PUBLISHING DATE: NOVEMBER 2015
(Original Submission)
HOME OF THE HEART
The lot of quotes alluding to the home is an iteration of a central theme, a place where the heart belongs. And as trivial as they may have sounded to an adolescent resolved to set her own path, they sink in as they should at an opportune time. For Nikki Boncan Buensalido, that time is motherhood.
Dasmarinas Village is many things to Nikki. Her place of home, a source of artistic inspiration, the cultivator of her passions, and the future she wants for her family. Married for four years and six month pregnant, Nikki now looks back at the fond recollections that shaped her childhood as she crafts the environment she wants her daughter to grow up in.
“My father would joke that [my sister and I] are often home now that we’re both pregnant,” she muses. With her office, the Buensalido Architects, just a few minutes drive, her Dasma house is the inevitable stop over for breaks. She shares how it’s in the center of everything; the place where her friends convene and the family gets together. “Before on Sundays when we go to church, my grandmother would insist my sister and I wear the same clothes as her. We’d walk to the old Rustan’s then and rent laser discs and VHS tapes. My family later moved to Dasma in 1998 when I was in 1st year High School,” she recalls.
But more than the memories of sleepovers and family weekends, it was the kindling of her love for art that coheres the home’s influence to who she is today. “I always loved to paint. I even remember painting on the walls of our house (laughs). I was in grade school when I decided to hone it, and for 4 years I was taking art lessons every other day with this French teacher on Paraiso Street,” she says. Her mother loves decorating the house, and she and her sister had the freedom to choose their rooms’ colors. In High School, she and her friends held their own painting classes for kids too and she held her own exhibits. Not long after she decided to take up Architecture.
Her Dasma home is filled with her paintings. The way the house is built to have no solid walls in between common areas, all leading up to the beach inspired lanai and the extensive and rustic garden, have provided the much needed occasions for creativity. The very construction of her parents’ house serves as an impetus of not only her architectural philosophies but also the office culture she and her husband incessantly fashion.
“We want to imbibe the Filipino spirit in our designs. It’s not just about nipa huts or the bahay na bato. For us it’s about instilling the Filipino culture in the design itself. We know that socialization is a big aspect of our culture, and the common areas where the family gets together should be given importance,” she relates. Flexible spaces, understanding the Philippine climate and setting, room for their clients to personalize the space, introducing avante garde designs and functions, and focusing on form without the need for dressing up the spaces elaborately all play into their brand of architecture. It’s the kind of brand trusted by clients all over the country, even those residing in Dasmarinas Village. On the other hand, the Buensalido Architects office is laid out in a way that creativity is maximized as much as possible. The dynamic and creative team all provide inputs for every project, building a work place that is more like a laboratory for ingenuity.
With Nikki and husband Jason residing primarily in Taguig, they aim to create a home that values family togetherness and will encourage their daughter to explore her passions, very much like the homes they grew up in. It’s the kind of home that transcends the brick and mortar, and as a famous saying goes, it’s where you hang your heart.
HOME OF THE HEART
Image from https://www.behance.net/gallery/31883717/Dasmarinas-Village-Gazette
The lot of quotes alluding to the home is an iteration of a central theme, a place where the heart belongs. And as trivial as they may have sounded to an adolescent resolved to set her own path, they sink in as they should at an opportune time. For Nikki Boncan Buensalido, that time is motherhood.
Dasmarinas Village is many things to Nikki. Her place of home, a source of artistic inspiration, the cultivator of her passions, and the future she wants for her family. Married for four years and six month pregnant, Nikki now looks back at the fond recollections that shaped her childhood as she crafts the environment she wants her daughter to grow up in.
“My father would joke that [my sister and I] are often home now that we’re both pregnant,” she muses. With her office, the Buensalido Architects, just a few minutes drive, her Dasma house is the inevitable stop over for breaks. She shares how it’s in the center of everything; the place where her friends convene and the family gets together. “Before on Sundays when we go to church, my grandmother would insist my sister and I wear the same clothes as her. We’d walk to the old Rustan’s then and rent laser discs and VHS tapes. My family later moved to Dasma in 1998 when I was in 1st year High School,” she recalls.
But more than the memories of sleepovers and family weekends, it was the kindling of her love for art that coheres the home’s influence to who she is today. “I always loved to paint. I even remember painting on the walls of our house (laughs). I was in grade school when I decided to hone it, and for 4 years I was taking art lessons every other day with this French teacher on Paraiso Street,” she says. Her mother loves decorating the house, and she and her sister had the freedom to choose their rooms’ colors. In High School, she and her friends held their own painting classes for kids too and she held her own exhibits. Not long after she decided to take up Architecture.
Her Dasma home is filled with her paintings. The way the house is built to have no solid walls in between common areas, all leading up to the beach inspired lanai and the extensive and rustic garden, have provided the much needed occasions for creativity. The very construction of her parents’ house serves as an impetus of not only her architectural philosophies but also the office culture she and her husband incessantly fashion.
“We want to imbibe the Filipino spirit in our designs. It’s not just about nipa huts or the bahay na bato. For us it’s about instilling the Filipino culture in the design itself. We know that socialization is a big aspect of our culture, and the common areas where the family gets together should be given importance,” she relates. Flexible spaces, understanding the Philippine climate and setting, room for their clients to personalize the space, introducing avante garde designs and functions, and focusing on form without the need for dressing up the spaces elaborately all play into their brand of architecture. It’s the kind of brand trusted by clients all over the country, even those residing in Dasmarinas Village. On the other hand, the Buensalido Architects office is laid out in a way that creativity is maximized as much as possible. The dynamic and creative team all provide inputs for every project, building a work place that is more like a laboratory for ingenuity.
With Nikki and husband Jason residing primarily in Taguig, they aim to create a home that values family togetherness and will encourage their daughter to explore her passions, very much like the homes they grew up in. It’s the kind of home that transcends the brick and mortar, and as a famous saying goes, it’s where you hang your heart.
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