The historic Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila, will once again host the Anthology Architecture and Design Festival, happening on February 7 to 9. Now on its 5th edition, the event will carry the theme “Think Architecture,” as curated by William Ti, Jr. Principal Architect of WTA Architecture and Design Studio.
Anthology brings together leading architects, designers, industry leaders, and the general public in a series of talks, workshops, and collaborations aimed at helping develop and formulate design-influenced policies that assist and accelerate nation-building and urban planning.
The festival seeks to increase awareness of how architecture and design impact the environment and society. It also hopes to inspire individuals to challenge current practices and norms to build “socially conscious” architecture or a built environment that prioritizes the conditions and needs of all social segments.
Over 150 local and foreign thought leaders in architecture and urbanism headline this year’s three-day event where the following will simultaneously happen:
Anthology Talks will feature 21 of the best and brightest minds in the architecture community, sharing their ideas about architecture and design. Keynote speakers for Anthology 2020 are Wong Mun Summ of WOHA, Liu Xiaodu of Urbanus, and Ricardo Bofill of RBTA.
Shelter Dialogues is a series of dialectic panels moderated by various architecture critics and thought leaders, each featuring 4-5 architects with varied backgrounds. Each group will discuss various topics that explore and ponder the ideas and frameworks that shape the structures that we build to house our needs and desires to improve our understanding and grow awareness about the practice.
Anthology Sessions is a platform for the exploration and discussion of ideas that can help evolve architecture to address the issues of a changing world. This gathering will be publishing a manifesto that supports urban development by providing an architectural framework that
supplements policy-making and planning.
Think Architecture Exhibit is an exhibit featuring the works of the various participants that highlight the diversity and richness of architectural practice from all over the world.
Installations from some of the country’s leading firms will be dotting the festival grounds, showcasing the talents and ideas of Filipino architects.
Anthology Raw is a series of socio-cultural debates that aim to provide thought-provoking discussions and global perspectives into mainstream architectural discourse. Joel Luna of Joel
Luna Planning and Design, Denise de Castro of DEQA Design Collaborative, and Kevin Low, Founder of Small Projects, will lead the discussions that aim to spark debates from opposing
sides of architectural standards and beliefs.
Competitions are a series of tournaments will also happen throughout the festival. There will be competitions for students as well as for professional architects and designers. For the student competitions, participating international schools are Taylor’s University, University of Indonesia, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Thammasat University, Tsinghua University, Politecnico di Torino, Hanyang University; while the participating local
schools are College of Saint Benilde and the University of the Philippines.
Photography enthusiasts and sketch artists are also invited to take part in the competition. For photographers, they are encouraged to take three photos of architecture taken in the Philippines; the images must be uploaded in JPEG format with a high-quality compression. For sketch artists, they are asked to submit their best sketch of Philippine architecture; acceptable mediums include pencil, color pencil, crayon, watercolor, ink, and color markers.
Heading into their 13th year, WTA Architecture and Design Studio is best known for its initiatives in social architecture that promote social intimacy, freedom of movement, and a social scale that focuses on architecture that builds communities.
Festival Director William Ti, Jr. is excited about holding the largest architecture festival in Asia here in the Philippines, with an expected turnout of 6,000 participants this year. It is a festival that puts the Philippines in the global architecture map and promotes our designers and architects as thought leaders.
