SOCIAL SET

Stillness speaks

Luis Espiritu · Sep 7, 2026, 12:14 AM

VISITORS experience Cecil P. Ravelas’ spatial installation pause . at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Design + Arts Campus, where curved forms, light and quiet spaces encourage reflection, mindfulness, and moments of rest amid the pace of everyday life. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

In a world that rarely stops moving, finding time to slow down has become both an act of self-care and a luxury. On 24 August, the light-filled twelfth-floor gallery at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Design + Arts Campus became the setting for the vernissage of pause ., a spatial installation by interior designer Cecil P. Ravelas. Commissioned by the college’s Center for Campus Exhibition, the architectural dome asks visitors not merely to observe but to enter, inhabit, and experience it. First presented as HINGA at WORLDBEX, the work has evolved into a meditation on mental well-being and sustainable living, using pure, curved forms to create an intentional pause from screens, schedules and the noise of everyday life.

The morning launch reflected the restraint at the heart of the installation. Rather than follow the hurried rhythm of a conventional press preview, the program unfolded gently, beginning with tea and an invocation by Br. Edmundo L. Fernandez FSC. His remarks underscored Benilde’s aim to provide a safe emotional space for a generation of creatives navigating constant stimulation and pressure.

PRESIDENT of DLS-CSB Bro. Edmundo Fernandez, FSC and IDR Cecile Ravelas. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

Guests then moved through three wellness experiences designed to settle the senses: Breathe In: The Scent of Pause, an olfactory journey curated by Ces Drilon; a restorative sound bath by Lei Sta. Maria; and a breathwork session led by Malou Araneta. A light, mindful lunch concluded the morning, allowing participants to linger and absorb the environment’s purpose at an unhurried pace.

MALOU Araneta and Raffy Ladao. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

By placing this sanctuary within an academic institution, Benilde and Ravelas make a timely case for spaces that attend not only to function and form but also to human well-being. The installation avoids lengthy explanation and instead lets quiet, light, and curved geometry speak directly to the body. In doing so, it presents rest not as an indulgence, but as an essential part of a more sustainable way of living.

Pause . is on view at the DLS-CSB Design + Arts Campus until 30 September, with a series of wellness activities scheduled during its residency.

DEAN of School of Arts, Culture and Performance Ma Magdalena de Leon. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

CWC Interiors’ Charissa Nogar. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

SMARAGE sales and marketing director Ysabel Villamor. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

CASABELLA’s Joseph Tay. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

LEI Mitchen Sta Maria. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

CAMPUS Art Associate Maegan Ellyse I. Lacson and RGC director of Benilde Well-Being Center El Anelio Barnachea. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB

DAILY TRIBUNE’s Bebeth Timbol and Ces Drillon. — Photographs courtesy of DLS-CSB