Artscapes is the theme for the Batulao
property located on a hilly spot in Batangas,
81 kilometres south of Manila. With Century
Properties as its developer and Revolution
Precrafted as its supplier, the 142-hectare project
is envisioned to be a haven for artists and art
lovers. It will feature four pre-crafted museums
and house 8,000 living spaces designed by
Revolutionaries like Nouvel, Cobonpue, Philip
Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects, Calma,
Marcel Wanders, and Budji+Royal. This, too, is
scheduled to open in 2020.
In total, Revolution Precrafted has bagged at
least US$7.6 billion worth of project revenues
from its developments in 20 countries. These
projects include: $3.2 billion “The World”
project with Seven Tides in Dubai, the $1.2
billion Okkyin Project in Myanmar with KT
Group, and the $300 million residential project
with Novo Development in the Caribbean“I am competitive but I am not jealous. It is not
like my way is the high way or the only way. I try
to come out with a potential win for the other
as well. Otherwise, they will never come back to
me!” he says, proud about the relationships he
has built around the world.
So instead of competing with existing
players like developers, Antonio partners with
them, as what he has done in the countries
that Revolution Precrafted has successfully
penetrated. “My business demands me to be
their friends, not their enemies.”
Like a seasoned player, he knows when to
join the fray. “I know I cannot do many things
in life, but I know what I can do and the game I
want to play. I do not like a business that is not a
billion-dollar idea. I do not like it if I do not have
the skills for it. If I will not enjoy a comparative
advantage, there is no point in my entering
something,” he says.countries of Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and
Tobago, and the Bahamas. The prop-tech
company also has developments in Brazil,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Cyprus, Spain,
Japan, and Indonesia.WHEN ANTONIO SAYS he loves being busy,
that is an understatement. Like an energized
atom, he runs roughshod over his staff, every
single day, sending them a wake-up text at 4:30
in the morning and texting them until 10:30 in
the evening. He doesn’t succumb to the luxury
of sleep, averaging five to six hours only; after
all, a global player must be awake when the
other side of the world is.
The challenge of a good deal is what fires him
up. “I’m a deal-hungry, deal-centric individual,”
he admits. “I enjoy the process. Nothing is more
fun than closing a deal.” But he makes sure he
always holds the trump card (“I will never take
no for an answer”), Antonio says, clarifying in
the same breath that he is not an unfair player.Does he also know how to walk away—and
when? Seems unlikely. What’s more believable
is for Antonio not to enter the arena if the
odds are stacked against him; but once inside,
he will be, in his words, “super-relentless” in
claiming victory.
And yet, he says he does walk away, “when
the terms are not favourable to me.”
At this stage in the game, the odds are still
in his favour with Revolution Precrafted.
In fact, Antonio wants to add 19 more
Revolutionaries for a total of 99. One of the
architects he must be eye-ing is IM Pei (the
glass pyramid at The Louvre Paris). After all,
they’ve already collaborated on a project:
The Centurion, a high-end condominium
building in Midtown Manhattan, two blocks
off Central Park.
However, the 100th Revolutionary is
already known to him. “I will be No. 100,” he
declares, with the confidence of a player who
knows he can make this happen.ROUND AND
ROUND
(Opposite) The
0UÄUP[`9PUN by
Sou Fujimoto,
the Japanese
architect who
designed the
Serpentine
Gallery in
Londonphilippine tatler. august 2018 159