Since first launching in 2016, the Anthology Architecture and Design Festival has become one of the most highly anticipated events for industry insiders each year. The jam-packed festival aims to “promote the idea that architecture matters. Its main drive is both to create awareness about the value and importance of architecture in our communities and to elevate the level of the built environment in our nation by showcasing the best of Philippine design and presenting to the world the ideas that Filipinos are capable of.”
This year, the organizers of the prestigious event are pulling out all the stops. Held this year on February 15, 16 and 17, the Fourth Annual Anthology Festival is returning to Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. There will be 7,000 aspiring architects, designers, students, and curious guests who are expected to attend.
The Golden Age of Philippine Infrastructure
The theme of the year is “The Golden Age of Philippine Infrastructure”. Apart from encouraging guests and speakers to come up with new ideas on how to innovate in design and architecture for the future, Anthology also aims to educate people about the past. The three-day event is filled with debates, conferences, talks, panel discussions, and fun games for its attendees. These activities are aimed to spark a conversation and provoke questions on how architecture and design affect our daily lives. Anthology has brought together an impressive list of 125 local and international leading architects, urban planners, developers, government officials and thought leaders to spearhead this year’s festivities.
The festival has arranged for multiple competitions to encourage innovation. Top universities have partnered together for Frame, a contest that boosts school spirit through the construction of a pavilion. The winners will receive a prize of PHP 50,000.00. Live Design, the second scholarly competition, asks students to respond to a brief on the spot. The winning proposal will win a prize of PHP 100,000.00.
Lotus Central Malls Inc. has come in as a partner for Anthology 2019, encouraging radical architectural ideas through a competition to design an events pavilion in Silang, Cavite. The winning proposal will see their idea brought to life, and will also be awarded with PHP 150,000.00. There will also be a photography competition. Participants can submit photographs in three categories (Impact Architecture, Interiors and Exteriors) for a chance to win a Huawei P20 Pro.
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Bright Ideas Change the World
The most anticipated events in the festival are the popular Anthology Talks series and Shelter Dialogues. The former is a 60-minute lecture, which will feature seven local and 20 foreign architects and designers. This list of speakers includes big names in the industry like Bong Recio, Cathy Saldana, Edson Cabalfin, Jojo Tolentino, Kenneth Cobonpue, Terence Yu, William Ti, Ole Scheeren, Aaron Betsky, Qingyun Ma, and Tezuka Takaharu, amongst others.
On the other hand, Shelter Dialogues is a series of panel discussions led by five or six thought leaders per session. The first day will feature a talk about on architecture on a macro-scale (from national building to future cities and sustainability), led by Pinky Webb, Karlo Nograles, Tomas Lorenzo, Royal Pineda, Paulo Alcazaren, Rebecca Plaza and Buds Wenceslao. Day two features Toby Guggenheimer, Dom Galicia, Steph Kienle, Anna Sy, Jorge Yulo, Jason Buensalido, Cynthia Almario and Buck Si, speaking about heritage, art and process.
The festival will be capped off with a talk on client-architect relationships, Philippine architecture, global practice, technology and education. The esteemed panellist for the last Shelter Dialogue will include Hans Sy Jr., Gelo Manosa, Conrad Onglao, Meloy Casas, Sylvester Wong and Choie Funk.
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An Architect’s Playground
Anthology Festival 2019 has also partnered with leading practices such as Arup, Aecom, Arcadis, Bruce Mau, SHAU and SoFa for Anthology Workshops, small class size talks for in-depth conversations about transport design, design process, sustainable façade, design in the tropics, quantity survey and management.
The Suppliers Gallery will be present during the festival. They will be showcasing products and exciting new technologies from brands such as Hanergy, Rapid Steel, Sunland Building Solutions, Omni, and Boysen, amongst others.
To build a spirit of camaraderie, Pilipinas Obstacles has been invited to build a racecourse during the festival. Teams of three are encouraged to participate. There will also be a Food Market featuring Auro Chocolate, Allegro, Coffee Andok’s Chicken, Torres Trading Sausages, Bar Dolci, Taho and more.
Anthology Festival will open and close with fellowship galas supported by One Mega Group’s BluPrint Magazine, and Pino Design Magazine. The event serves as an incredible collection of the best and the brightest architects in the country and acts as a crucible through which a better kind of architecture can be pursued. It is co-presented by Plaza + Partners Inc, WTA Architecture and Design Studio, UAP Manila Metro Chapter, Intramuros Administration and The City of Manila. Tickets are available on the website http://anthologyfest.org or in all SM Ticket branches nationwide.
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