Spaces
The Welcoming: How space receives us
“Each Asean neighbor has already staked a claim in the design conversation. Our position in the Philippines is not weak, it is simply unclaimed.”
The fourth edition of Manila Interior Design Summit (MIDS) was designed and developed by the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID) to unfold as a continuous exploration, conversation and distillation of varied insights.
The idea behind this year’s itinerary, activations and roster of speakers was to shape perspective on Filipino design vis-a-vis the regional conversation around the theme: “Designing New Worlds: Culture, Cities, and Future of South East Asia.”
The PIID team ponders, “Each Asean neighbor has already staked a claim in the design conversation. Our position in the Philippines is not weak, it is simply unclaimed.” As such, the program for MIDS hopes to define Filipino design and its voice within the region and international conversation. “It is one that is anchored on the warmth, hospitality, and humanity that our culture has always understood about space.”
Opening day lands at The Fifth at Rockwell, where registration and kick-off give way to the real draw: Collective 8, an anniversary exhibition gathering eight Filipino design voices who are shaping the future through craft and graced by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
Vito Selma designs objects and experiences with a problem-solver’s instinct. His Paisley chair begins in memory: a woman on the breakwater, shoulders brown in the sun, a white-frilled Sunday dress, a hat softening her face. He never learned her name. She became his first chair.
JB Woodcraft is Leslie Mendiola’s fifty-four-year love letter to Pampanga’s wooden furniture tradition. An industrial designer by training, she keeps ornate detail very much alive in the modern home.
Leeroy New builds worlds: immersive environments, costume, performance, video. Natural materials, found objects and discards become speculative futures where pre-colonial myth, contemporary Filipino life and environmentalism collide. His Aliens of Manila series follows “alien” bodies through the city’s vivid, often harsh streets and beyond. Since 2008 his work has traveled from the Palais de Tokyo and Biennale of Sydney to Somerset House, the Setouchi Triennale and Burning Man 2020.
Rita Nazareno and Gabby Lichauco present Bato Bato Stick, a return to the make-believe of a pre-digital childhood. Stone forms and wooden poles turn humble materials into a meditation on play, memory and invention.
Milo Naval, The Shoreline Sculptor, takes his cue from the bakawan. Its roots grip the mud, slow the current and trap sediment to build new land. Above ground, they rise into a green wall that breaks waves and typhoon winds, a living shield between sea and community.
Jed Yabut stages the Pinya Collection as a single vignette: buffet table, stool, lamp, vases, tray and accent chair. It shows how rattan and a cohesive design language travel easily across furniture and décor.
JJ Acuña for Venzon brings Luz de Flores, a lighting garden designed by Acuña and made by Venzon, the Philippine studio where cutting-edge technology meets local craftsmanship. Playful, collectible and made for condos, studios and smaller homes, it keeps Venzon’s emotional presence intact.
Iñigo Elizalde finds his rug designs in fleeting moments: light on the Hudson, a jeepney in Manila, carnaval in Rio, a computer glitch. He translates them into patterns and palettes using Tibetan highland wool, bamboo, nettle, Chinese silk and cactus.
The PIID team puts it best, “Craft is not what we keep. It is what we keep doing. These practices are either handed down and developed through generations or borne out of personal technique and innovation, adapting to a changing world and answering the call of our times.”