addition of the chairs gives the room a pop of color and contrast to the hard and monotone walls. 

For the windows, the architects chose to add small windows positioned in an artistic and random arrangement. They also added jalousie windows on top of the garage doors for additional cross ventilation. The facade’s second floor meanwhile, features a corrugated roof cladding creating a significant highlight to the structure.

Each man cave is designed according to the taste of the man who uses the space. C Studio is a manly space that is not afraid to show its soft side.

Photos by Terence Uygongco