Warmth, Waves, Wins: Two Wins for the Philippines at WAF 2025 Day 1

Welcome to the World Architecture Festival’s first North American edition! Seven Filipino design practices are raising the flag for the Philippines this 2025, with WAF veteran WTA Architecture and Design Studio as the sole returning finalist. New to the live crits experience are Istilo Architecture Studio, VSA, Plontur Group, Nazareno Architecture + Design, Avally Design Studio, and yours truly, Mede Studio. 

The Philippines started strong this year, making history by securing two category wins on the first day! Plontur Group’s Luana Farms emerged victorious in the Future Projects, Leisure-led Development category, while Avally Design Studio bagged the Future Projects, Sports category win with Acclimated Sports Hall. Both Plontur and Avally are first-time WAF finalists! Six out of seven presentations were also done today, with us being the lone Pinoy practice presenting on Day 2.  

All Pinoy teams greeted and supported each other, bringing familiar warmth and their loved ones (and even clients!) halfway across the globe.

Pinoy live crits

Kickstarting the live crits experience was WTA principal William Ti Jr., presenting the Tagaytay City Hall as a newly constructed social building overlooking Taal Lake. He emphasized the design’s goal to provide a new character for civic buildings in the country through the application of geography, landscape, people, and vernacular. The architect also highlighted the building’s form, which drew inspiration from the verticality of pine trees and the caldera of Taal, aiming to recontextualize the attachment of people to Tagaytay and bring a sense of the familiar pyramidal forms found in nearby parks.

Juror Farnid Maya asked about the building’s relationship with the climate, with Ti responding that all public spaces—from the lobby and stairwells that lead to the rooftop park to the social core—are naturally ventilated. This was followed by a question from Elena Tsolakis on the public’s interaction with the building, a concern also raised during the GROHE practice crits due to a lack of images. Ti explained that active imagery in the presentation was taken fresh from the building’s completion, all while impressing Tsolakis with a detailed explanation of the building’s intricate public spaces on every floor.

Towards the end of the Q&A, the WTA principal also tied his answer to juror Jonathan Glancey’s question on the context of tropical architecture with our country’s continued search for architectural identity, especially for civic buildings, which are still done in colonial styles. As architects ourselves, we find Tagaytay City Hall’s clustered form as inspired by the series of small structures typical of our communities, a call back to the people it serves. It is a building scale done right, pleasantly just standing out in its surroundings.

Back-to-back and just two crit rooms away from WTA’s presentation was Istilo Architectural Studio, represented by principal architect Jeffrey de la Cruz. Shortlisted under Completed Buildings, House and Villa (Rural and Coastal), he presented Casa Mio’s compact yet thoughtful design. He showcased the two-storey residence as an attempt to preserve the rural essence of its neighborhood through local materials and building techniques, despite its humble size and budget of only 1 million pesos. Istilo shared that they were able to create a comfortable living experience for the client, regarding the project as a “celebration of personal identity” and “the simple joy of home life”. 

While the jury seemed to enjoy the presentation, juror Jeremy Smith wanted to delve deeper into the project’s immediate environment and the reason for the perimeter wall’s purpose, specifically mentioning that he is not familiar with the Philippine rural context. de la Cruz clarified that although the house retains its connection with the surroundings, concrete fences are common in our country for privacy and security. Jurors Mien Huei Yong and Pieterjan Vermoortel then equally quizzed the building’s thermal performance, with de la Cruz responding that it’s much cooler inside the home with the use of bricks, breeze blocks, and operable windows.

Perhaps the strength of Istilo’s presentation was delivering the warmth of a Filipino home, one that, realistically, may not always be answered by architecture. We caught up with de la Cruz after his crits, who said that he was really glad about his performance. “I wish I got to address more technical aspects like the exact temperature difference between the brick wall interior and exterior. I do hope it won’t be the last! I’ll definitely do better next time!”

VSA principal Jason Chua took the floor first for the Future Projects-Leisure led category, where Team Philippines has two shortlisted entries. He introduced Montelago: from Hillside to Heartland as a mindful hillside development in Cebu City and the firm’s reimagination and fight for more equitable public spaces. The structure, made from a module of 3×3 structural frame, is implemented across the site’s terrain, mimicking the cubic residential forms that will eventually be built inside the subdivision. This creates a consistent and grounded building system that supports the project’s experiential programming.

Although communicated in the presentation, juror Carmelo Zappulla found a disconnect between the rectilinear volumes and the terrain. Chua rediscussed the subdivision context in our country that led to the pixelized forms. He was later urged by juror Alexander Simon to explain more about the economic choice of choosing laminated strand-woven bamboo sections, to which he replied: “It is meant to lessen the cost by a third, and be more high-performing than raw bamboo.” Then came the comment by juror Paulo White, who felt that the concrete block acting as sun shading screens for the frames was against the project’s intentions, given the presence of embodied carbon. Chua defended the choice by highlighting the intention of sourcing out local materials, supporting local craftsmen, and hopefully improving the manufacturing system.

Chua told Kanto he felt great after, but wished he had interjected more about the project’s water retention strategies. He also mentioned that he treated his project’s Kanto WAF 2025 feature as a cheat sheet, which he was surprised he was able to flesh out!

It was time for one of our two category winners of the day, Plontur Group’s Luana Farms! Founder Erick Yambao took the stage right after Chua. He narrated the story of Luana Farms, starting with the client’s request to grow their farm business by integrating accommodation and recreational facilities, to finding a balance that was achieved by the design ethos “Led the Land Lead”. It was clear what Luana wanted: to remove the intimidation private developments create by using nature as an invitation. 

“What was the main challenge for the brief, and can you tell us more about the background of your clients?” juror Carmelo Zapulla asked, to which Yambao responded: “The project was a rare opportunity with a client that was ready to challenge the conventions of private developments that can be opened to the public. The steepness of the site was a big challenge to overcome, which we addressed by respecting the existing forest and plotting spaces that people can gravitate into.” Zappulla said that at first, the presentation was a bit fast with too much information per minute, but he enjoyed it and allowed the jury to be extra curious to make sense of what they watched.

On another note, juror Alexander Simon was curious about the integration of the farm function and logistics with the development. The Plontur founder clarified that the farm already exists, with cacao and mango harvesting activities to be integrated into the program. Yambao jokingly invited Simon to pet the pigs, an activity also offered in Luana Farms. Simon jested and said he would opt for the mango picking. Juror Paul White was adamant about whether the density of the project was enough to achieve its goals, but Yambao defended that the conservative placement of structures is meant to be a test for the client to see the effectiveness of the scheme.

Yambao revealed that some of the slides were crammed by his team, so the win was a shock at first! “This is not just a win for Plontur! It is a win for the Philippines, for Filipino architects, and for the ideology of sustainability that we will continue to champion!”

Nazareno Architecture + Design was first up for the afternoon session with an emotional, precise, and impactful presentation of Dambana ng Paghilom, a humble project meant to offer a space for memory and healing for the victims of the Duterte administration’s drug war. Anthony Nazareno and Javi Zagala started with a disclaimer on the video to be shown: a montage of drug war imagery, to which the jury was seen to react emotionally. The Nazareno tag team sustained this jury response throughout their presentation, with a thoughtful narrative of the project design. From the openness of the structure to invite shared solace, the gravel ground cover as a sensorial threshold, and religious imagery (which they were unsure of at first since they want the space to be universal in belief): a cross and an image of Mother Mary whose presence invokes maternal sorrow, our reflection on Dambana ng Paghilom is that it is truly Filipino at heart.

“We need a moment,” said juror Elena Tsolaki before praising how the team “took a lot of thought” to design such a project. Nazareno and Zagala were asked to talk about the decision to create a restrained approach, which they described as “monumental in its austerity” for the victim’s family and the general public, with unembellished concrete as a fitting material for people of humble backgrounds. Juror Farnid Maya asked about the site’s environs, like street and neighborhood, which Nazareno revealed to be far enough to provide a quiet and reflective space for the building. 

When asked about the reception to the structure, Zagala proudly mentioned that the head of the project’s committee, Father Flavie, recently won the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for this initiative, and has since been reaching out to families that are very much engaged with Dambana. Admittedly, it was both a heavy and impressive presentation. Nazareno said that solemn intonation was intentional, and it was “what the presentation and project needed.”

Category winner Acclimated Sports+Multipurpose Hall by Avally Design Studio was a beautiful end to our day! Principal Christine Buyco-Sy matched her jury’s humorous and positive energy, opening with a parallel on how she currently acclimates in this new country, halfway across the world from her home in Singapore. She spoke of her design goals “to acclimate” with Davao City’s environment, then proceeded to detail the project’s regenerative and sustainable aspects, sourcing bamboo locally and implementing it to answer the country’s earthquake requirements, and patenting a special reinforcement to rammed earth walls. “This project is part of my long-time advocacy for sustainable, climate-responsive architecture,” Buyco-Sy shared, adding that the principle is timely to the recent climate disasters the Philippines has had.

Juror James O’Callaghan praised the “comprehensive presentation” and asked Christine to expound on the structural components, which she explained as a hybrid of rammed earth, bamboo, concrete slabs, and steel columns for code compliance. Juror Tadaniko Murao also clarified whether the project is intended for professional athletes, to which the Avally principal responded by saying that “it’s meant to support students’ physical activities.”

Buyco-Sy told Kanto that she felt she did her best, but was unsure about Carlo Castelli’s comment on how the sports building carries a “sophisticated design.” Thanks to one of her clients, who assured her that it was positive and meant what it meant. Five of Avally’s clients flew from Davao City to support Buyco-Sy’s first WAF presentation, bringing Philippine flaglets! It was nostalgic of the feeling we had when architect Dominic Galicia also had his clients with him during his presentation in Singapore last 2023—one that speaks of the warmth, bayanihan, and mutual trust and respect between the Filipino design community.

“I started my advocacy of acclimating architecture to the environment 20 years ago. This is a project from the heart,” the Avally principal said fresh out of their win announcement. “I’m just really happy the message came across!”

We’d like to share with you that, following the announcement of Plontur and Avally’s wins, WAF Programme Director Paul Finch took a moment to acknowledge that the three Philippine schools representing us at the Student Charette encountered visa issues. He expressed his frustration about the situation, assuring us that he will invite the schools back in the future.

We then started to send updates to the Kanto team back home, who broke the news to the large WAF Viber group! Congratulatory messages came pouring in for our winners and presenters of the day! As usual, GROHE Philippines Managing Director Emily Besavilla was among the first to send their greetings. It was a little moment, but the Pinoy WAF journey is always extra special with the flood of messages from teams, fellow designers, and loved ones cheering Team Philippines—be it countries or continents apart.

Thank you and congratulations once again to our co-finalists who showed courage, passion, and sincerity in their presentations!

Two more days to look forward to, two more days to make waves! •

Watch out for Mede Studio’s live crits on Day 2 of the WAF 2025, 2:20 PM in Miami and 3:20 AM in Manila. Nazareno Architecture + Design’s repeat presentation as a contender for Small Project of the Year happens on Day 3, 11:40 AM in Miami and 12:40 AM in Manila. Plontur and Avally will both be vying for Future Project of the Year, set to present on Day 3. Follow Kanto’s updates on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag: #KANTOWAF2025.

worldarchitecturefestival.com