Century Spire is a mixed-use 60-storey tower in Makati City, the financial hub of Manila, capital of the Philippines. The building was designed by Daniel Libeskind, and contains a show-apartment commissioned from Armani/Casa by the Filipino real-estate company Century Properties. This particular living space is a wonderful fusion of the modernist vision of Libeskind and the timeless elegance of Armani. Design 2000 has managed the implementation of the apartment for Armani/Casa in such a way as to ensure an absolute level of excellence and total adherence to the concept. 

That concept is characterised by a consistency of furnishings and a repeated use of certain materials within the space. These leitmotifs lend the interior a sense of balance and a special lustre. The rooms have an immensely comfortable feel, an effect that is central to Armani’s aesthetic. The stylistic ease of the house derives from elements such as the parquet floors and the warm tones of the furniture. The walls are an unparalleled element of the design: vertical rectangles of brushed, anodised steel that capture every golden ray of daylight. They amount to a brilliantly unique wall-covering.

In the bathroom, the stone walls are a feature of astonishing beauty. The horizontal veins create an effect like the weft in a piece of textile – and, as with a skein of rich cloth, the seams between the pieces have been meticulously aligned: the pattern remains consistent and faultless wherever you look. 

The use of Greek onion-stone, or cipollino marble, creates an almost painterly effect, especially when the remarkable green ribs in the stone are illuminated from above by the Barrisol skylight. Here, too, the natural pattern in the stone is perfectly aligned, and the beautiful marble chimes perfectly with the other elements – steel and light – to make a space that is utterly beguiling.

The rugs in the bedroom are of wool and silk. Together with the wall-coverings, which are in a similar muted tone, they create a gentle, balanced and uniform light that serves to accentuate the finer details of the decorative scheme. It all adds up to a brilliant palette of materials, masterfully deployed.