One of the houses Peach Buencamino designed in Orlando, Florida, was featured in Orlando Magazine.

Some of the most stylish homes in the American state of Florida were designed by a Filipina, the architect Peach Buencamino. The houses she built have graced the pages of many design magazines published in Orlando – she’s appeared on the cover of Orlando magazine and has been featured in the prestigious Florida Design magazine. She’s also won numerous awards and she’s designed the homes of some of the most famous movers and shakers in Orlando.

Unfortunately for the people of this city, their favorite architect will no longer be around to design their homes.  Peach has decided to return to the Philippines, where her career in architecture began more than 20 years ago. She’s bid goodbye to a successful career in a place that has acknowledged and celebrated her talent. And now that she’s back, friends and family are wondering why she’d do such a thing.

“It was always my intention to go back home,” says she. “When I decided to try my luck in the US, my former boss told me that I should eventually come back. He said a lot of talented people were leaving the country, and pretty soon, no one will be left here.”

The former boss she mentions happens to be the National Artist Leandro Locsin. Peach joined his architectural firm in the early 1980s, when she was still a fledgling architect. “At that time, they weren’t hiring female architects,” recalls Peach while laughing. “But they needed to hire more staff because they were building the Sultan’s palace in Brunei. So I got in!”

Peach soon became a favorite of Locsin when she introduced a new concept for a project, which ultimately became very successful.  But even the most revered of architects can experience hard times and this happened during the tumultuous last years of the Marcos administration. The clients were fewer so Peach decided to join her friends based in Orlando. There wasn’t a job waiting for her but she was quickly hired by an established architectural firm. “It was easy to find a job there at that time. Nobody asked for a green card, they just hired you if they felt you were qualified,” she says.

A few years after, she left the firm and partnered with an interior designer who got her the green card. Having learned the ropes from her previous employers, she easily landed several clients. “My boss at the architectural firm would usually take me along to a client conference. And from those meetings, I learned to keep my mouth shut and let the client do all the talking.  Listen to them and give them what they want. Then during the presentation, it would be our turn to do all the talking.”

Previous clients usually remember their first meeting with Peach. “They’d tell me they always wondered why I had remained so quiet throughout. They’d say, ‘Either Peach is too smart or she didn’t understand a thing we said!’”

The resulting house Peach builds says more than anything words can express. As with many homes in tropical Florida, the homes Peach designs usually have a resort feel. They’re low-slung, sleek, and are usually a different take on the Miami-style of architecture. Says she: “The Miami style is really a fusion of American, Tropical, Spanish, and European styles. The location of Florida makes it easily accessible to Europe, the Caribbean, and South America. It’s a melting pot of the people from those places. So you see a blending of those styles here.”

She notes the Miami house is hardly different from the Tropical Asian homes that have become popular in the Philippines. The style is also way ahead in terms of being environment-friendly. “The Miami style house has always followed the current design slogan, which is bringing the outdoors indoors. Because of the tropical climate, architects in Florida have already been following that concept ever since,” says she. “So it’s obvious that the Miami style also suits the Philippines, since we have a similar climate.”

Peach, however, isn’t about to limit herself to a particular style or design. “If the client has a style preference, I give it to them, but with a fresh take on the style they want. I never adhere to rules. We can always mix something new or modern with a traditional design, or place an extra touch or unusual color that can reflect the homeowner’s personality,” says she.

Now that she’s back in Manila, Peach notes the prevalence of the modern, minimalist approach to architecture. She feels the style is too cold or hollow and they usually fail to make a statement for the person who lives in this type of house. “If I were to teach architectural students, I’d try to teach them how to design a ‘happy house,’” she says.

A happy house, she explains, is a place that doesn’t feel cold and impersonal. It’s a home that serves as an extension of the homeowner’s personality. It’s a house that can actually be lived in. The trick to building this type of house is getting to know the client better. It’s about learning more about his needs and observing his style or his fashion sense and capturing and placing those elements in the house.

Peach has found her own happy house in a two-bedroom condo in a hilly neighborhood in Quezon City. The interiors are modern, with the light-colored walls and ceilings accented by darkly-colored furniture.  The modern look is offset by personal mementos and accents, such as Peach’s collection of miniature Greek and Roman columns, and the paintings by her mother Mona Buencamino.

While she’s ready to embark on a career in the Philippines, Peach hopes to engage in mass housing projects to provide affordable homes for the underprivileged. “I hope to work in the government, where I can introduce new ways of building low-cost housing. ,” she says.

This grand scheme of hers would do the late Leandro Locsin proud.