Words Jar Concengco, with Patrick Kasingsing
Images Jar Concengco (Design Will Save The World)
In Hiligaynon, the word tauhai captures a sense of relaxation and tranquility. This house—Veridiano’s second home in the land of his birth—embodies that spirit. Tauhai Villa rests by a stream, fully ensconced in nature and exuding a calm that feels almost timeless.
Tauhai Villa is the gallery-retreat of landscape artist and painter Ponce Veridiano. An engineer by trade, he found his calling in communing with nature, leading to a 35-year-long career crafting landscapes for architects and friends. His 15-acre home at the foot of Mount Banahaw in Nagcarlan, Laguna, however, is his most personal and ambitious project yet. It took over a decade to complete, evolving from an idea into something more than just a home, partly fueled by the monastic existence we all lead during the pandemic lockdowns. Friends who visited during construction initially thought it was a museum; its scale and design were unlike anything they had seen.
That offhand comment planted the seed for Veridiano to free the space from the constraints of a single use. Over time, the dining room became a drawing room and library. Echoing its entropic surroundings, spaces within the home shifted purpose as new ideas emerged or, sometimes, out of necessity. Road widening, for example, forced him to rethink unused corners. One of these is now a guest room or, in the future, a small Japanese restaurant.
Throughout his career, Veridiano collaborated with well-known architects like Ed Ledesma, Conrad Onglao, Francisco Mañosa, and Leandro Locsin. He galvanized the many ideas and insights gained working with these architectural giants for his vision. Working with a young architect who helped add body to his loose concepts, Veridiano also looked to the masters for further guidance; He cites Tadao Ando’s Japanese minimalism and Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic, nature-focused designs as inspirations. In the end, however, it is a house truly of its master’s making, a response and provocation of his nature-centric ethos. Every angle is intentional, framing a view or leading your eye toward something unexpected, whether an entrancing play of light, or a majestic view of the looming peak.
From the street, the house is understated, its earthy material palette allowing it to recede from view. A tall bamboo-clad pivot gate and stone wall reveal little of what lies beyond. Venturing in, a dramatic stone hallway opens to a picturesque scene of the treeline straight ahead. A staircase on the left leads to the house’s anchor spaces, like the living room, dining area, and kitchen, all linked by a path of leaf-shaped stones. Zooming out, one sees the house embracing a steep slope favoring the creek, its spatial program disseminated into volumes arranged in a careful stack.
Tauhai Villa embraces its surroundings at every turn. The gentle rustle of leaves, incessant whispers of the wind, and the sleepy tinkle of the nearby creek are within earshot, almost as if the space were living, breathing. Wooden louvers line the back wall, allowing breezes to flow through naturally, the space eschewing any form of air conditioning at present. When I asked about the prevalence of mosquitoes in open, heavily vegetated areas, Veridiano shrugged: “Mosquitoes are natural.” The nearby Sabang Creek enhances the calm, its gentle rush the atonal symphony that play out from dusk till dawn. Self-taught landscape artist Veridiano often paints in the suite closest to the stream, drawing inspiration from its wet whispers.
“The gentle rustle of leaves, incessant whispers of the wind, and the sleepy tinkle of the nearby creek are within earshot, almost as if the space were living, breathing.”
The landscaping feels purposeful yet unpolished, far from the tailored gardens Veridiano designs for his clients. Here, natural spontaneity takes the lead. Monstera plants climb weathered walls, vines tumble over windowsills, and trees root themselves in stone. Veridiano likes it this way, embracing the wildness. “I’m just a guest here,” he says, “and nature is my host.”
Veridiano’s journey as an artist is woven into the house itself. Although he began painting only three and half years into the house’s construction, his works—both abstract and representational—are a core part of the space he christened Studio 88. The works are proudly displayed throughout the home-gallery as a reflection of the creative path he has now committed to. Tauhai Villa, therefore, is a place of respite more than a design showpiece. In its essence, it is a locus of connection where the artist-designer who calls it home can find the inner peace and creative energy that both art and nature provide him. It is a living space in every sense of the word, where plants, light, and air are just as integral as the walls. •
This feature is an expansion of the video episode script on Tauhai Villa at Design Will Save the World channel on YouTube.
Edits have been made to align with Kanto’s editorial style. Watch the episode here.
