A revolution shaped by 6 Pritzker architects is coming to the Philippines
Architecture, for the most part, is a continuous iteration of fusing form and function, thereby challenging norms, preconceived notions and aesthetics. The talents of six of the world’s greatest architectural masters — who have influenced architectural movements over the past few decades — are now being made available to a wider audience through Revolution Precrafted, the company founded and curated by Robbie Antonio.
Celebrated architects such as Zaha Hadid, Christian de Portzamaprc, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Philip Johnson, and Kenzo Tange have all won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered to be the Nobel Prize for Architecture. The prize takes its name from the Pritzker family, whose name is synonymous with the ubiquitous Hyatt Hotels. Known as the Pulitzer for Architecture, the Pritzker is meant to stimulate awareness for public architecture and inspire greater creativity.
THROUGH A LOOKING GLASS
Seventy years ago, Philip Johnson became a revolutionary of his time by designing one of the pioneering symbols of contemporary architecture. His Glass House is considered an iconic framework shaping modern architecture at present.
Today, Philip Johnson’s legacy continues with the collaboration of Revolution Precrafted and Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects. The project reimagines the original Glass House with a modular home design available to a wide range of luxury homebuyers.
The project is born from the same vision of the original Glass House. It was designed not just to define the basic purpose of providing housing and protection, but to connect individuals to the surrounding natural touches of beauty. It aims to serve as a viewing platform to see and live with one’s surroundings as it is.
QUEEN OF THE CURVE
Zaha Hadid, founder of Zaha Hadid Architects, was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004 and is the only female PritzkerPrize awardee. She is best known for designing impossibly complex and utterly challenging curved structures. The MAXXI: National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, Italy and the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games are excellent manifestos of Hadid’s quest for complex, fluid space.
After her passing, Revolution auctioned off the Volu Dining Pavilion for the amfAR Cinema Against Aids benefit, where it sold for 1.3m euros, as contributed by Revolution Precrafted to the initiative.
THE MASTER OF MUSEUM DESIGN
Jean Nouvel has been known to challenge modernist and postmodernist architecture by designing spaces that respect the environment. Of paramount importance to him is creating structures that blend harmoniously with their surroundings.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi, his newest design project, will soon be another testament to how Nouvel continues to recreate the natural environment in man-made spaces. The adaptability of his structures led him to design two modular structures for Revolution, the Simple home and the modular museum, made out of insulated aluminum panels.
DESIGNER OF THE $101-MILLION APARTMENT
The interconnectedness of form and function for architecture has always been evident in Christian de Portzamparc’s body of work. His most iconic buildings turn ideas inside out by interpenetrating indoor and outdoor spaces, or turning sculptural forms into vertical livable spaces. The LVMH tower in New York is a landmark structure that epitomizes his penchant for the prismatic form. One 57, located in New York’s corridor called “Billionaire Row” in Manhattan, remains to be one of the most expensive condominium units sold in the world, where the largest penthouse was sold for US$100.5 million. These projects gained him many accolades, one of which is the Pritzker, making him the first French architect to receive award at the age of 50.
He designed three different products for Revolution, all experimenting with the functionality and modularity—from mimicking the form of a ship to designing fully modular amenity spaces, Portzamparc’s structures for Revolution are an evolution in design and aesthetic.
BRUTE STRENGTH
One of Brazil’s most celebrated living architects, Paulo Mendes da Rocha has an illustrious career spanning six decades. His aesthetic, heavily influenced by Brutalist architecture, was meant to stand the test of time, both stylistically and physically. The foundation of the Modernist architectural form is concrete and steel, allowing for it to be built expeditiously and cost-efficiently, two considerations that are highly important to Revolution. Some of his most famous works are the Brazilian Sculpture Museum (MuBE) in São Paulo, completed in 1995, Patriarch Plaza in São Paulo, and Cais das Artes in Vitoria. Apart from winning the Pritzker Prize in 2006, he also received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016, and most recently, the 2017 Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.
DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE
The modernist movement in architecture has evolved in a myriad of ways, but none quite as significantly or as definitive as Kenzo Tange’s Metabolist Movement, which is a departure from the Pre-WWII Japanese architecture. His exposure to western philosophy during the war helped shaped his career and simultaneously the Japanese urban landscape. His work helped rebuild Hiroshima shortly after World War II, and his role was immortalized through the Hiroshima Peace Center and Memorial Park.
Revolution Precrafted’s role as a platform for great talent is defined by the multi-awarded individuals that it is able to bring together.
“To truly disrupt the real estate industry, we had to do something that hasn’t been done before, and bringing together over 57 of the world’s best is something that we have achieved in only a little over a year. I think the true beauty of this exercise is being able to share beauty to a bigger audience,” says Robbie Antonio. “By curating the architects and designers and enabling their designs to be consumed by a greater majority, Revolution allows for a greater discourse on design to be held not only in the language of design, but also in the realm of pragmatism.
Revolution Precrafted is located at 29F Pacific Star Building, Sen. Gil Puyat corner Makati Ave. Makati City.