Glass and glamour in a condo unit

THE PACIFIC Plaza Towers is speeding up construction of its

signature project and its surrounding facilities in Fort Bonifacio

for overall completion by June 2000. The elegant exteriors of the

twin-tower building are set earlier, for February.

Three-tower residents have

already set up house, so to

speak, in their respective

condo units. One of them,

interior designer Marion

Coscolluela (the others are

architects Jorge Ramos and

Conrado Onglao) has

planned her living spaces

along simple but elegant

lines, contemporary but

timeless. It was not easy to

achieve, she admits, for she

not only put in ''a lot of

thinking'' but also ''my heart''

into the job.

Wide windows

The first thing one notes about her interiors is that wide glass

windows dominate the layout, and she takes advantage of this.

Living and dining rooms are in one long area, with windows set

at each end. This provides for an unhampered flow not only of

human traffic but also of light.

All her rooms are done in neutral colors--beige, gray--because

they're flexible, says Marion. They establish the mood for

relaxation which is enhanced by the plump sofa, settee,

armchairs and ottoman. Oriental and Philippine touches are

never missing in Marion's designs.

The pair of armchairs, for example, is made of split rattan by

Budji Layug. It is upholstered in the same beige material as the

other seats. Color contrast is provided by a painting featuring a

cluster of roses--red, pink and white--by Mona Santos, wife of

another artist, Soler. Glass over chrome coffee table picks up the

airy look of the glass windows and doors.

Exercise in minimalism

The dining room is an exercise in minimalism. A rectangular

table seats eight, its chairs upholstered in leather after a pattern

resembling wickerwork. Against the glass windows is a console

table. On one wall hangs a Lao Lianben collage in the artist's

typically Oriental and minimalistic style.

A huge Chinese chest and a reading corner (chair with lamp on

table) serve as dividers of living and dining rooms. Nearby is a

glass door that opens to a ''swing'' room meant to function as

den or extra bedroom, whichever is required.

Marion uses it as an audio-video room where an entire wall is

taken up by a series of shelves for TV and other audiovisual

equipment. Sink-in sofas and other seats, all done in brown, fill

the rest of the room.

The glass door through which one enters (or exits) this den are

designed by sculptor Impy Pilapil who chose a beach theme for

her etching--fish, water and shore--depicted in symbols. Even

the door knobs are Pilapil-designed.

A hallway parallel to the swing room leads to the master

bedroom, the His and Hers dressing rooms and baths. At the

end of this hallway is a vanity table for the lady of the house.

The bedroom takes on the same soothing, cool neutral colors of

the rest of the house, this time a combination of beige with

tinges of gold. Two tray tables (trays can be detached and used

for serving purposes) flank the bed as night tables. Only other

big pieces of furniture here besides the bed area tindalo-wood

desk and an opera chest from China restored as a video unit.

The other bedrooms are smaller but similarly appointed. Dicor

in one includes a jade version of Chinese terra-cotta soldiers.

Light and shade

Marion, married to architect M.V. Coscolluela, is mother of

four--a daughter, Mara, an interior designer herself based in

New York, and three sons, two of them a set of twins, Gary and

Gil, both architects, and Gerald, the eldest, a businessman.

She is happy she chose a unit on the second floor of the

twin-towered building because it gives her a good view of the

gardens being landscaped below. Good views and availability of

natural light are two advantages Marion appreciates most.

Those views serve as murals in all the room. ''They have really

enhanced my design,'' we quote Marion from a flyer on the

condo interiors, ''and helped to create the perfect texture I

needed inside for the right warmth and richness.''