Present, Presence: Mede Studio Live Crits and Delegate Dinner Mark WAF 2025 Day 2

It was time for Mede to get on stage! Team Philippines finished strong yesterday with two category wins and six category presentations, with Limlim Mindfulness Institute being the sole Pinoy live project for presentation on Day 2. Ours was a six-month journey, from joining then winning the GROHE Young Visionary Challenge, to a series of practice crits and finally sharing our project’s story!

Road to WAF

We find it poetic that Limlim Mindfulness Institute, our first official commission as a studio, tracing back to 2022, became our ticket to WAF 2025. We recall Ms. Judith Torres of Kanto asking us, “Do you want to fly to Miami?” hinting at our win, to which we replied, “If you want us to, then we will!” The preparation after that was not easy, but it was fruitful. Our mock jury during the practice crits helped us polish our entry through critical tips on rendering and writing, which made us realize how much the WAF project boards matter in terms of the shortlisting process.

The series of practice crits was open to all Filipino WAF finalists. Arranged by GROHE, WAF veterans, and one American juror to simulate WAF’s American-dominated jury this year, we had to face some tough questions on the intricacies of our projects. This honestly helped us improve our presentation skills! We are all but thankful that GROHE and Kanto do this every year, one that continues to nurture and grow a very warm community of local designers. For Mede, finding this community meant realizing that we, and our ideas as architects, are believed in. This pushed us to do better.

We flew to Miami, geared with love, support, and well wishes from our families, friends, and the good folks from GROHE and Kanto. Before the festival, we met with Miami’s architecture, culture, and of course, food! WAF Day 1 was fulfilling for us, especially seeing our co-pinoys take on their jury with much grace and passion. It was definitely a different experience to witness the Pinoy winner announcements live!

Mede Live Crits

We opened our presentation with a breathing slide, calling on our jury and audience to do three quick breaths, as a preface to the issue our project helps to address: the lack of mindfulness tools for people caught in the realities of Metro Manila.

This was actually our client’s suggestion, and we thought it would be a great way to give our jury a breather from all the crits they’ve had. (Admittedly, it also helped with our nerves) We then proceeded to lay out our project’s mission: to help people who help others with the mindfulness programs to be taught to public school teachers, social workers, NGO volunteers, and the workforce, with an experiential program that acts as a second teacher.

We highlighted how mindfulness is cultivated through shared spaces, consistent with the project’s core teaching value of kapwa and shared learning, with sensory modes from data-driven psychological effects of spatial design. We shared our personal journey as architects on how Limlim helped calibrate how we design with high regard to our user and project’s story, closing with the note: “This project is a hopeful step toward shaping our spaces and reclaiming our cities as places that nurture our minds and people.”

Juror Ken Tadashi Oshima said he found our project “interesting in relation to its context” and clarified whether Limlim includes “a test to do more” spaces of its kind or only specific to the Institute. We responded that Limlim is specifically designed for its urban environs in Tandang Sora, Quezon City but its design values can be replicated on other urban lots or even existing buildings. 

Following this was juror Ranjendra Kumar’s reminder that our project is a sensitive one. He said that if he were to classify it, it’s somewhere “between a meditation center and a temple.” He asked if religion played a role in shaping the space, to which we replied: “We contextualized the client’s Western evidence-based programs. Although religion is not embedded in the teachings, faith will not be pushed aside, as the Philippines is predominantly Catholic.”

Juror Viviana Peña was curious about the correlation between the project’s architecture and landscape in the thought process and how this affects the future of teaching in general. We took that point to reintroduce the mango tree and the circular base and lighting fixture around it as a metaphor of finding presence and belongingness in a city, a shape we placed as the heart of the institute against the surrounding rectilinear elements. This and the rest of our landscape design is a vision and hope to cultivate mindful spaces, even beyond learning, in places caught in urban sprawl.

It was admittedly a relief to find that the WAF live crits experience is not as terrifying as we had pictured it to be, and the insightful reception of our jury gave us thoughts to ponder on as architects. Although we thought we failed in making ourselves concise in answering questions, our fellow Pinoy delegate Christine Buyco-Sy of Avally assured us that the presentation was very clear.

Fresh out of the live crits experience, we started preparing for a dinner with Team Philippines at The Social Club in The Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel in Miami, organized by Anthony Nazareno of Nazareno Architecture + Design.

It was a fun night where everyone shared their respective journeys to the festival stage—from the shortlist placement, preparations, practice crits organized by GROHE and Kanto, pre-stage jitters, to finally braving through!

We now wait for Day 3! Future Projects, Leisure-led Development winner Luana Farms by Plontur Group and Future Projects, Sports category winner Acclimated Sports Hall by Avally Design Studio will be vying for Future Project of the Year. Dambana ng Paghilom by Nazareno Architecture + Design is a candidate for Small Project of the Year.

See you tomorrow for our WAF 2025 Day 3! •

Watch out for Nazareno Architecture + Design’s repeat presentation as a contender for Small Project of the Year, happening at 11:40 AM in Miami and 12:40 AM in Manila. Future Projects category winners Plontur Group and Avally Design will now contend for Future Project of the Year. Plontur Group will present at 2:00 PM in Miami and 3:00 AM in Manila, while Avally Design Studio will take the stage at 3:50 PM in Miami and 4:50 AM in Manila. Follow Kanto’s updates on Facebook and Instagram with the hashtag: #KANTOWAF2025.