Words The Kanto Team
Images THE PLAN Award 2023
Cebu’s Zubu Design Associates (ZDA) nabs a whopping three shortlist placements at the annual The Plan Award 2023, initiated by the Italian architectural magazine of the same name. The practice, led by principal architect Buck Sia, netted two placements under the Villa category (which carried 45 shortlisted projects from around the globe), with the completed Cliff House and unbuilt Bent House gaining the nod of the award’s 15-member jury. The much-lauded Scout Hall for Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu (winner of the Blue Mango Awards 2022 for Placemaking) makes it to the Education shortlist, pitting it against a field of 51 global entries.
While ZDA is the only home-grown Filipino firm to make an appearance on this year’s shortlist, they are joined by CAZA, headed by Filipino American architect Carlos Arnaiz, in having projects built on Philippine soil listed. The Brooklyn-based practice, which operates think-tank offices in Colombia, Peru, and The Philippines, made the shortlist under the House and Public Space category for FR House and the Santuario De La Salle.
THE PLAN Award has been awarded yearly since 2016 and is an international prize “…that recognizes excellence in architecture, interior design, and urban planning.” The annual awards program receives a thousand entries across its 20 categories, which are then parsed through by a multidisciplinary jury. For 2023, illustrious names in the realm of architecture and the allied arts like THE PLAN co-founder Nicola Leonardi, John McAslan of McAslan + Partners, Jason Pugh of Gensler, Yehuda Safran of Pratt Institute, and Zhang Xiaochun of Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning are among the 15 jury members with the unenviable task of selecting the best among the best.
According to THE PLAN, winning projects “…will be featured on THE PLAN’s digital platforms and through dedicated coverage. All shortlisted projects will be published on THE PLAN website, while an entire page will be dedicated to each winner and honorable mention in the special book THE PLAN Award, which will have worldwide distribution. The quality of this competition is underscored by its international jury, made up of leading figures in the architecture, design, real estate, and academic fields.”
A total of 609 projects around the world were shortlisted across 20 categories for this year’s edition. Winners of the Award will be announced October 2023. View the full shortlist here.
Pahalipay to the Zubu Design Associates team! •
