Fearless Expression

A quote from a close friend, the late artist Roberto Chabet, came to mind as the homeowner surveyed a recently acquired townhouse: “My cup is so full of emptiness, it is spilling all over the room.” The structure before her was, in her own words, “so full, it was a task to fill it with emptiness.” As an artist herself, she viewed the renovation as an installation – an abstraction of a house where rooms did not exist and in its place lay a progression of spaces where occupants and guests, light and air, sounds and scents can navigate their way through without hesitation.

Architect Popi Laudico was called in to free the structure’s locked voids from stifling walls, brick claddings, and a colony of bats that had settled in the townhouse’s musty darkness. “Bringing in good – quality light and air was the initial challenge,” Popi says. As client and architect tore down barriers, light began creeping in through the crevices between wood beams, air finally breezed through newly opened channels, and the house’s refreshed form slowly became manifest. “When the aspects of passive lighting and cooling are addressed properly, they give the most sustainable benefit,” the architect says.

With this inner chambers cleansed and cleared, the townhouse was ready to receive the decorative and functional elements meticulously chosen by its mistress. Bamboo – a riveting presence in the adobe – takes over the ceiling and practically envelops an entire room. Furnishings and accents crafted by skilled artisans give the space an organic vibe, while art – mostly gifts from friends and relatives – would find their own permanent place, settling on blank walls and ledges and vacant spots waiting to be claimed. Going up a short flight of stairs, an ethereal artwork in black and white sets the tone for the bedroom, where the client displays her mastery for creating environments. One is overcome with calmness at the sight of diaphanous fabrics draped from ceiling and over the bed set against a vista of the greens and mountains.

Above the bed, a hypnotizing photograph of a cloud summons a restful asleep. Irony exists in this Utopian setting: a Fatima vessel filled with holy water stands serenely on a ledge by the window, while on the other side, a voluptuous plaster sculpture of a nude woman with an outsized organ wards off disasters.

Beyond its sublime beauty, the structure exudes what Popi considers a positive energy. There is radiance about it, perhaps brought about natural light pouring from all its sides and creating shadow patterns that change as the sun floated around the house or the mesmerizing panorama of bamboo and other tropical foliage engaged in some primitive dance, gentle breeze coaxing them to sway. Much like a powerful piece of art, the house calls out to be examined, and in the case, felt and experienced, demanding a response. For the lady of the house, it is an adventure of discovery not just for herself but also for everyone who in some way touched her very personal project. It also marks another phase in her artistic journey: “To go into the abyss, as the photographer Diane Arbus would do, is very brave. I’m still mustering the courage to do that. This house is more an impetus to a long journey and I think I have already crossed the bridge of hesitation.”