Breaking Boundaries

An international icon in architecture, Sou Fujimoto, joins Calma Properties in giving birth to a shared design vision destined to be a gamechanger in the real-estate development industry when it rises

- Chit L Lijauco

SOON, THE SHARED VISION OF THREE ARCHITECTS WILL ALTER THE LANDSCAPE OF PHILIPPINE ARCHITECTURE.

The Museum for Architecture + Residences is a concept of cousins Carlo Calma and Ed Calma who were bold enough to invite the Japanese starchitect Sou Fujimoto to design their dream. This confluence of creative geniuses will be replicated with accuracy by Calma Properties, Inc through which they are joined by Carlo’s brother, JP Calma.

“Carlo and I would talk about a museum that could be a hub for cultural knowledge, exhibitions, archiving, and excessive cataloguing of the past, present, and future of architecture. It will also be a venue for architectural dialogue,” said Ed, the son of another luminary in the architectural scene, Lor.

The family has a property in the Nuvali district of the City of Santa Rosa in Laguna, where this first museum for design and architecture in the country can be built. But like true visionaries, Ed and Carlo looked farther and deeper. They saw a Water Gallery in the basement. They saw spaces for commercial and residential uses, and even unique apartments with onsen (Japanese hot spring public bath) suites.

This is already the second project of Calma Properties, the first being the Monument + Film Archives Museum, a redesigned 80-year-old house in Quezon City, that was launched in May 2019. Both projects fit the stimulating vision of the Calmas’ young development company which is about “maverick projects that push the boundaries in architectural thinking and design, [as well as about] promoting preservation of heritage, the environment, and very culturally informed projects.”