Go Big Or Go Home: Democratizing High-Design Architecture For Every Man

by Gerald Burwell, Vie Magazine

The splendidly superb strokes of a painted masterpiece, the svelte details of a hand-hewn marble sculpture, and the perfect play of space and light by a master architect. Anything that rises above the common or mundane – these are the qualities that inspire passion within Robbie Antonio.

Robbie Antonio- a man of pedigreed education land a connoisseur of good taste-is a seasoned global real estate magnate with millions of square feet of commercial and residential development as testament. Despite his meteoric rise all by the age of forty, Antonio felt that something was missing-that he had some desire of unknown origin incubating within him. It wasn’t until 2015, following a week of intense thought, that Antonio had a sudden flash of brilliance: an asset-light business model consisting of a symbiotic network of master fabricators, delivery methods, and installers. Revolution Precrafted would be the world’s first online business of its kind-a catalyst for bringing luxurious creations of world-class architects and designers to the doorstep of everyman.

THE PORTRAIT OF ROBBIE ANTONIO

What image comes to mind when you think of a strikingly handsome and cosmopolitan billionaire hailing from the Philippines with an MBA from Stanford University? A global disrupter akin to visionaries like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg may not be your first thought, but you’ve not met Robbie Antonio.

Antonio is the visionary and founder of cutting-edge Revolution Precrafted -a global supplier of prefabricated homes, museums, pavilions, glamping structures, pop-ups, condo-tels, and furniture, exclusively designed by more than eighty of the world’s top architects, artists, and designers. The start-up is officially the Philippines’ first unicorn-a privately held start-up company valued at over $1 billion. To help paint a better portrait of Antonio (and, he is no stranger to having portraits made of himself), he was named Philippines Real Estate Personality of the Year for 2018, which comes as no surprise since his circle of friends and associates includes jet-setters Lenny Kravitz, Margot Robbie, Eric Trump, and Paris Hilton.

robbie antonio

Robbie Antonio, the son of Filipino real estate mogul Jose E. B. Antonio, was named among the Philippines fifty richest people by Forbes in 2018. Antonio attended Northwestern University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics, and then successfully pursued his MBA at the Stanford fraduate School of Business. Shortly after college and during Antonio’s early career as managing director of Antonio Development, he lived in Manhattan while working closely with the Pritzker Prize-winning architect I. M. Pei and son Sandi Pei on the Centurion -a nineteen-story residential condominium that was completed in 2009. It was during this five-year period that Antonio reveled in the unprecedented access granted him to some of the world’s best-known architectural landmarks and masterworks of art housed in some of NYC’s finest museums, including the Guggenheim, the Met, MoMA, and the Whitney.

“He works closely with industry leaders on a constant basis, including such interior and fashion icons as Missoni, Versace, Paris Hilton, and Lenny Kravitz, among others.”

Antonio is now one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world. In fact, he has received numerous awards from various organizations, including being recognized by Artnet as one of twenty of the world’s most innovative art collectors in 2014 and in the top two hundred art collectors worldwide in 2015. In 2016, Artnet again recognized Antonio with two awards: as one of the top one hundred art cillectors for that year and as one of twelve young art collectors to watch. His appetite for art led him to collaborate with artists such as Marina Abramovic, Maurizio Cattelan, Francesco Clemente, Damien Hirst, Zhang Huan, David LaChapelle, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie, and Julian Schnabel.

Antonio’s love of art is rivaled only by his passion for architecture. The designs offered by Revolution Precrafted come from award-winning designers such as Zaha Hadid, Cesar Pelli, and Philip Johnson. He works closely with industry leaders on a constant basis, including such interior and fashion icons as Missoni, Versace, Paris Hilton, and Lenny Kravitz, among others.

robbie antonio
 

THE REVOLUTION

“I want to effect change,” says Antonio, recounting his brainchild, Revolution Precrafted. For an entire week, he couldn’t think of anything else while thoroughly scrutinizing corporate structures like Uber and Airbnb, two of the post successful online B2B2C companies that are asset-light, have low capital expenditure, and involve technology in a global marketplace while disrupting conventional business models. Antonio aspires to model Revolution Precrafted using these profitable commerce structures to become the world’s largest supplier of designer homes at affordable prices that can be ordered online.


The Revolutionaries: iust a handful of the preeminent names in the design industry that have partnered
exclusively with Antonio/ Revolution Precrafted unicorn venture. The Revolutionaries include: MarceL Wanders, Zaha Hadid, Kravitz Design, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Bernard Khoury, Raúl Sanchez, Hariri & Hariri Architecture, Francesca Versace, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects, Ron Arad

As lofty a goal as Revolution Precrafted is, Robbie Antonio is positioned on a trajectory for success. Through his connections and reputation in the industry, Revolution Precrafted has aligned with the world’s preeminent architects, artists, and designers-or Revolutionaries, as Antonio refers to them. “At the moment, we have designs from eighty-one Revolutionaries under exclusivity with Revolution Precrafted. We have created an exclusive series of prefabricated, livable spaces,” Antonio explains. The network of almost seven hundred fabricators worldwide-some of the best in the business-work closely with the architects and local contractors to ensure that all products are assembled in compliance to the local climate, building codes, and building standards specific to each project-even for stringent wind and seismic requirements. “We at Revolution Precrafted value quality above all else,” continues Antonio, who is known to despise mediocrity. Aside from outstanding design, quality is what people expect from the company and our products.”

The concept behind Revolution Precrafted is revolutionary for sure, but Antonio is not the first to attempt disrupting the architecture and construction industries through prefabrication. One of his inspirations for such a venture was the French architect and metal worker Jean Prouvé, who tried to parlay metal manufacturing into a prosperous business of prefabricated architectural buildings in the 1930s and 1940s. Prouvé ultimately failed, as did many others who came before and after him. But through the advent of new technologies and modern global awareness, Revolution Precrafted may be the first to achieve the previously unattainable goal.

 

The Revolution Precrafted website is impressive in the prolificness of the established alliances and the ideology of merging design with accessibility. Take, for example, the Cabin|Stack|Prefab by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; it is available in two- or three-story options and features high-performance exterior modular panels that can be custom configured to facilitate a tailored-to-fit design to match each homeowner’s particular lifestyle and each unique site. Another dream home is the Instrumental Home- a limited edition design collaboration between two of the hottest names in design: the Los Angeles-based design-build firm Marmol Radziner with interiors by Kravitz Design-that’s musician extraordinaire Lenny Kravitz. Each area of this compact, one-bedroom home was smartly considered to maintain a constant connection with the outdoors. To bolster the indoor-outdoor living concept, much of the home’s durable exterior materials are carried through to the inside.

EFFECTING CHANGE

Though the majority of the US population may not be aware of the need for prefabrication, most other advanced countries are far ahead regarding environmental and social sustainability. Studies have shown a multitude of benefits to the prefabrication of homes: it reduces construction injuries by providing a more controlled and safer work environment; it reduces waste in terms of materials, time, and labor; and, it promotes a substantial increase in recycling. Another benefit to the efficiency of prefabrication is cost savings. “First and foremost, we can build homes in as fast as two to three months, so this slashes the operational costs and manpower costs. It’s difficult to give a specific percentage since it will depend on the design and the target destination,” says Antonio. But it’s safe to say that, all in all, a customer will be able to save considerable money due to the short construction period and lesser manpower and operational costs.”

“While the momentum for his prefabrication revolution continues to build, Antonio is well on the way to taking Revolution Precrafted to the next level with the launch of the company’s first two projects in the Philippines.”

Many countries around the world understand these benefits: in Japan, currently 25 percent of all new residential units are prefabricated; and in Sweden, it is an impressive 84 percent. Antonio agrees, saying, “There are a lot of countries that are already open to prefab homes, but we are still educating others about the advantages of prefab homes and how they can address the common pain points of consumers.” In the US, the prefabrication market is a surprisingly low 2 percent, even though 90 percent of the waste going into our country’s landfills is made up of building and demolition waste. When asked what he saw as possible influencing catalysts to make prefabrication more acceptable by mainstream consumers, Antonio replies, “Popular appeal. We believe that as more people of a certain status use them, it will. increase the desirability among consumers.” This is the reason behind going with “branded” prefabricated designs. “We want homeowners to aspire for homes designed by some of the world’s best architects, designers, and artists,” explains Antonio.

Study the pros land cons before committing to the idea of building a prefabricated home from scratch. Where some US banks and insurance companies may not be willing to participate in lending or insuring this kind of project, there are others that will, but they may have particular criteria that need to be met. “Again, different countries have different levels of understanding on prefab structures,” Antonio says. “We believe that in the future, this will also be addressed as more people get educated about prefabricated products.” He shared that it is only after considerable appeals to the lending brokers that Philippine banks are now receptive to issuing home loans for prefabricated projects.

 

While the momentum for his prefabrication revolution continues to build, Antonio is well on the way to taking Revolution Precrafted to the next level with the launch of the company’s first two projects in the Philippines. “These projects are the $1.1 billion Batulao Artscapes, which feature homes and museums by famous architects such as Jean Nouvel, Christian de Portzamparc, Tange Associates, and Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie; and, the fourteen-thousand-unit Revolution Flavorscapes in Lakeshore Estates, Mexico, Pampanga,” Antonio reports decidedly. “So far, we have secured bank financing for customers who bought units in these two projects, and we are preparing the initial turnover of units for 2019.”

Today, at the age of forty-one, Robbie Antonio has more than made his mark on the world, but he’s just getting started. The fact that twenty-first-century technology is readying driverless automobiles to soon become the new norm, and robots can be programmed to ski the slopes of the French Alps, we can certainly imagine ordering one of Robbie Antonio’s limited-edition prefabricated homes from an online shopping cart and having it delivered to our doorstep and assembled within three to six months. As an architect myself, I enjoy and appreciat the premise of Antonio’s vision. But it’s his robust confidence in the global domination to democratizing high-design architecture through exclusive collaboration with industry-leading creatives that commands enormous respect.One of Antonio’s key business mantras, after all, is “Go big-or go home!”

 

by Gerald Burwell, Vie Magazine

—

Source: https://viemagazine.com/article/revolution-precrafted-robbie-antonio/

Revolution Precrafted Supports Lazada On Its 7th Year

by The City Roamer

Revolution Precrafted, the first and only unicorn startup in the Philippines, is joining the festivities for Lazada’s 7th year birthday celebration, offering a wide range of designer homes, pavilions and pop-up retail spaces at discounted price, culminating in a massive 50 percent discount on reservation fees on March 27.

For the first time, Revolution Precrafted, a Philippine-based property-tech company that supplies both traditional and prefab homes, is making a wide selection of its homes and other structures, available on the popular marketplace platform, at discounted rates.

Some of the homes now offered on Lazada are units designed by local and international architects and artists such as ‘Hedera’ by Kenneth Cobonpue; ‘Polygonal Successions’ by Eduardo Calma; ‘Tranche’ by Budji Layug and Royal Pineda; ‘Billboard Home’ by David Salle; and ‘Butterfly’ Home designed by French architect Elizabeth de Portzamparc. The affordable townhomes designed by world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is also offered at discounted rates.

Don’t miss out the 10 percent discount for Revolution Precrafted’s other curated homes including ‘Nest Pod’ by Fernando Romero; ‘Instrumental Home’ by Marmol Radziner and Kravitz Design; ‘Sliding Door House’ by Sou Fuimoto’ ‘The Block’ by Tom Dixon; and ‘Skin Home’ by Daphne Guiness.

Connect by Manny Pacquiao

To up the ante, Revolution Precrafted also offered online home designs from its Philippine-based residential communities including the Batulao Artscapes project in Nasugbu, Batangas, Revolution Flavorscapes in Mexico, Pampanga and Revolution Hills in San Mateo Rizal. All homes from these communities are offered at 10 percent discount.

As if that’s not enough, pavilions designed by some of the world’s best designers such as ‘Ellipsicoon’ by UN Studio; ‘Wooden Cloud’ by Kengo Kuma; ‘Bamboo Pavilion’ by Campana Brothers; ‘Recreation Pavilion’ by Daniel Libeskind; and ‘Bettina Pavilion’ by Michael Maltzan are also now available on Lazada at discounted rates.

On March 27, Revolution Precrafted will join the nation in toasting Lazada on its 7th year, with a whopping 50 percent discount on reservation fees for its homes, pavilions and pop-up retail spaces.

Take advantage of these jaw dropping discounts and get the chance to be among the first few customers to own a home via Lazada. For more details, check out https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/revolution-precrafted.

 

Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

REVOLUTION PRECRAFTED: Constructing The Dream Infrastructures

by Insights Success

Launched in 2015, Revolution Precrafted is the global leader in branded prefab structures. The organization offers branded prefab homes, pavilions, glamping accommodations, medical and commercial pop-ups, museums, furniture and soon office spaces. It has become the fastest company to be labeled as a unicorn in Southeast Asia. It is currently in the middle of an aggressive expansion program and is on the cusp of opening its regional headquarters in Dubai, and New York among others.

Revolution Precrafted is consciously introducing its ground breaking technologies to regions of the world that need more decent, stable homes, including parts of South and Central America, Africa and Asia. At the same time, it provides customers from developed countries and regions an alternative choice in terms of their homes. At the moment, it has footprint in 27 countries with total projected gross market value of over $9 billion. It has bookings of over 40,000 units for the next 3-4 years. In order to provide more value to its customers, the company is also considering ways to offer additional products as part of its brand extension initiative including fintech, hydroponics, affordable housing, and hotels among others. The organization is also planning to offer products and accessories related to housing and home lifestyle.

Unique Solutions 

Revolution Precrafted offers assistance in securing global brand partnerships for its real estate projects, and prospective businesses exclusive access to its retail, fashion and food & beverage concepts. The company also takes care of the architectural and interior designs as well. Revolution Precrafted also acts solely as a supplier of prefabricated structures to the project site and provides a chance to develop its projects in the chosen territory.

The organization uses advanced robotics to simplify fabrication processes, resulting in faster and more efficient construction of parts. Recently, the company has also introduced smart technologies in order to ensure the security of each home.

Dreams Constructor 

Robbie Antonio, the Founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted, is the visionary behind the company. He conceptualized the idea of branded prefab

Changing the way the world perceives prefab structures and debunking misconceptions about the industry. In fact, he contributed to the acceptance of prefab structures for homes all around the world. He has also been chosen as one of the “25 Pioneers Who Are Transforming the Built World” by BuiltWorlds. The Singapore Straits Times has also named him as one among “50 Asians Who Are Transforming the Way We Live”

To date, he has worked with 13 Pritzker Prize Architects/firms such as Zaha Hadid, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie architects, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, I.M. Pei, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Christian de Portzamparc, as well as designers such as Ron Arad, Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, and Marcel Wanders. He has worked with over 103 notable brands in various fields—including fashion, Hollywood, luxury, design, and art. Robbie has established the largest number of luxury branded real estate developments across the globe, by working with Giorgio Armani for Armani Casa, Versace Home, Missoni Home, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz and Wallpaper Magazine. He also became the youngest person to be included in the Forbes Philippines 50 Richest List in 2017 and 2018.

He is one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world. Because of his accomplishments as an art collector, he has received a number of awards from many different organizations. In 2014, Artnet recognized him as one of “20 of the World’s Most Innovative Art Collectors”, while in 2015, he became the part of Artnet’s “Top 200 Art Collectors Worldwide”. Artnet also recognized him with two awards in 2016: as one of twelve young art collectors to watch out for, as well as one of the top 100 art collectors for that year. In May 2018, he was named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” by PropertyGuru.

His passion for art has also led him to collaborate with artists such as Marina Abramovich, Maurizio Catellan, Francesco Clemente, Damien Hirst, Zhang Huan, David La Chapelle, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie, and Julian Schnabel.

Sustaining the Dignity 

Revolution Precrafted believes that it was fortunate that its journey towards becoming a unicorn company was a relatively smooth sailing one, with few bumps and rough patches along the way.

Robbie Antonio states that, “I think it is largely because of the very strong business model that we have. It is truly unique and revolutionary. As soon as we got our star architects on board, there was already a lot of support and interest from customers, investors and the real estate world.”

The team of Revolution Precrafted is working round the clock to elevate the status and image of the company to ensure that it sustain the reputation and value that it has built over the past few years.

Overcoming the Obstructions 

Revolution Precrafted sees challenges as opportunities which are waiting to happen. As the market can be flimsy and the demand for homes go in cycles, then also, the firm respond by continuously offering new products, and improving its product portfolio so both of its corporate and B2C customers can have a lot of options.

The team of Revolution Precrafted believes, homes are the most important thing any human can buy, so there will always be a demand. It’s just up to an organisation how it will market itself along with its products.

While there had been challenges in the beginning, Revolution Precrafted was able to overcome them. Since its launch, the organization has struggled to grab numerous projects including its flagship $1.1 billion Batulao Artscapes project in the Philippines. The project received a lot of attention during its launch and it completely captured the essence of what the company is all about: the marriage of architecture and branded design and art. Envisioned to be the world’s first livable art park, there are homes and museums designed by some of the world’s leading architects and designers. The list includes Pritzker winners Jean Nouvel, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects, Tange Associates and Christian de Portzamparc.

Another landmark project for the company is worth $750 million, which is Flavorscapes project where the company has committed to supply 14,000 homes. The main amenities of this project include a museum of ice cream, museum of candy, chocolate gallery and microbrewery with beer gardens.

Future Framework 

Revolution Precrafted is currently offering eight product lines but there is so much potential when it comes to branded prefab structures. The company is looking into branded medical facilities, schools and offices along with the new technologies that would enable it to build vertical structures above the usual 4-5 storeys. Revolution Precrafted is looking at opening offices in United Arab Emirates, France, USA, and Brazil among others.

Revolution Precrafted’s goal is to become big enough that it will have an integral role in the lives of many. The organization wants to be able to serve as a vehicle for people around the globe to finally own the home they dream of, and they deserve. The firm already has its footprints in 27 countries, and also wants to be present in all regions, across all demographics.

In order to sustain its tremendous growth, Revolution Precrafted is looking at some financial exercises that will help the company to finance its future projects. It is also looking into bitcoins and a possible public offering by the year 2022.
The organization is also looking forward at ways to create additional revenue streams and one of them is to market by products related to housing and home lifestyle.

Revolution Precrafted hope to launch a global CSR campaign that will allows us to give back to the global community. We have some ideas but we are finalizing them still.

 

Related Links: About Robbie Antonio, Contact

Revolution For A Dream Home- Interview With Robbie Antonio

by Bahrain This Week

Robbie Antonio

Robbie Antonio Founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted is an inspiring figure in the global real Estate industry. He is also the Founder and President of Antonio Development in New York, Managing Director of Century Properties based in Asia, and currently has 82 million square feet worth of developed, in-progress.

To date, Robbie Antonio has worked with 13 Pritzker Prize Architects/firms such as Zaha Hadid, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, I.M.Pei, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Christian de Portzamparc, as well as designers such as Ron Arad, Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, and Marcel Wanders. He has worked with over 103 notable brands in various fields—including fashion, Hollywood, luxury, design, and art. He has established the largest number of luxury branded real estate developments across the globe, by working with Giorgio Armani for Armani Casa, Versace Home, Missoni Home, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz and Wallpaper* Magazine.

Robbie Antonio

Robbie Antonio is one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world. Because of his accomplishments as an art collector, he has received a number of awards from many different organizations. In 2014, Artnet recognized him as one of “20 of the World’s Most Innovative Art Collectors,” while in 2015, he became part of Artnet’s “Top 200 Art Collectors Worldwide”. Artnet also recognized him with two awards in 2016: as one of twelve young art collectors to watch out for, as well as one of the top 100 art collectors for that year. He was cited by BuiltWorld’s in its 2018 Mavericks Report as one of “25 Pioneers Who’ve Transformed the Built Industry.” In May 2018, he was named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” by PropertyGuru.

Singapore Straits Time also named him as one of “50 Asians Who Are Changing the Way We Live”.

Robbie Antonio’s passion for art has also led him to collaborate with artists such as Marina Abramovich, Maurizio Catellan, Francesco Clemente, Damien Hirst, Zhang Huan, David La Chapelle, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Julian Opie, and Julian Schnabel.

Revolution Precrafted, brings together over 80 of the world’s leading architects, artists, and designers including Sou Fujimoto, Daniel Libeskind, David Salle and celebrities such as Daphne Guinness, Helena Christensen + Camilla Stærk and Amar’e Stoudemire.

Tell us about Revolution Precrafted.

Revolution Precrafted is a global real estate marketplace that connects developers, fabricators, designers and customers, to create design driven projects and products, both traditional and prefab, around the world. It is a unicorn startup, valued at over $1 Billion. It is one of the fastest companies in Southeast Asia to reach unicorn status. 

Revolution supplies transportable, collectible, and customizable homes, pavilions, prefabricated museums, glamping, condominiums, hotels, villas, pop-up retail, pop-up F&B, pop-up offices, pop-up co-working spaces, art furniture, etc. to landowners, developers, and end users all over the world.

To date, Revolution Precrafted has bagged around $9.1 Billion in projected gross market value (GMV for the company’s ongoing projects in 27 countries including the Philippines, Myanmar, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica, Guyana, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico and Japan.

What are your major international projects so far?

We have current projects in 28 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, The Middle East, North and South America. These projects are in varying stages of master planning and implementation. We operate on a B2B2C model so a lot of the preparatory works are courtesy of our partner developers. 

What will be the relationship between Revolution Precrafted & Bahrain?

We have a partnership with Property 1 of Bahrain. We are looking at offering 200 square meter villas to homeowners in Bahrain. We are in the process of designing the homes that would best suit the taste and the needs of the local homeowners.

What will make Revolution Precrafted different from other builders in Bahrain?

We are offering products that are focused on design. Our partnership with some of the world’s best architects, designers and artists make us stand out in the industry and differentiates from the rest of the players. While there are a lot of homebuilders and home suppliers in the world, very few actually offer branded homes, pavilions and other verticals.

What do you find in common between Bahrain and Philippines?

What we know is that both Filipino and Bahrain customers have a great passion for beautiful designs that are also functional and comfortable. They prioritize aesthetics and willing to invest the dream home that they want. They also prefer more spacious homes.

Apart from business, what are your passions? 

I am very passionate about modern and contemporary art. But I also have a great appreciation and respects for the works of the masters.

What’s next for Revolution Precrafted?

Revolution Precrafted is currently in the middle of our brand expansion. While we were primarily a prefab company, we have expanded our products and services to include quasi-prefab and hybrid works in order to accommodate more projects around the world. We are also exploring at offering modular clinics, affordable homes, condos, hotels and low to mid-rise offices. We also have great interest in blockchain and STO, and we are venturing into hydroponics.

Revolution Precrafted has is also unveiling a new unit that focuses mainly on franchise and licensing concepts. This is part of our strategy to fully utilize our partnership with some of the world’s best celebrities, and experts. We have announced our partnership with world boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for the HITT boxing gym franchise. We are currently finalizing the details for its roll out. Then we also announced TEMPO, a new biking gym that we conceptualized with Filipino celebrity and biking enthusiast. We will soon unveil a spa and salon partnership with Staerk&Christensen composed of supermodel Helena Christensen and design maven Camilla Staerk.

Any message that you would like to convey to our readers?  

Be flexible and resilient and be willing to work harder than anyone else from your team.

How Robbie Antonio Is Building The Home Of The Future?

by Talib Choudrhy, GQ via Architectural Digest Middle East

Fittingly, Robbie Antonio, the $1 billion construction start-up CEO, has not one but two extraordinary homes in Manila. The first is a biomorphic art-gallery-cum-private-residence dubbed Stealth in the Philippines’ capital’s most exclusive neighbourhood.

It’s as if a spaceship has landed among the grand villas, an otherworldly, matte black confection dreamt up by the iconic Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who was persuaded to take his first residential commission in 15 years by the strength of Antonio’s vision. That, and the fact the entrepreneur is as charming as he is persistent, and clearly has a passion for design. “I wanted the art to pop, and usually every gallery has white walls,” says Antonio by way of explanation of the unusually dark palette. “Everything here is matte black. It’s my favourite colour. In the bathroom, even the soap and the tissue paper is black.”

robbie antonio
Robbie Antonio sits on furniture by Daniel Libeskind at the home he has dubbed Stealth

As the name suggests, Antonio’s home is an intensely private space (all the doors have biometric sensors) yet it has a gallery-like feel, thank to the cavernous, shadowy interior and the museum-quality commissions it houses. His astounding art collection is eclectic and colourful, with works by Damien Hirst, Francis Bacon and Paul McCarthy popping out of the gloom. There is nothing cosy or conventional about this house – there are few windows, for one thing; apertures in the ceiling pierce defined spaces with light – and there is something extraordinary to gaze at with every turn.

“I didn’t want it to look like this is a house,” says Antonio, “That was the point. I didn’t want to enter and see a sofa, a TV, a dining room. If I could, I wouldn’t even have chairs. I wanted it to be very distressed and Brutalist. I didn’t want an elegant mansion. That to me is so cliché. I just wanted the architecture to stand out and to make people think.”

The Armadillo Tea Pavilion by Ron Arad

Antonio is in the business of reimagining what a home can be, using the greatest design and architecture talents such as Zaha Hadid and Jean Nouvel to elevate the concept of pre-fabricated homes and turn it into something fabulous and desirable. The ethos behind his company Revolution Precrafted embodies democratic design at its best. It specialises in the construction of prefabricated, made-to-order homes that are constructed at a fraction of the cost of houses built using traditional construction methods.“The goal is to be prolific,” he says, “The mission statement is to the ultimate marketplace for designer, modular homes at an accessible price.”

The Volu Dining Pavilion by Zaha Hadid with Patrik Schumacher launched Revolution Precrafted at Design Miami in 2015

Dotted throughout his own cavernous home there are monolithic pieces that Antonio has commissioned from leading designers and architects, including Kengo Kuma, David Adjaye, Tadao Ando and Daniel Libeskind. Several of the works are pavilions which were created for the launch of Revolution Precrafted at Design Miami in December 2015. 

robbie antonio

Another novel feature is a rotating bar, which Koolhaas integrated into the house at Antonio’s request; it was a scaled-down version of a much bigger, unrealised ambition. “At one point, I wanted the entire house to rotate – imagine a different facade every week – but it proved to be impossible,” Antonio explains, “I wanted four sides that changed throughout the month.”

His ambitions for Revolution Precrafted won’t be scaled back and it is growing at a pace that has even taken him by surprise. “I always planned and hoped that it would be big, but now I think it’s going to be bigger than I could ever have imagined,” he says, “We launched not even three years ago and there are now over 600 people in the company.”

Robbie Antonio in his penthouse apartment at Trump Tower Manila

A year after Revolution Precrafted was founded, it had a Series B funding round which raised the company’s  valuation to over $1bn, making it the first ‘unicorn’ start-up from the Philippines, and allowing the it to establish a  footprint in a number of global markets, including Italy, Japan and the UAE.

To say that Antonio is a man of action would be an understatement; he gets ‘five or six hours of sleep a night’ and wakes up at around 5.30am, works at least six days a week, and signed deals in over 20 countries last year, with a projected gross market value of $9 billion. Sport helps him to manage stress. Antonio tries to work out twice a day, but rarely uses the swimming pool or the Yves Klein Blue squash court at Stealth. Instead, he prefers circuit training because ‘it is fast-paced but I can still take breaks to look at my phone and work’.

There’s also a whole room dedicated to a Marina Abramovic installation which impels visitors to stop and contemplate by lying on a bed. The door locks for 60 minutes. “I’ve never, ever used it,” says Antonio. It’s hard to imagine him staying still for that long. Our interview is entirely conducted during a walking tour of the house.“I can’t stay still for 60 seconds,” he quips. Just then, he pauses from our interview and steals a glance at his phone. “I’ve had 115 WhatsApps in the time we’ve been talking….I had visitors from Brazil on Thursday, yesterday from Germany, today from Dubai.”

The Ellipsicoon Retreat Pavilion by Ben Van Berkel of UNSTUDIO

Antonio travels to Dubai regularly himself. An office there is in the works, and Revolution Precrafted signed a $3.2bn deal with luxury developer Seven Tides to design, supply and install two-and three-bedroom condominium apartments and villas on Dubai’s The World islands. The challenge for Antonio and his team is to realise the designs at an affordable price; although the Dubai development will be more at the luxury end of the scale, others are eminently accessible and the likes of Jean Nouvel are not used to delivering complete buildings for as little as $20,000. 

“It takes six months of value engineering these things and there’s a lot of back and forth with their teams,” he says. “One of the houses took a year to get right. It has to be viable. Some of our homes are super esoteric. I would live in them but very few people want to live in something that’s that far removed from the norm. But they’re like cool art pieces and I want them to be part of the vision. I love those super far-out designs because I think it really pushes you to live differently.”

robbie antonio
Robbie Antonio photographed at Stealth, one of his Manila homes

That said, Antonio’s second Manila home is more conventional than Stealth. The plush penthouse apartment in the city’s Trump Tower overlooks the gleaming cityscape, much of which is his family legacy.

Century Properties, the real-estate company founded by his father, is responsible for developing much of Manila’s prime real estate including branded residences from the likes of Armani and Versace. But Antonio’s sights are set far beyond his hometown. He founded his first company in New York right after business school. “I wanted to do something on my own, completely independent of that,” he explains, “I’m not a ‘local’ person. I like global thinking. We’ve signed deals in 27 markets now, most of them this year. It’s intense, but we’re going after more.”  

Revolution Precrafted

 

 

What Is The One Important Attitude Every Entrepreneur Must Possess?

by PhilStar Lifestyle Business

Robbie Antonio
Over 15,000 participants joined the Go Negosyo Youth Entrepreneurship Summit last March 8 at the World Trade Center, led by (from left) Grab CEO and cofounder Anthony Tan, Department of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, US Ambasssador Sung Kim, Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion.

 

Our Youth Entrepreneurship Summit 2019 was a successful one, attended by over 15,000 participants who joined us at the World Trade Center, Pasay City. It was simulcast in 10 schools and universities, and the summit provided valuable insights on digitalization for both students and entrepreneurs. It was also graced by more than 30 different players in the digital space and techno-preneurs.

During the summit, I shared one important characteristic that every entrepreneur must possess. This is what we call, “The Yes Attitude.” The attitude that we call “Yes” is a positive attitude that must be possessed by anyone, whether you are a student, aspire to be part of the working group or one day become an entrepreneur. A positive attitude in life is what propels many people to become successful.

People like Anthony Tan and many of the summit speakers who started their own digital businesses are here today because they have that attitude and right mindset. Many of us sometimes are challenged with so many problems, but we must remember that problems are a part of life and it is how you look at those problems and turn them into opportunities.

Many entrepreneurs actually look for problems because they are where business models emanate. Hopefully you will learn and be inspired by them and one of these days, be on the same stage they are.

Here are some of the highlights from the biggest digital youth summit held March 8.

robbie antonio
The “Innovation through Collaboration” forum featured Robbie Antonio, CEO of Revolution Precrafted; Jeffri Cheong, managing director of Gawin. PH; Patrick Wing-Ho Ngan, CEO and cofounder of QFPay International Limited; and Albert Go, regional director, Lalamove Southeast Asia. Forum moderator was Perry Lam, founder and CEO of Lam Institute.
“Digital Platforms as Enablers for Inclusive Growth” showcased panelists such as Henry Motte-Munoz, CEO and cofounder of Edukasyon.ph; Kenneth Lingan, country head for the Phils. of Google; Lito Villanueva, managing director of FintQ; Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt; Ray Alimurung, CEO of Lazada Philippines; Martin Yu, associate director of Shopee Philippines; Brian Cu, president of Grab Philippines; Dennis Ng, founder and CEO of Mober; Crystal Lee-Gonzalez, managing director of Honestbee. Forum moderator was Issa Litton.

The third forum revolved around emerging enterprises that solve real-world problems: Panelists were Mario Jordan “Magellan” Fetalino III, CEO of Acudeen; Andrew Cua, CEO of Tralulu; Paolo Bugayong, cofounder and CEO of Aide; David Foote, founder and CEO, Zennya; Audrey Tanco Uy, CEO and founder of ServeHappy Jobs; Leeroy Levias Shoko, CEO of DibzTech Inc.; Dennis Layug, founder and chairperson of Apptitude; Ellard Capiral, CEO of AdMov; and Keb Cuevas, CEO of Tagani.ph. The forum was moderated by Gretchen Ho.

At “Design Thinking–Translating Creative Mindset to New Business Models” were Shaira Luna, photographer; Gian Javelona, CEO of Paydro and OrangeApps; Dan Matutina, graphic designer, illustrator and founding partner of Plus63 Design Co.; Dan Matutina, Erwan Heusaff, founder of Fat Kid Inside Co.; Neil Dagondon, president and cofounder of Edusuite Inc.; Pepe Diokno, film director, producer and writer; and Brian Tenorio, chair of the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The forum was moderated by Sam YG.

 

Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact

More Links:   – Inquirer , – Bilyonaryo News , – Philstar , – Business Mirror Crunchbase Oxford Business Group MillionaireAsia

The Philippines Tech Startup Scene Is Booming

by Tech Collective

‘Tech startup boom’ has become quite the buzz-phrase for Southeast Asia, with various global reports praising the region’s potential for foreign investment, startup viability, and economic growth as a whole.

The Philippines is no exception and in many ways could be considered one of the pack leaders in the region’s tech startup scene. With their very first Unicorn, Revolution Precrafted under their belt–a startup which reached $1 billion USD in value in its first two years of operation–sizeable investments in infrastructure and a range of government-backed incentives, 2018 was a definitive year for the nation. As the end of the first quarter of ‘19 rapidly approaches, the region is again proving that when it comes to tech startups, the only way is up. Let’s delve into the current tech startup climate in more detail:  

The unicorn leads the pack

As well as being the nation’s first Unicorn–rubbing shoulders with e-Commerce giants’ Lazada and Tokopedia–Revolution Precrafted won the Startup of the Year title at the ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards in 2018–and justifiably so.

Robbie Antonio

This online platform connects real estate buyers and developers with a vast range of architects, artists, and designers to create a highly exclusive, pre-constructed living spaces. After signing a $3.2 billion USD deal to manufacture luxury condominiums and villas in Dubai’s renowned “The World Islands” in April 2018, the startup went on to secure an additional $1.2 billion USD for the Okkyin project in Myanmar with KT Group. And it doesn’t stop there.

Read our interview with CEO Robbie Antonio about his plans for the company

The PropTech startup is already looking to raise another $100 million USD in a Series C funding during 2019 and expand into 55 countries with sights set on securing projects in 100 nations by 2020. Although this may sound ambitious, with experts coining the company as “The IKEA of homes”, the disruptive innovation of the project is irrefutable. Each of these luxury living spaces are composed of a series of modular parts that are easily assembled on-site–just like Lego bricks–which makes the product globally adaptable and supports the rapid upward trajectory of the company’s success.

SendFriend takes centre stage

Tech startups across the board have dipped their toes into the Filipino startup scene with success stories spanning from PropTech, MedTech, and right through to e-commerce. However, 2019 is shaping up to be a major year for FinTech in particular, and the blockchain-backed remittance startup SendFriend is a core example of this.

In February this year, SendFriend raised $1.7 million USD from a total of eight investors. The startup enables Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to transfer and convert funds from USD to PHP securely and at the lowest rate available. In a press conference following the funding round, CEO David Lighton voiced that the funding will be used to build the team, develop marketing methods, and focus on community engagement.

The success of SendFriend can be attributed to the fertile soil for FinTech growth and innovation, which comes largely from the population demographics and mobile penetration. According to The Philipines FinTech Report 2018, the nation has a population of just over 100 million, with just 31% of adults possessing a bank account and 58% possessing a mobile device, demonstrating major room for expansion in the sector.

Although payment startups such as Ayannah, a provider of mobile commerce and payment services and Coins.ph, by Betur Inc., are key players in the market, 99% of all transactions in the nation are still made using cash. Alternative payment startups such as Acudeen, a peer-to-peer online marketplace, are increasing in popularity as are blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, accounting for 16% of the FinTech sector startups.

With the government currently formulating policies to drive innovation in this sector, and a clear goal to increase digital payments to account for 20% of transactions by 2020, it is likely that the remainder of 2019 will see more startups jumping aboard the FinTech train.

The Philippines as a hub

The passing of the  “Innovative Startup Act,” by the Filipino government in 2018 featured tax exemptions, free access to government services, and increased efficacy in business permit processing has been a major drawcard for bringing in foreign investment into the region.

One clear example of this is Citystate Group, a Singapore-based group of companies that made a Seed investment in Ticket2Me, a blockchain-powered ticketing startup from the Philippines. Even though the $350,000 USD was raised at the end of February 2019, the startup is already gearing for immediate expansion into other Southeast Asian markets. With the nation proven to be a lucrative startup base, it is likely to be a common theme that the nation will be used as headquarters for startups that have their primary goal and target demographic outside the Philippines.

Here’s why we think The Philippines should be considered as your startup’s HQ

As the Philippines has proven itself as a contender for heavy hitter startups with local and foreign entrepreneurs recognizing the advantages of the government-backed incentives. Don’t be surprised to see more activity and, possibly, even the next unicorn to originate from this Western Pacific nation.

 

— 

Related Links:  About Robbie Antonio , Contact

How “Revolution Precrafted” Revolutionized The Prefab Home Industry

by Alan Green, My African Magazine

Prefabrication is an alternative construction process that involves the design and off-site manufacture of units or modules, and installation of these units at the permanent site. It is a multi-billion-dollar industry that serves as an option for those who want to build their homes faster and at a fraction of the cost. Revolution Precrafted, a company with roots in the Philippines, is a global company that does both traditional and prefab homes, pavilions, museums, pop-up retail, and other structures. It employs advanced robotics techniques to streamline the construction process, and deliver homes faster.

Prefab homes have been in the market since the early 1950s, notably in Scandinavian countries; but they have enjoyed increased acceptance in recent years thanks to Revolution Precrafted’s ability to penetrate non-traditional markets such as North and South America and Southeast Asia. Prefab homes are universal homes and can be used in all markets, including developing markets like Africa, because they can be adapted to different climates and weather conditions.

THE IMPACT OF A LEADER

Revolution Precrafted, the brain child of pioneering business tycoon Robbie Antonio, is a global marketplace that links developers, fabricators, designers, customers and other segments of the supply chain for both traditional and prefab development projects. Launched in December 2015, Revolution Precrafted currently has footprint in 28 countries, with a projected gross market value (GMV) of $9.1 billion from its projects in those countries.

The company initially offered prefab homes, pavilions, museums and other verticals, but is now expanding to include affordable housing as well. It is also spearheading a strategic brand extension to include other business units such as blockchain like STO, hydroponics, affordable homes, condos and hotels. Revolution Precrafted is also expanding to create regional headquarters in key regions such as Africa, Europe, Middle East and North America. To support this planned expansion, it is preparing for a series C funding round in mid-2019. Relatively speaking, Revolution Precrafted is a newcomer in the industry, but it is the only company that offers branded, design-driven prefab homes and other structures. It stands out as the company that introduced prefab homes designed by 81 of the world’s best architects, designers and artists.

THE ROAD TO A PHENOMENAL SUCCESS

Revolution Precrafted launched its first flagship project in December 2017 and wasted no time in spearheading an aggressive global business roadshow that sent it to all regions. The management says they are just proud that a lot of companies they have talked to believe in their business model and see the great benefits of prefab homes as alternative homes, especially in specific communities and demographics.

The company boasts over 50 home and museum designs by its world-class architects and designers, including Pritzker award winning architects like Jean Nouvel, Christian de Portzamparc, Tange Associates and Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie Architects (PJAR). It also has homes designed by celebrities like Daphne Guinness, Helena Christensen and Camilla Staerk, Oswald Boateng, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few.

THE MAN BEHIND THE PHENOMENAL SUCCESS

Robbie Antonio

Robbie Antonio, 42, is the Founder and CEO of Revolution Precrafted. He wears several other hats, being the Founder and President of Antonio Development in New York, and Managing Director of Century Properties based in Asia. He currently has 82 million square feet worth of developed, in-progress, and managed properties under his belt.

To date, he has worked with 13 Pritzker Prize Architects/firms such as Zaha Hadid, Philip Johnson Alan Ritchie, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, I.M.Pei, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Christian de Portzamparc, as well as designers such as Ron Arad, Campana Brothers, Tom Dixon, Philippe Starck, and Marcel Wanders. He has worked with over 103 notable brands in various fields—including fashion, Hollywood, luxury, design, and art. He has established the largest number of luxury branded real estate developments across the globe, by working with Giorgio Armani for Armani Casa, Versace Home, Missoni Home, Paris Hilton, Lenny Kravitz and Wallpaper Magazine.

Robbie Antonio is one of the youngest and most prolific collectors of international modern and post-war contemporary art in the world and the recipient of a number of awards from many different organizations. Mr. Antonio was cited by BuiltWorld’s in its 2018 Mavericks Report as one of “25 Pioneers Who’ve Transformed the Built Industry.” In May 2018, he was named “Real Estate Personality of the Year” by PropertyGuru. Singapore Straits Time also named him as one of “50 Asians Who Are Changing The Way We Live.”

Related Links: About Robbie Antonio , Contact