Get to know 8 of the best Filipino architects and designers this 2024

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

Great daylight. This is key to having a beautiful space. 

Please share a few practical design tips.

Get rid of clutter. Invest in natural materials. Work with talented designers. Support local design talents. Look within and inside oneself to choose art. Embrace fabric and great detailing.  

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

When I was young, I wanted to be a painter or fashion designer, but my mum pushed me to attend architecture school. It was ultimately the best decision of my life to study architecture. Now, I’m very proud of my work, our studio’s work and what we’ve been able to build for our clients. My mum is also delighted, which is very important to me. 

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Be bold and tell a great story through design. Let’s create transformative places that take the project to the next level. Let’s celebrate the client’s lived experiences. Let’s celebrate cultures. Let’s celebrate light and how it adds dimension to the space. And I find meaning and purpose in everything I do. The combination of all the above,─that’s excellent alchemy right there.

Read also: JJ Acuña introduces his Makati studio, shares his favourite design trend, future projects and more

Architect

Sources of inspiration

My first and foremost inspiration is my late father, National Artist Pablo S Antonio. Until today, I still heed his words and guidance.

Design heroes

In architecture: Pablo Antonio, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra, Oscar Niemeyer, Geoffrey Bawa. In interior design: François Catroux, Henri Samuel, David Hicks, Billy Baldwin, Christian Liaigre, Stephen Sills.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House; Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs; Oscar Niemeyer’s Das Canoas House in Brazil; Philip Johnson’s The Glass House; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion; The Jim Thompson House in Bangkok.

Favourite design era

I have always liked the Sixties and Seventies eras. I particularly like their modern designs, which are an extension of the Mid-century Modern. This period is timeless.

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

If possible, lots of outdoor spaces, gardens, courtyards, etc; nine ways of furniture blending; important artworks, paintings, antiques, and accessories; lots of light and ventilation resulting in a very light and airy home.

Please share a few practical design tips.

Always create a timeless home. A home must be well-edited. Know when to begin and when to end. An architect must coordinate with the client for her likes and dislikes; the house must reflect the owner’s personality. Work around the property’s orientation, mainly where the morning and the afternoon sun rest. Specify materials that are easy to maintain.

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

Again, my father. Seeing his works, as well as his devotion and passion for architecture, inspired me to follow in his footsteps.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Designs must be based on the climate conditions; for example, for us living in the Philippines, we must design for the tropics, allowing cross-ventilation for good air circulation, as well as wide eaves and a good roof as we contend with typhoons every year. 

Designs should be practical and logical—designed with young children and senior citizens in mind. Allow natural light to flow inside, as this is an energy saver.

Design should be timeless.

Architect, Lor Calma & Partners

Sources of inspiration

The natural and the artificial world.

Design heroes

My dad, Antonio Citterio, SANAA, Antón García Abril, Diller & Scofidio.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

Casa Hemeroscopium by Antón García Abril; Grace Farms–SANAA; High Line–Diller & Scofidio.

Favourite design era

Deconstruction Age.

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

A new concept of living

Please share a few practical design tips.

Design a well-ventilated house with lots of daylight. Keep an open-plan layout.

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

My dad.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Keep it simple and true to the concept. Innovate quietly.

Difficulty can always be solved creatively and technically.

Read more: Ed Calma Designs a Modern Masterpiece

Design Director, Jonathan G Matti Design Consultants

Sources of inspiration

From everywhere, especially with the vast resources of ideas and inspiration offered by the Internet. Both design and non-design books are also significant sources of inspiration. People, places and events play a vital role, too.

Design heroes

Elsie de Wolfe, credited by The New Yorker to have invented the profession of interior design; Billy Baldwin, a classic and modernist interior designer; John Fowler and Nancy Lancaster, for inventing the decorated non-decorated look; Peter Pennoyer, for contemporary classical architecture; Pier Carlo Bontempi, for his new traditional Italian architecture; Peter Marino, for creating the most exciting retail and hospitality spaces; Philip Johnson, for giving us The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; Luis Barragán, a Mexican modernist architect for colour and play of light and shadows.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

Seagrams Building in New York, Glass House in Connecticut, Musee Picasso in Paris, Louvre Pyramid, the Philippines’ bahay na bato, Hotel de la Marine in Paris.

Favourite design era

The present is important because this is the era I am working in.

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

Warmth and spontaneity.

Please share a few practical design tips.

Designing spaces starts with good bones and flow. 

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

I grew up in a house with a lot of movement, be it furniture arrangement, garden landscaping, decorations and architecture. This propelled me to take up architecture.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Purpose, functionality, proportion.

Read also: Mikee and Sheila Romero pay tribute to artist Rodel Tapaya in an intimate dinner

Designer, J Antonio Mendoza Design Consultants 

Sources of inspiration

Now, the answer to this is infinite. But top of my head…I can be inspired by a moment, a person, or even a well-designed paperclip. 

Design heroes

Richard Neutra.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

Philip Johnson’s Glass House, Ayala’s Park Central Towers (which I am a part of), and the Mesquita in Córdoba, Spain.

Favourite design era

Certainly, this contemporary era, which I am a part of. I design with passion and fervour so that someday, I, too, can inspire the architects and designers of the future.

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

A soul. A connection to the past in a present setting that is also a link to the future.

Please share a few practical design tips.

When designing, just be yourself. Do what you want. All the most excellent designers do this.

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

Family, my parents particularly. I grew up in a beautiful home that was ageless. My architect father built the house and, together with my interior designer mother, made it a home. My maternal grandparents’ ancestral home was on Calle General Solano in the San Miguel district near Malacañan. It was a beautiful Hispano-Filipino home filled with antique furniture and centuries-old ivory Santo. So, my taste is eclectic, a side of me I have always liked.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Design is all about proportion. It would be best if you were disciplined in choosing what goes into your home. I, fortunately, am blessed with the gift of restraint, a quality that escapes many.

See also: Architect-designer J Anton Mendoza: “You are only as good as your last, so approach each project with fervour”

Principal Architect, EA Miñana Architects

Sources of inspiration

Everything and anything! Nature, art, music, fashion, interiors and the inspired and creative work of others!

Design heroes

Lindy Locsin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ed Tuttle, among a few….

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Fallingwater, Amankila resort, Fondation Louie Vuitton……

Favourite design era

No other time but Today!

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

Soul and Spirit.

Please share a few practical design tips.

Orient your home towards cool sources of light, ie, to the East and to the South. Keep your service areas towards the West. Provide active air flow with cross-ventilations from the SW (habagat) and NE (amihan) directions.

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

My Tita Nitang Pelaez-Robicheau; Architect Syjuco, who designed my parents’ home in Magallanes, among a host of residences he did in Makati during the Fifties and Sixties; my mentors Lindy Locsin and Bobby Mañosa.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

I have a deep affection for Filipino culture. I am interested in abstracting familiar forms from our country’s vocabulary, hoping to reinvent our past with contemporary architectural translations of simplicity, context, elegance and comfort.

Through light, energy, technology, craft, materiality and a sense of place, I create peaceful, harmonious environments that capture the soul and radiate spirit.

In part, soul and spirit are cultivated by providing elements of surprise and wonder within a design narrative that seeks to explore modulations of scale, light, a closeness with Nature, materiality and energy.

Principal Architect and Designer Nazareno Architecture and Design

Sources of inspiration

Travels. Japan and Italy are always high on the list. 

Design heroes

Luis Barragán, a Mexican architect, and Mies van der Rohe, a German architect, are pioneers of modern architecture whose important works were built in the early to mid-1900s. 

Also Piero Lissoni and Antonio Citterio. Both Italian architects, interior designers and furniture designers. Their separate design practices are the standards I try
to emulate.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

The German Pavilion for the 1929 World Expo, commonly known as The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies van der Rohe. 

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

Soul. And art provides that. A kitchen with a good cook is a close second.

Please share a few practical design tips.

Bigger is only sometimes better. Strive to find the appropriate size, scale and proportions for anything you design. 

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

My mum and dad were friends with local architecture stalwarts Bobby Mañosa and Jorge Ramos. I would talk to them and even  visited their homes when I was a young kid. I could see their passion for architecture, and I wanted to be just like them and do what they do.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

While materiality plays a large role in my design, restraint is equally important. Striking a balance between these two is key.

Read more: Home Tour: An old Manila home is transformed into a spacious sanctuary to start life anew

Principal Architect, CT Onglao Architects Inc

Sources of inspiration

Travelling, books and search engines.

Design heroes

IM Pei, Frank Gehry, Ed Tuttle, Ernesto Bedmar, Ricardo Bofill, and Geoffrey Bawa, to name a few.

Favourite buildings, houses, infrastructure

Works by Ricardo Legorreta, Ricardo Bofill, and Geoffrey Bawa…too many to mention.

Favourite design era

The last 20 years of architectural evolution and development.

Finish this sentence: A home must have _____?

Warmth and serenity, a certain lightness and, of course, comfort.

Please share a few practical design tips.

KISS: Keep it simple, st…d!

Who/what inspired you to choose a profession in design?

By accident.

What principles of design do you adhere to?

Simplicity, balance, scale, timelessness, proportion.

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