Trump Tower Manila developer Robbie Antonio is collaborating with 48 of the world’s leading architects and designers to bring limited edition designer pre-crafted properties to Manila.
Antonio, CEO of Revolution Precrafted, is pioneering the pre-crafted home concept to simplify the process of owning a dream home by a dream designer by allowing anyone to hand-pick a design by world-renowned architects, artists, and designers – including Tom Dixon, Sou Fujimoto, Fernando Romero, David Salle and celebrities such as Daphne Guiness and Lenny Kravitz – and have it transported right on the owner’s doorstep.
The real estate developer, who himself owns a mansion in Manila designed by Rem Koolhaas, is creating designer homes and pavilions that are made to order and shipped in a span of 3 months.
The Revolution pre-crafted home features all essential space functions with complete provisions for utilities.
No two homes or pavilions are alike with the real estate developer giving a free hand to his designers.The Century Properties CEO initially instructed designers to create structures from 50 to 250 square meters with components that could fit in a shipping container, allowing the pre-crafted home or pavilion to be shipped to anywhere in the world.
The pre-crafted designs are also flexible, with structures that can be dismantled and moved from location to location.
The NorthWestern University and Stanford University graduate who has launched Manila projects such as the Trump Tower Manila and Paris Hilton’s Paris Beach Club at Azure Urban Resort Residences, also partnered with Versace for The Milano Residences and the first residential development of MissionIHome.
Revolution Precrafted, a company launched by developer and art collector Robbie Antonio in 2015, aims to democratize architecture by offering affordable designs for prefab homes and pavilions from over 40 world-renown architects including Kengo Kuma, Jean Nouvel, Kravitz Design, Zaha Hadid Architects, Sou Fujimoto and many more.
One of the company’s new collaborators is Lev Libeskind, son of the architect Daniel Libeskind, who has recently opened his own architectural and design practice in Milan, Italy.
The architect’s design for Revolution Precrafted is designed to be compatible with any location and context.
Its modern form is based on a mathematical unfolding of irregular angles around a rectangular core. In combination with rich materials such as aluminum, natural stone, glass and resin the home is adaptable to just about any site or lifestyle.
MANILA – Startup real estate company Revolution Precrafted has tapped Hollywood celebrity Kate Upton as it makes a pitch to international investors.
Upton, who gained fame after gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Edition, accompanied Revolution Precrafted CEO Robbie Antonio in Tokyo to woo Japanese investors.
The real estate firm is seeking investor support for its project in Southern Luzon which it called “world’s first livable art park.”
The company, which builds prefabricated houses done by international designers, secured a $1.1-billion joint venture agreement with Indonesia’s Bakrie Global Ventura in April on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.
Antonio helped seal a venture a few years ago with Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton for his family’s Century Properties group.
He was featured on ANC’s The Boss, where he related his intention of turning Revolution Precrafted into the Philippines’ first “unicorn” or billion dollar startup.
MANILA – Visionary developer Robbie Antonio hopes to become the Philippines’ first “unicorn” or billion-dollar startup with prefabricated luxury homes that he hopes will disrupt the global real estate market.
The 40-year-old CEO of Revolution Precrafted has partnered with 44 architects, including the late Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid and American rock singer Lenny Kravitz, to create modern designs. A restaurant, he said, could be built in as fast as 3 weeks.
The son of Century Properties founder Jose Antonio hopes to earn his first $1 billion in 2 to 3 years. He recently secured a $1.1-billion joint venture agreement with Indonesia’s Bakrie Global Ventura.
“You have to be extremely ambitious,” Antonio told ANC’s The Boss, after arriving in a jet black BMW 7 Series.
“To be different, you have to think differently. You can’t force to think differently you just have to be inherently different,” he said.
Potential “unicorns” have to be “relatively eccentric, extremely lofty and ambitious and very steadfast in their goals of achieving it.”
Revolution Precrafted CEO Robbie Antonio speaks to Cathy Yang for ANC’s The Boss. ABS-CBN News
Antonio said he was in talks with, among others, a Victoria’s Secret model and a “major” NBA player.
“I need to curate them personally,” said Antonio, referring to his partnerships. “I shun the outside consultants for this.”
Working with the family’s Century Properties, Antonio helped seal ventures with Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton and US President Donald Trump, when he was still a reality TV and real estate mogul.
Revolution Precrafted’s first Philippine project will be an art park in the south, Antonio said, adding he is having more pre-fabricated built abroad to be closer to his clients. The company is present in Puerto Rico, Nicaragua and Indonesia.
While Art Basel was in full flow last week, Design Miami Basel beckoned at design lovers from across the tram tracks (quite literally, for those who haven’t visited the sprawling event space in Basel’s Rosental area).
Featuring works from the late Zaha Hadid, Jean Prouvé and Kengo Kuma the fair, running from June 14-19, was a space for highly collectable contemporary design on the bleeding edge of innovation.
Related articleCelebrating Jean Prouvé’s pre-fabricated masterpieces
We asked Christian Larsen, associate curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, to take us through his highlights.
“There’s a kind of hybridization happening right now between art and design, and the design market is modeling itself and mimicking the art market,” suggests Larson. Collectors scour the fair in much the same way as the booths in Basel, he says.
“All of a sudden you’re finding chairs – extraordinary chairs, albeit – going for astounding prices. This is not your average Ikea depot. This is really carefully made, luxuriously crafted and highly conceptual – and absolutely collectable.”
Among Larsen’s tips is Joris Laarman, a Dutch design lab engineering robotic arms to “print” with metals. Their output manifests in beautifully sculpted, textured objects at Design Miami Basel, but their uses are limitless.
Larsen says the technology Laarman is creating will one day be used to design self-building bridges.
“This kind of experimental design has implications for a wider audience,” he says. “These are experiments in thinking.”
MANILA – A Filipino developer of designer prefabricated homes said Tuesday it was hoping to partner with government for low-cost housing projects.
Revolution Precrafted CEO and founder Robbie Antonio said the modular homes would be affordable if the scale reaches “hundreds of thousands or tens of thousands.”
Antonio’s venture is poised to become the Philippines’ first “unicorn” or $1-billion startup. Aside from designer homes, the company is targeting prefabricated condominiums, hotels and pop-up retail shops.
“We’ve been really trying to serve that base of the pyramid,” Antonio told ANC’s The Boss. “The affordable market is a goal from the CSR (corporate social responsibility) perspective.”
“It’s about design democratization. We would go to the bottom (of the pyramid). It’s a thick market and needs homes and if we can do that for the country, we can do it for the region.”
The government needs to build some 5.7 million homes in six years to address the country’s housing backlog, according to analysts.
A total of 11 MOUs has been signed between Philippine and Indonesian companies that would serve to boost trade and economic ties between the two countries, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced.
DTI said that with the inauguration April 30 of the Davao/General Santos-Bitung roll-on/roll-off service, prospects have improved for increased trade activities in the region and heightened collaboration between Philippine and Indonesian businessmen.
The MOUs signed during the recent Philippines-Indonesia Business Networking session held in Davao City cover the areas of water and wastewater infrastructure facilities, retail trade and distribution, real estate and construction, and manufacturing of original equipment manufacturer products for a pharmaceutical company.
The other MOUs detailed the development of various facilities, which includes establishing a media city to develop media content for Indonesia and the rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a sports city or complex for general use, and technology corridors to enhance bilateral technology transfers.
Among the companies that signed the MOUs were Manila Water, Inc., a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation that aims to expand its presence in Indonesia; SM Markets, which is partnering with Alfamart in the expansion of over 400 stores in the Philippines; Century Properties; and Liwayway Marketing Corporation.
Robert Kwee, president of Indonesia’s Alfamart Group, a company with 252 outlets in the Philippines, said they hold a bullish outlook for retail trade in the Philippines and would like to participate more in its growing economy.
In addition to business-to-business deals, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce renewed their commitment to promote the exchange of more missions or delegations for business and economic advancement.
PCCI also signed a protocol of cooperation with the Philippine Business Club Indonesia, an association of Filipino entrepreneurs and professionals in Indonesia, with the aim to strengthen and expand trade and economic activities between entrepreneurs of the two parties.
That, in a nutshell, is the mission of Filipino real-estate technology company Revolution Precrafted, which provides prefabricated property—pavilions, homes, condos, hotels—created by world-renowned architects at affordable prices.
“We try to really be a plug-and-play [real-estate] company that saves people a lot of time and brain power,” says Revolution’s CEO Robbie Antonio of Century Properties fame. “I [also] want to make design accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. Zara was built on the idea that luxury design should be available to everyone, as was Ikea. Revolution Precrafted is the platform for this vision—in property.”
And it’s a vision that has caught the attention not just of other real estate companies—so far, Revolution has booked five development projects worth P26 billion, equivalent to 5,000 homes—but also venture capital and investment firms such as 500 Startups, which provided the company’s first round of funding, and Indonesia-based Bakrie Global Ventura, which signed a $1.1-billion joint venture agreement with Revolution during the recent Asean Summit.
“[500 Startups is] always looking for large industries whose value chain are fundamentally disrupted by a new business model—but it’s not always easy to find. Revolution represented the best of all of it; the property construction industry is as big as it gets, and their disruptive business model is real,” says Khailee Ng, 500 Startups managing partner.
Following the likes of “disruptive” companies such as Uber and AirBnB, Revolution Precrafted’s unique business model promises the best in architectural design combined with the latest in technological advancements in property development, such that it can finish projects at five times the speed of a traditional real-estate company and at nearly half the cost.
“There’s a plethora of developers all over the world and they do the same thing: They buy land, they build, they have different products. But I thought, if I’m going to create a different business line, it’s going to have to be extremely differentiated,” says Antonio. “I started looking at companies like AirBnB and Uber, and what they had in common was, No. 1, they’re global companies, they’re not pigeonholed into one region or country; No. 2, they don’t have any inventory. And they obviously use technology to disrupt.”
The company works exclusively with some of the world’s best architects as well as Pritzker Prize ones such as Zaha Hadid, Christian de Portzamparc, Paulo Mendes de Rocha and Jean Nouvel. Celebrity designers Tom Dixon, Lenny Kravitz and Daphne Guinness are also part of the company’s portfolio.
Revolution Precrafted provides the market prefabricated pavilions, homes, condos and hotels created by world-renowned architects at affordable prices.
Revolution Precrafted CEO Robbie Antonio—Arnold Almacen
To be the “Ikea of homebuilding.”
That, in a nutshell, is the mission of Filipino real-estate technology company Revolution Precrafted, which provides prefabricated property—pavilions, homes, condos, hotels—created by world-renowned architects at affordable prices.
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“We try to really be a plug-and-play [real-estate] company that saves people a lot of time and brain power,” says Revolution’s CEO Robbie Antonio of Century Properties fame. “I [also] want to make design accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy. Zara was built on the idea that luxury design should be available to everyone, as was Ikea. Revolution Precrafted is the platform for this vision—in property.”
And it’s a vision that has caught the attention not just of other real estate companies—so far, Revolution has booked five development projects worth P26 billion, equivalent to 5,000 homes—but also venture capital and investment firms such as 500 Startups, which provided the company’s first round of funding, and Indonesia-based Bakrie Global Ventura, which signed a $1.1-billion joint venture agreement with Revolution during the recent Asean Summit.
“[500 Startups is] always looking for large industries whose value chain are fundamentally disrupted by a new business model—but it’s not always easy to find. Revolution represented the best of all of it; the property construction industry is as big as it gets, and their disruptive business model is real,” says Khailee Ng, 500 Startups managing partner.
Following the likes of “disruptive” companies such as Uber and AirBnB, Revolution Precrafted’s unique business model promises the best in architectural design combined with the latest in technological advancements in property development, such that it can finish projects at five times the speed of a traditional real-estate company and at nearly half the cost.
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“There’s a plethora of developers all over the world and they do the same thing: They buy land, they build, they have different products. But I thought, if I’m going to create a different business line, it’s going to have to be extremely differentiated,” says Antonio. “I started looking at companies like AirBnB and Uber, and what they had in common was, No. 1, they’re global companies, they’re not pigeonholed into one region or country; No. 2, they don’t have any inventory. And they obviously use technology to disrupt.”
The company works exclusively with some of the world’s best architects as well as Pritzker Prize ones such as Zaha Hadid, Christian de Portzamparc, Paulo Mendes de Rocha and Jean Nouvel. Celebrity designers Tom Dixon, Lenny Kravitz and Daphne Guinness are also part of the company’s portfolio.
Revolution Precrafted provides the market prefabricated pavilions, homes, condos and hotels created by world-renowned architects at affordable prices.
“We own intellectual property, and that happens to be the world’s best architects with global exclusive licenses. Meaning you cannot hire Lenny Kravitz to do a house for you unless you go through Revolution,” Antonio explains. “The only other option is, you can do a customized house, which will cost you millions of dollars.”
The cost of Revolution’s homes starts at $30,000, or roughly P1. 5 million, and can be constructed in around three to six months. Condos and hotels, says Antonio, can be finished in around six months to a year.
The company works with a network of almost 300 prefabricators internationally, which use advanced robotics to create the homes’ modular pieces. Some are based here in the Philippines, a factor which helps lower the finished product’s cost.
“The Philippines’ best architects we’ve signed up already. I just signed one who does P150- to P200-milion homes in Dasmariñas and Forbes [villages], who I just challenged to do one for just P1 million. [He said], I am going to put you on my priority list because the fact that you’ve given me a parameter. This is exactly why I went into architecture school—I want parameters that will excite me,” Antonio shares.
“[The architects] are open [to doing to these projects] after serious nagging from me,” he adds in jest. “Well, with some that is the case, but really because it’s challenging and intriguing for them. It’s interesting for them because it’s so difficult to do.”
Now valued at $256 million, Revolution Precrafted is well on its way to becoming the Philippines’ first “unicorn,” or a startup with an estimated valuation of over $1 billion.
“I like this business because no one else is doing it. There’s no other branded housing developer in the world, prefab or not. Towers, I’ve done that. But for homes, no one has done that,” says Antonio.
The best part of Revolution, however, isn’t its valuation. For Antonio, it’s the fact that the company is run by Filipinos.
“We’re a Philippine company with global ambitions—and we’re proud to be domiciled here,” he says.
Century Properties Group (CPG) has teamed up with Indonesian conglomerate Bakrie to develop three master-planned estates in the Philippines—a Media City, a Sports City, and a Technology Corridor—in a bid to strengthen the tourism and media technology sectors of both the Philippines and Indonesia.
The agreement sets the stage for a mutual sharing of resources, from allocating capital investments to the exchange of expertise and skills to embark on these projects.
Revolution Precrafted Properties Ltd., a real estate technology startup founded by its chief executive officer Robbie Antonio —son of CPG chair and founder Jose Antonio—forged the cooperation between CPG and Bakrie Global to conceptualize and support the Media City, Sports City as well as the Tech Corridor, a statement said.
The memorandum of understanding among the parties was signed on April 28 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit.
Revolution Precrafted Properties founder and CEO Robbie Antonio, Bakrie Global Ventura CEO Anindya Novyan Bakrie, and Bakrie Global Ventura director and Viva Media Baru president and CEO Anindra Ardiansyah Bakrie signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the sidelines of the 2017 Asean Summit to develop and strengthen the tourism and media technology sectors of both the Philippines and Indonesia.
The agreement sets the stage for a mutual sharing of resources, from allocating capital investments to the exchange of expertise and skills to establish a Media City, a Sports City, and a Technology Corridor in the Philippines.
