Inspired architecture students pose with Felino Palafox Jr. of Palafox Architecture after his keynote lecture.
The future looks bright for Philippine architecture as professionals and students gathered together in one of the biggest and most optimistic celebrations of architecture and design in the country.
Over 4,000 architecture and design professionals, students, and enthusiasts braved the summer heat to join the three-day festivities at Anthology Architecture and Design Festival Manila 2017 with the theme, Context and Intent, held last weekend at the Puerta del Parian, Intramuros, Manila.
Covering the one-hectare Puerta del Parian and Asean Gardens grounds, the festivities included lectures, dialogues, exhibitions, competitions, workshops, and activity booths.
Anthology Talks—the festival highlight—featured H. Koon Wee and Eunice Seng of Hong Kong University and SKEW Collaborative; Masaki Morinobu of Nonscale; Budji Layug and Royal Pineda of Budji+Royal Architecture+Design; Alexander Furunes of ErikssonFurunes; Sudarshan Khadka of Leandro V. Locsin Partners; Felino Palafox Jr. of Palafox Architecture; Luke Yeung of ArchitectKidd; Stephen Pimbley of SPARK Architects; Michael Cu Fua of Ong & Ong; Patrick Bruce of OVAL Partnership; Isabella Leone of Portland Design; and Julien de Smedt of JDS Architects.
Interior Design was highlighted with a dedicated pavilion headlined by Frenjick Quesada of Design H+Q; Jigs Adefuin of Adefuin Design Studio; Shanwei Weng of AN Design Studio; Norman Agleron of HBA Manila.
Shelter Dialogues, another festival highlight, was a roundtable discussion on the pressing topics in today’s industry. Topics included A Global Architecture; Architecture, Culture, and Society; The Practice of Architecture; Designing Architects: Evaluating Architecture Education; Architecture as a Multi-disciplinary Practice; Building the Nation: Architecture in the Philippines.
Distinguished panelists included Tobias Guggenheimer, Daniel Yu, Joey Yupangco, Victoria Goseco, Rebecca Plaza, Jason Ang, Manny Miñana, Jorge Yulo, Matthieu Begoghina, Buck Sia, Conrad Efre, Robert Mirafuente, Angelo Ray Serrano, Stephanie Tan-Branquinho, Sudarshan Khadka, Bela Lanyi, Chona Ponce, Vincent Ng, Lam Lai Shun, Alexander Furunes, Bejamine Mendoza, Gabriel Limgenco, Andrea Dorotan, Danny Tan Ko, Denise de Castro, Choie Funk, William Ti Jr., Hans Sy Jr., Joel Luna, Patrick Bruce, and Cathy Saldaña.
Workshops on 3D visualization by Fernando Cunanan and Alain Bellare; manual sketching by Jose Miguel Lim; and form building by the Design Center of the Philippines made the festival more interactive.
Designer Stories—a talk-show format discussion—was participated by Rino Fernandez, Ramil Tibayan Jr., Cesar Ramirez, and Joel Aldor for Heritage Conservation; Rebecca Plaza, Yonni Habulan, and Charisse Ong for Young Blood; and Paul Blasco, Buck Sia, Marivic Kapuno for Beyond Manila.
Competitions also made the festive spirit alive. The first Anthology Live Design Competition was participated by 10 competitive architecture schools in the Philippines where the University of Santo Tomas representatives are declared grand champion.
ALVEO INNOVISIONS, an interior design competition in form of scale models, was sponsored by Alveo Land Corp. A House for Iñigo: Cat House Design Competition was made possible by Petopia and Nature’s Protection; and A Chair+More: Furniture Design Competition was supported by WTA Architecture + Design Studio.
The annual festival is organized by WTA Architecture + Design Studio headed by its Principal Architect and Festival Director, William Ti Jr. alongside Festival Manager Dianne Naval. It is made possible with the support of the Intramuros Administration and Shelter Architecture and Design Magazine.
Anthology Festival is sponsored by RapidSteel Builders, OMNI, Tossot, Boysen, Century Chemicals, AMS, Landlite, World Home Depot, ABC, Atlanta Pipes and Fittings, CBM Construction, CSI Biowood, DN Steel, Emerald Vinyl, HiGreen, Nationwide, Norwich, Othmann Inc., Formica, Nature’s Protection, Petopia, and Nostrano Forma, in partnership with Alveo Land Corp., ASpace, DeLab Collaborative Inc., Escolta Volunteer Arm, Philippine Heritage Map Org., Escuella Taller Foundation Inc., Dong-A, Philippine Lego Users Group, Microcadd Institute Inc., The Manila Hotel, and Worldbex Services Inc.
Anthology Festival aims to be the center for architecture and design in the region.
Next year’s festival will be in January and will feature more speakers and a much bigger platform for architecture. A highlight will be the launch of a new temporary annual Shelter Pavilion as Anthology continues to be the biggest architecture event in the Philippines.
For inquiries, contact WTA Architecture + Design Studio at 570-4148.