"Umangkop" means "to adapt" in Tagalog. Adaptation relates to a variety of facets of Filipino life, including architecture. The designers were able to build a conceptual biophilic home that embodies the needs and features of everyday Filipinos visually, architecturally, and climatically.

The concept of the Mckinley house revolves on two main aspects. The first is the "Tibatib," a plant native to the Philippines that is popular as an indoor plant because to its many segments per leaf. The second idea focuses on one of the Philippines' most well-known landmarks, the "Taal" volcano. The volcano is known to be isolated from the rest of the landscape in the province of Laguna/Batangas. The residence, like the volcano, strives to distance itself from the fast-paced life of the city in which it is located. The outside façade is inspired by the "Tibatib" plant and is based on the shape of the Taal volcano, which is an irregular truncated cone. The "crater" is an indoor zen garden with a water feature that is attractively designed. The torus layout allows the zen garden to be the center focus of the residence, with all rooms and living spaces facing and easily accessible to the garden. The layout's main purpose is to completely isolate you from the city; it would be like living in your own little safe zone, a place where you could breathe without worrying about the outside world since the design encourages you to focus on the inside.


Forbes Park is centrally situated in Mckinley Hill. The park is situated along EDSA, the main highway that goes through Metro Manila, towards Bonifacio Global City, the Philippines' most important business area, where most modern offices are located. Forbes Park, like the project's concept, is an environmental hotspot where, despite the city's abundance of concrete buildings and layers of highways, the park is filled with a tranquil atmosphere due to the use of landscaping through the planting of acacia trees all throughout the village while keeping the occupants fully residential. Given the location of the site, users are encouraged to live a more green and ecologically friendly lifestyle, since the road is bike friendly and the commercial area is just a few kilometers away, making the daily commute easier on the eyes and the body.

The architectural and structural enhancements to the site are deliberately placed and employed throughout the project. The site's physical design integrates bioclimatic and tropical design elements, lowering the carbon footprint and any environmental contaminants. The use of bamboo as the structure's roof or shell, a double-layered facade for thermal comfort, a climate adaptive design to decrease wind resistance, and solar panels to reduce energy use are examples of such developments. Furthermore, not only are architectural advancements constrained, but the structure itself has a deeper psychological approach enabled by the zen garden. The zen garden is a constant sight within the house, amplifying its stress-relieving effect. It is positioned in the middle of the structure near the aperture.