House Tour: National Artist Pablo Antonio's Pasay Home

• Neighborhood: Taft (5 minutes away from EDSA)
• Price: Php370,000,000 (inclusive of legal fees and broker’s fees)
• Lot Area: 3,100 Sqm
• Bedrooms: 6
• Toilet and Bath: 5
• Parking slots: 8

The house

Built and designed in 1948 by then future National Artist for Architecture Pablo Severo Antonio, this mid-century ancestral home in the heart of Pasay combines Art Deco with tropical architecture. This is where Antonio and wife Marina Reyes lived, built their respective careers (she was a fashion designer), and raised their children following the Second World War.

Antonio was one of the pioneers of Art Deco architecture in the Philippines. He was adapting it at a time when neoclassical was the dominant style in the country. Art Deco is distinguished by its linear appearance and bold geometric designs. It is also characterized by its use of man-made materials such as stucco, cement, and terra cotta bricks.

What made this ancestral house unique for its time was the thoughtful integration of Art Deco’s modern style with tropical architecture, making it work for the country’s dry and wet climate. “My Lolo’s design was meant to withstand heat, torrential rains, and typhoons. He also focused on natural ventilation by blending interior and outdoor spaces,” shares Vicky Veloso-Barrera, a third generation Antonio whose mother is the fashion designer Malu Antonio Veloso.

Also read: Balay Daku: This 1930s Home is A Bacolod Architectural Jewel

The house, made from concrete, bricks, and wood, is a seamless showcase of a home within a garden and vice versa. “You can hardly tell the difference between the house and the garden. There are gardens even in the bathrooms,” adds Vicky. The slanted windows lend  generous views of the foliage outside while the skylights allow natural light in, keeping the house bright at different times of the day.

From the outside, the bungalow has an unassuming facade dwarfed by jutting palms and tropical trees but once you enter, there is an instant sense of grandeur. One can’t miss the thoughtful work put in by the National Artist as seen in the textured concrete walls and floors, the high wooden ceilings, the big, slanted windows that wrap around the living room and look out into the gardens, as well as the generous open space of the living area. A corner even features an indoor pond installed with a device that is turned on during the hottest months to mimic rain and give a feeling of coolness to the rest of the house.

The property is comprised of a main house, which covers an estimated 500 sqm, and two other structures--one a house for the helpers and the other is the National Artist’s former office which at one point was turned into an atelier by his wife Marina and, eventually taken over by daughter, Malu. The rest of the property is strewn with native fruit-bearing trees from santol to guava to tamarind, as well as tropical ornamental plants that thrive until today.

The legacy

The ancestral home is a storied bungalow that has witnessed four generations of Antonios follow in the legacy of the Architect and his wife. “We call this the ‘House of Dreamers’,” says Vicky. “My Lolo was really a dreamer and produced this legacy of four generations following in his footsteps without being forced to,” she adds. Her uncle Ramon is an architect while Chito is an interior designer. Just as successful were the women in the family who took after the matriarch.

Vicky shares that her Lola found inspiration for her designs from the ornamental flowers that bloomed within the property. “My Lola had a sustainable lifestyle. She was way ahead of her time,” says Vicky. “The fruit trees found their way into her kitchen and she would prepare these to serve her guests. She also had all kinds of flowering plants, and they became inspiration for the embroidery, painting, and other embellishments she applied on her gowns,” she adds.

Vicky, sister Letlet, and mom Malu were the go-to wedding gown designers for many celebrities and prominent families back in the 80s. Vicky, who is also an accomplished children’s book author and cook, says her children are into the arts as well.

Vicky shares that her Lolo was a self-made man. Orphaned at 12, he had to go to night school because the day was devoted to work. “He worked at the Department of Public Works as a draftsman that’s why he had strong engineering background,” shares Vicky. The young Pablo enrolled in Architecture at MAPUA but eventually dropped out to focus on working on the construction of Manila’s Legislative building (today’s National Museum) where he felt he would gain more valuable knowledge. The building’s engineer, Ramon Arevalo, saw Antonio’s potential and offered him a scholarship at the University of London where the latter finished a five-year architecture course in just three years.

“The time he was in London was when Art Deco was coming into the scene. When my Lolo arrived, he did a combination of tropical architecture and Art Deco – it was radical and he was really designing for a tropical country,” says Vicky.

By the 1930s, Antonio’s career had taken off and he was already the go-to architect for many prominent families and politicians. His clients included the country’s President, Manuel L. Quezon as well as Speaker Jose Yulo. Some of Antonio’s works that still stand today include the Far Eastern University Manila, Manila Polo Club, White Cross-Quezon Preventorium, and this, the Antonio Ancestral House iwhich was designated a Cultural Property by the National Museum in 2019.

Currently, Vicky’s mom and sister Letlet live in the house but, in recent years, its upkeep has proven to be too much financially. Outside of its upkeep are the taxes that need to be paid yearly. Despite the many fond memories in the ancestral home, the family has made the hard decision to sell it with the hope that its new owner will preserve the structure.

“We hope that it will be bought by someone who can appreciate its beauty and its many possibilities,” says Vicky. “If you are enterprising, there could be many ways you can make use of the house—as a dining space, event’s place, or AirBnb. My Lolo designed it in such a way that it would have many uses so it’s up to the imagination of the future owner to see all the possibilities and the things that they can do here.”

Interested buyers may contact Sandro Oreña of Re/Max 8 at 0919-9973504.

Also read: This 1830s Home Has Served Some of The Best Filipino Chefs