S.VEN Portfolio

S AMUEL S. VENZON JR. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER

A LONDON-BASED DESIGNER SPECIALIZING IN CONCEPT DESIGN, INVOLVING SMALL TO LARGE SCALE PROJECTS IN AUSTRALIA, USA, UNITED KINGDOM AND THE PHILIPPINES. A GRADUATE OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY WITH A DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE, HE HAS WORKED WITH UK-BASED ARCHITECTURAL FIRM, DHDESIGNS, AND TIRTANADI ARCHITECT FROM MARYLAND, USA.

HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CONCEPT DESIGN OF THE PROPOSED BILLION DOLLAR CASINO, MACTAN LEISURE CITY, HE WORKED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RISKWISE GLOBAL CAPITAL GROUP LLC, WITH RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND LEISURE DESIGN PROJECTS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND IN AUSTRALIA. HE IS CURRENTLY PART OF A DESIGN-BUILD ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE BASED IN WEST LONDON, SPECIALIZING IN SMALL SCALE RESIDENTTIAL EXTENSIONS AND NEW BUILD HOMES.

C OPPER BEECH UNITED KINGDOM

CASSIOBURY DRIVE UNITED KINGDOM

MACTAN LEISURE CITY PHILIPPINES

VELO ON PEEL australia

IMPERIAL HOTEL

COPPER BEECH

HERTFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM 2020-2021 | RIBA STAGES 3-4

THE EXISTING BRICK-FACED HOUSE IS ON A CONSIDERABLY STEEP SLOPING SITE ON A RESIDENTIAL AREA AN HOUR FROM LONDON. THE BRIEF WAS TO EXTEND THE ROOF BY INTRODUCING FRONT AND R EAR DORMERS, CONVERSION OF THE GARAGE TO A HABITABLE DWELLING UNIT WITH OPEN PLAN LIVING/KITCHEN, INTERNAL REFURBISHMENTS, AND LANDSCAPING DESIGN WITH A GARDEN OFFICE BUILDING.

THE HOUSE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY COVERED WITH EXTERNAL INSULATION WHICH GIVES IT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THERMAL PERFORMANCE AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION. THE WALL COVERING ALSO ALLOWED THE CHARACTER TO BE IMPROVED BY INTRODUCING WHITE RENDERED WALLS IN PLACE OF EXISING BRICK FACING, COMBINED WITH ZINC CLADDING AND DARK GREY ROOF TILES.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SLOPING SITE, THE REAR GARDEN HAS BEEN DESIGNED WITH STEPPED LEVELS, WITH EACH DIFFERENCE, HAVING ITS OWN INTENDED USE, SUCH AS A BBQ AREA, A SEATING AREA AROUND A FIREPIT, AND A TRELLIS-COVERED SEATING AREA ON THE LOWEST LEVEL RIGHT NEXT TO THE GARDEN OFFICE, GIVING THE LEVEL OF PRIVACY NEEDED FOR EACH ZONE IN THE GARDEN.

CASSIOBURY

WATFORD, UNITED KINGDOM

2019 | RIBA STAGES 1-2

THE PROPOSED STRUCTURE IS A TWO-STOREY NEW RESIDENTIAL DWELLING IN PLACE OF AN EXISTING CHALET BUNGALOW. THE NEW DWELLING WILL BE BUILT WITHIN THE FOOTPRINT OF THE EXISTING HOUSE. DESIGNED TO KEEP THE CHARACTER AND SCALE WITHIN THE BALANCE AND RHYTHM OF THE STREET SCENE, WHILE ALSO INTRODUCING A CONTEMPORARY STYLE THAT WILL COMPLEMENT THE MIXTURE OF TRADITIONAL AND MODERN HOUSES IN THE AREA.

THE EXTERNAL FACING OF THE HOUSE WILL BE A COMBINATION OF WHITE RENDERED WALLS, DARK STONE CLADDING, TIMBEr CLADDING, DARK GREY STEELS, SLATTED TIMBER SCREENS, CONCRETE FINISHES AND GREY TINTED GLAZING.

THE NEW HOUSE WILL HAVE 6 BEDROOMS, 5 BATHROOMS, AN INTEGRATED GARAGE, OFFICE, PLAYROOM, GYM, AND AN OPEN PLAN LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN THAT HAS FULL WIDTH BIFOLDING DOORS THAT ALLOW THE EXTERNAL REAR DECK TO CONNECT WITH THE INTERNAL SPACE.

mactan leisure city cebu, philippines 2014-2017 | concept development

Mactan Leisure City is a proposed 14-hectare leisure and entertainment development located in Cebu, Philippines. The project value is ESTIMATED to be worth P65-billion (US$1.4b) and will introduce three LUXURY hotels, including the first 7-Star hotel in Southeast Asia, an entertainment complex featuring a casino, CAFES, RESTAURANTS, RETAIL SHOPS and CONFERENCE FACILITIES. The hotels will have a TOTAL capacity of 2,000 rooms featuring modern amenities and services. the entertainment complex will feature a full-scale casino offering a selection of table games and gaming machines in 20000 M² OF GAMING FLOOR SPACE .

involvement in the project was since the project's inception in LATE 2014, SOLELY responsible for the PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS WHICH WERE PRESENTED TO INVESTORS, LOCAL & NATIONAL REGULATING AUTHORITIES.

D iatoms

ONE OF THE LARGEST AND ECOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT GROUPS OF ORGANISIMS ON EARTH, DIATOMS ARE A MAJOR GROUP OF ALGAE FOUND IN THE OCEANS, WATERWAYS AND IN SOIL. Living Diatoms generate ABOUT 20 to 50 percent of global photosynthetic fixation of carbon which is more than all the world's tropical rainforests, WHILE ALSO SERVING AS a major source of food for aquatic life on earth, MAKING THEM ONE OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL organisms to our whole ecosystem.

Diatoms are algae that live in houses made of glass. They are the only organism on the planet with cell walls composed of transparent, opaline silica. Diatom cell walls are ornamented byintricate and striking patterns of silica.

By generating shapes derived from some of the most common species of Diatoms, the proposal takes inspiration from these unique geometrical forms by applying its basic structural composition: Raphe being the central framing structure which forms the separation or branching of all the levels and areas from the central access, Frustule as the exoskeleton framing defining the external layer of the structures, and Epitheca the final layer forming the larger enclosure of the whole structure.

R

tower

y acht Clubhouse

1590 M² total floor space

3-storey with roof deck

400 M² office

380 M² function hall

40 capacity boat yard/ dock

C HAPEL

1050 M²

VELO ON PEEL

TAMWORTH NSW, AUSTRALIA

2017 - 2019 | CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Velo on Peel was a design proposal for one of Tamworth’s most underutilized public space, the cycling velodrome right next to the Peel River. Call for expressions of interest was released by the Tamworth Regional Council in early 2017 as part of their plan to rezone the site, considering the old velodrome’s condition being outdated and mostly unused. Working as the designer for one of the potential buyers of the site being considered by the council, we were tasked to produce a proposal which could give new life to the project site.

The proposal WAS a mixed-use development which will accommodate commercial units, office spaces, cafes and restaurants, a 42-room hotel and 140 residential apartment units on the top floors, and townhomes on the main front elevation facing the river. Access to private external open spaces were introduced to every floor of the residential units by coming up with stepped balconies and roof gardens on the front and middle of the development, maximizing and distributing the best views for each unit.

Situated on two connecting major road, Scott Road and Peel Street, the PROPOSAL offers the best view to the river without compromising the views for the existing low to mid-rise buildings within its vicinity, while also giving a chance to make this site as a new landmark reflecting the future for Tamworth’s developing skyline.

IMPERIAL HOTEL

TAMWORTH NSW, AUSTRALIA 2017-2019 | concept development

A hotel building listed as a heritage item of local significance, the Imperial hotel has always been a landmark building occupying the most prominent and visible corner of the city. With the property hitting the market in late 2016, we were tasked to put together a concept design proposal as part of the initial steps in acquiring the property.

ADAPTIVE REUSE METHODOLOGY WAS THE APPROACH TAKEN IN DRAWING UP CONCEPTS, IN ORDER TO KEEP THE HISTORICAL VALUE OF THE STRUCTURE WHILE ALSO MAXIMIZING THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIALS OF THE SITE. WITH AN EXISTING FAÇADE TO BE RETAINED, THE PROPOSED STRUCTURE WAS DESIGNED TO COMPLEMENT WHAT IS TO BE RETAINED INSTEAD OF OVERPOWERING IT. WITH THE PROJECT SITE’S SENSITIVE LOCATION AND THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL ELEMENTS OF THE STRUCTURE TO BE WELL PRESERVED, PHASES OF THE DEVELOPMENT WERE INTRODUCED IN AN ORDER THAT WOULD BE RESPONSIVE TO ITS SURROUNDINGS. INTERNAL REFURBISHMENT AND RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL VERANDA WILL BE THE FIRST PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT WHICH SHOULD ALLOW THE HOTEL TO CONTINUE ITS OPERATIONS IN THE FIRST YEAR, FOLLOWED BY THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 7-STOREY APARTMENT WITH BASEMENT PARKING, PENTHOUSE WITH ROOF GARDENS. ANOTHER STRUCTURE WILL FOLLOW AS AN EXTENSION TO THAT WILL INFILL THE CURRENT CENTRAL COURTYARD TO THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, THEN THE FINAL DEVELOPMENT TO BE A 2-STOREY VERTICAL EXTENSION THAT WILL LINK ALL STRUCTURES AS ONE, GIVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE USE OF ALL THE INTERCONNECTED ROOFS AS OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL SPACE, A UNIQUE AND FIRST OF ITS KIND TO THE TAMWORT H SKYLINE

Phase 01 existing structure INTERNAL REFURBISHMENT restoration of original veranda EXCAVATION WORK FOR BASEMENT PARKING

Phase 02

APARTMENT BUILDING CONSTRUCTION OF 7-storey apartment building with 3-level basement parking, penthouse and roof gardens

Phase 03

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION OF 4-STOREY COURTYARD BUILDING EXTENSION FOR EXISTING STRUCTURE WITH ROOF GARDENS

Phase 04

extension

VERTICAL

GARDENS

T HE ORIGINAL Architectural style OF THE STRUCTURE MAINLY FALLS ON THE FEDERETION FILIGREE STYLE, A STYLE WHICH WAS PREVALENT IN THE LATE 1800s TO THE EARLY 1900s, COMMONLY USED IN THE HOTTER PARTS OF AUSTRALIA, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH, SINCE IT IS DESIGNED TO CREATE SHADE WHILE ALLOWING THE FREE FLOW OF AIR, WHERE A VERANDA / BALCONY IS USUALLY PART OF ITS FAÇADE. THE ORIGINAL VERANDA IS CURRENTLY MISSING IN THE CURRENT STATE OF THE STRUCTURE, WHICH IS TO BE RESTORED AS PART OF THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.

ALTHOUGH NOT IN AN IMPOSING SCALE, THE CURRENT FAÇADE BEING ON ITS OWN WITHOUT THE VERANDA, STRIKES AS A MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE WITH AVERAGE SIZED WINDOWS, NEARLY UNIFORM IN DISTANCE. TO BALANCE THE CHARACTER OF BOTH OLD AND NEW FACADES, THE PROPOSED ELEMENTS OF THE NEW STRUCTURES WERE KEPT AT THE SIMPLEST COLORS AND SCALE, AND THOUGH THE HIGHEST FLOOR OF THE DEVELOPMENT HAS DOUBLED THAN THE ORIGINAL HEIGHT, THE SENSE OF SCALE OF THE WHOLE STRUCTURE IN GENERAL HAS BEEN KEPT AT A MINIMUM, THROUGH THE USE OF SETBACKS ABOVE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, USE OF MOSTLY WHITE COLORS ON ALL NEW CONCRETE ELEMENTS OF THE NEW FAÇADE, USE OF GLASS BALUSTERS ON ALL BALCONIES, KEEPING LARGE WINDOWS AS THE VISUALLY DOMINANT ELEMENT IN THE FAÇADE, AND THE PREVALENT USE OF THIN VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL LINES TO CLEARLY DEFINE FLOOR LEVELS AND BUILDING FAÇADE FEATURES.

WITH THE DEVELOPMENT APPLYING THE ADAPTIVE REUSE APPROACH, THE GROUND FLOOR SPACES WERE STILL KEPT WITHIN COMMERCIAL USE IN THE PROPOSE DEVELOPMENT, THUS ELIMINATING THE NEED AND CONSIDERATION OF REPURPOSING THE SIZES OF SPACES PROVIDED FOR EACH RENTABLE SPACE. ALL RESIDENTIAL UNITS WERE PLACED ON THE UPPER FLOORS WITH SPECIFICALLY PLANNED AREAS TO FIT THE SPACE REQUIREMENTS.

T he imperial hotel with the original veranda. september 1938 p roposed veranda restoration