Lario

A Prototype for a House

Ladrillo, Ladrilyo, Laryo, Lario.
The name “Lario” comes from “Laryo”, the Tagalog word for brick.  

“Laryo” is the shortening of another Tagalog word for brick, “Ladrilyo”, which itself comes from Ladrillo, the Spanish word for brick.  

Brick screens are the dominant element of the exterior and give this prototype its name, Lario.

From BluPrint Volume 3 2019:

 

Lario is a play on the Spanish word, ladrillo, which means "brick."

 

When Galicia was asked to design a Magis Home, he thought of exploring the archetype of a Filipino house - the bahay-na-bato - since there was no specific client to inform his design.  He came upon the idea of playing with wall of brick, "a solid material capable of becoming transparent."  He enthuses:  There is something magical about that duality, which I find perfectly appropriate for our climate."

 

By day, the outer brick wall masks and protects the interior from the elements, the way a brise soleil would.  It is climatically responsive.  The material itself breathes and the openings in the wall allow air to cross through the house.  The interior glass panels are operable and may all be left open all day and all night, except for the doors to the front and the side garden.  The 0.6-meter gap between the outer brick envelope and the inner glass doors provides a thermal envelope that allows the house to keep cool.

 

Upstairs, the white concrete band holds up sliding windows and serves as a 0.6-meter-deep windowsill on which people may sit, as in the pasamano of Filipino houses of yore. 

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