Rinna Soriano’s favorite part of her work is sanding. At her workbench, she stays focused, following the grain, adjusting to changes in its direction. Narra, she has learned, can have interlocking grain. A piece of mango once proved particularly difficult until a worker explained that she had reached the point where a branch once grew […]
BAAD Studio Designs For Seamless Living In A Tropical Environment
In the tropics, architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary begins with response. Heat, humidity, wind, and rainfall are constants that shape how a home is oriented, ventilated, and lived in. In this context, light and air become as essential as walls and structure.
Founded in 2010, BAAD Studio’s beginnings were, by the architects’ own words, “organic.” The firm grew naturally, shaped by real demand and grounded in what they could do well. This foundation has long informed their approach: design that resonates with a client’s vision while performing within the realities of tropical life.
For Arch. Benjee Mendoza and Arch. An Bermejo-Mendoza, good design is never just aesthetic. It is deeply tied to its place, its climate, its light, its culture. It should respond to harsh conditions without losing the character of the environment it belongs to. As Benjee notes, “You cannot take off functionality from design.” And in Southeast Asia, this functionality is inseparable from climate.
To them, climate-responsiveness isn’t a trend, it is the baseline. Good architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary here must always consider its users and the environment in equal measure. It must be both protective and open, technical and human.
This thinking comes into focus in the DL House, where the architects approached the site as a system of air, light, and movement. The design required both openness and protection, BAAD Studio responded with a plan rooted in courtyards, voids, and pockets of air—spaces that pull light from above and allow the home to breathe.
These priorities become most critical in the window system.
A System That Defines Spatial Continuity
For a home designed around permeability, the window system becomes more than an opening—it defines how architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary engages with its environment. In the DL House, this became a key decision point.
The requirements were clear: mitigate noise from nearby roads, withstand strong winds, and tropical weather. At the same time, the system needed to preserve visual clarity and spatial continuity.
BAAD Studio turned to Orama Minimal Frames, selecting the Orama Z system for its refined integration of performance and minimalism. With Omicron double glazing, the system delivers environmental protection while carefully regulating heat and sound insulation, which is critical to the urban tropical context.
Climate-Responsive Approach
Looking ahead, BAAD Studio sees tropical architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary advancing through material innovation, lower-impact construction, and more responsive building systems. Yet its core remains rooted in lived patterns, how occupants move, gather, rest, and adapt throughout the day. In the DL House, this approach results in a space that is adaptive, resilient, and attuned to its setting. It is architecture shaped not by abstraction, but by climate, culture, and everyday use. Featured as part of Orama: The Visionaries PH campaign, the project is also notably the pioneer home to install Orama Minimal Frames in the Philippines in 2018—marking an early integration of high-performance glazing systems within a tropical design framework.
This initiative recognizes architects who treat the tropics not as a limitation, but as a guide—where design is shaped by climate and made possible through systems that quietly enable it.
Orama Minimal Frames is exclusively distributed by Focus Global Inc.
For more information, follow @orama_philippines on Instagram or visit the showroom at 11F Twenty-Four Seven McKinley, 24th Street cor. 7th Avenue, BGC, Taguig
T: +63 917 111 0909
Read More: BAAD Studio designs a house that really, really breathes
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Tropical architecture focuses on designing homes that respond to heat, humidity, and rainfall through passive strategies such as natural ventilation, shading, and material selection. It enhances comfort, improves energy efficiency, and ensures long-term durability in warm climates.
BAAD Studio approaches design with a strong emphasis on airflow, natural light, and spatial openness, while ensuring protection from external elements. Their work balances climate responsiveness with the lifestyle and movement of the home’s occupants.
Orama Minimal Frames is a Greek brand founded in 2013, named after the Greek word “όραμα” (vision). It specializes in bespoke glazing systems with slender aluminium profiles, offering high-performance sliding window and door systems that maximize views, natural light, and seamless indoor-outdoor connections.
Yes, when properly engineered. High-performance systems like Orama incorporate double glazing and durable materials to reduce heat gain, minimize noise, and withstand strong winds and heavy rainfall, making them well-suited for tropical environments.
The DL House integrates courtyards, open layouts, and corner-opening glass systems to create a continuous flow between interior and exterior spaces, allowing light and air to move freely throughout the home.
Large-format porcelain is no longer limited to conventional floor and wall applications. Advances in scale, finish, and fabrication have expanded its role across architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture […]
Mindanaoan architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary student Ejhay L. Durias of the University of Mindanao made history after becoming the first Filipino to receive the AYDA International […]
From Brutalism to Contemporary Modernism The Ayala Museum designed by the firm of Leandro V. Locsin Partners (LVLP) sits at the corner of Makati Avenue and Dela Rosa Street in Legaspi Village, Makati. This is actually the second museum of the same name in the area. The original, which was designed by National artist for […]
The projects recognized by Architizer’s 14th Annual A+Awards span architectureArchitectureThe art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that are functional, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It encompasses the planning, design, materials, and techniques used to createGo to Architecture Glossary, interiors, landscape, urban design, and sustainability. Organized by Architizer, one of the world’s […]
Read the issues.
Collect the volumes.
Recommended Video
Tap to Unmute
Unmute
0:00
0:00