BluPrint Volume 2, 2021

“Architecture is really about well-being. I think that people want to feel good in a space… On the one hand it’s about shelter, but it’s also about pleasure.” - Zaha Hadid There’s a cliché comfort in that characteristic shared when we work hard to play harder. Arguably, this manifesto has been around for a long time and is effectively behind the attraction to accomplishment and leisure, or work and play. That is what this whole issue is all about. We want to give you connections into different playful spaces around the country that reflect some of the industry’s creative thinkers with distinctly innate panache that radiates to their way of living. Through a mix of unique design aesthetic and vibrancy, profiles and writings, we highlight the homes of architects, artists,…

Maria Rebecca Abaya is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas and is the Principal Architect of her start-up small firm, Mycad Architectural Services. She also acts as the vice-president for Operations and the Corporate Secretary of their family business, RightMetal Industrial Corporation. She’s also an active member the United Architects of the Philippines – Quezon City Chapter. Prior to her own business, she worked as a Junior Architect at Jonathan O. Gan + Associates and as an Architectural Coordinator in Singapore under the partnership of Seishin Pte Ltd and Takenaka Corporation. While working overseas, in 2015, she also took a 6-month course from Singapore’s BCA Academy, the Certificate in Interior Finishing Coordination. Germaine Ann Dilay is a professional civil engineer with a strong passion for marketing and content…

Sure, it is still bad—and no one can absolutely be certain if the worst is over. The several rounds of essential lockdowns have driven us to find ways to cope with the status quo. Through our mobile gadgets, social media became our primary tools in earnestly seeking for human connection, and for a while, they provided comfort. Yet, with every surge and every identification of a new strain, they quickly turn into a traditional broadsheet complete with the obituary, but without the essential fact-checking. We were, are, and will be in mad scramble for the unforeseeable future. Despite the numerous challenges, the collective human spirit, though dampened and crushed multiple times for most of recent memory, remains unyielding. In this regard, it seems fitting that the future of design veers…

“I design furniture for people who appreciate the concept of the new Filipino aesthetic, people who constantly move with change, and those who remain to be curious,” says Jim Zarate-Torres. For Zarate Manila creative director Jim Zarate-Torres, the constant battle to prove himself and the desire to create something that is truly one-of-a-kind are his driving forces. In the face of global recognition, the young designer insists that his aesthetic is inherently Filipino, as evidenced by the organic forms that he produces. Unlike other artisans who are driven by market demands, Torres preserves the sanctity of his craftsmanship by combining equal parts creativity and a profound relationship with his chosen medium. While most see steel as spartan, clinical, and completely devoid of warmth, his understanding of its properties allows him…

It was not easy for visual artist Ryan Uy—a paintbrush is merely four pounds, but to him, it came with the weight of his past and the uncertainties of the future. After the passing of his father, he was surrounded by darkness, but he strived to search for the light at the end of the tunnel. Remembering his father’s words when the latter was still alive offered him courage, when even the simplest thing was difficult to accomplish. Uy’s art serves as a poignant reminder that sorrows can be turned into a powerful force. A recurring theme in his pieces is the paper crane, which seems to provide a blanket of comfort to the kid in his heart. “There’s a belief that if you create a thousand paper cranes, your…

Italian architect Antonio Citterio was born during the post-war era—a notable time in the design timetable when idealism was the central theme. As the world’s economic leaders were left in shambles because of the second world war, there was a uniting force that urged the rebuilding of nations. A new sensibility arose from the ashes that is more open, sensible, and democratic. Fast forward to more than half a century later, Citterio now aims to design a better future through instinctive blueprints. For his latest collaboration with B&B Italia, the master perfectionist derives his inspiration from the dramatic colors of Maldives. Named after an atoll, Noonu is a system of upholstery in wich large sizes meet impressive flexibility. It is made up of four basic elements—a square, a rectangle, the…