We all expect luxury condominiums to have modern architectural design, spacious units, and a host of amenities to make life comfortable and worth living. However, the latest project of Robinson’s Land offers far more than just luxury living; it’s also a living work of art. Called Signa Designer Residences, the 29-storey, two-tower high rise condominium development will come to fruition through the artistic vision of three renowned names in Philippine design and architecture: architect Royal Pineda, furniture and space designer Antonio “Budji” Layug, and furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue. This is the first residential project in the country with an exclusively Filipino design team, giving its future residents something beyond what is usually offered by other luxury residential developments.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the names, Royal Pineda graduated from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and honed his architectural skills at the prestigious firm of the late Leandro Locsin, National Artist for Architecture. Pineda has worked with Budji Layug to create a number of luxury projects including Discovery Shores of Boracay, The Trees in bangkok, The Copper in Kuala Lumpur, and Grand Napalai in Phuket. Budji Layug, meanwhile, has been a celebrated furniture designer all over Asia and United States thirty years after designing his first collection of bamboo furniture. He has showrooms in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and was the first Filipino designer to be featured in Bloomingdale’s China Exhibit, where his Giant Bamboo designs were featured. Kevin Cobonpue is also an internationally-recognized furniture designer, having won the 2005 Design for Asia Award of Hong Kong, Asia’s highest award. He was a graduate of industrial design at New York’s Pratt Institute and took up furniture marketing and production at the Export-Akademie Baden-Württemberg in Germany. After apprenticing for a leather and wood workshop in Florence, Italy, his furniture had won him 12 Mugna Awards and four Katha Awards.
The vision they have for Signa Designer Residences is fresh and exciting. The three decided that the development should have a modern aesthetic even though its whole look and feel is dominated by organic and tropical elements. Signa Designer Residences will be a reminder of what Makati used to look like, back when Manila was open and green. There will be lots of glass windows, natural light, and gardens, so when you come home to your condo, you will get the feeling of walking home to a garden.
Signa Designer Residences will rise at the corner of Rufino and Valero streets in Makati, and will be completed by 2015. Units will be selling as low as P3.5M for a 33-sqm single-bedroom unit, to a high of P6M-P7M for a 70-sqm two-bedroom unit. Those who would like bigger units can build a dream home of 100sqm for P10M to P12M.
