Kohler Reveals Winners of the first KOHLER Bold Design Awards in the Philippines
The first ever KOHLER Bold Design Awards (KBDA) has finally reached its grand finale as the top Philippine designers were awarded at the gala dinner presentation held on Friday evening (9 February) at the Solaire Hotel in Pasay City. Around 180 guests including KOHLER Executive management , nominees, judges, media and prominent designers, and developers joined this event to witness the announcement of the 12 winners.
Presented by Kohler, the event was a culmination of the year -long preparation that started in the beginning of 2016, from conceptualizing the processes to finally gathering works last September 2017 of over 100 entries from designers across the Philippines competing for the various award categories.
The KOHLER Bold Design Awards 2017 honored the region’s most outstanding projects in the design industry. I t aimed to create an awardgiving body that would be able to elevate the professional practice and design standards in Asia Pacific.
A highly experienced team of international and Filipino professionals ,covering the whole range of property disciplines—luxury apartments, villas, international airport, well-known brand retails stores, and high-end hotels, among others—was tapped to judge over a hundred KOHLER Bold Design Awards entries.
“The winning entries prove that the design and real estate industry in the Philippines is thriving, inspiring, competitive, and world-class. We also believe that the winners have created an impact on the design industry,” shared the panel of judges.
The panel of judges include Bill Bensley, Creative Director of Bensley Studios (Thailand and Indonesia); Carmelo Casas, President & CEO of Casas Architects (Philippines); Antonio Budji Layug, Principal designer and Chairman of BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design (Philippines); Royal Pineda, Principal Architect & CEO of BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design (Philippines); Kenneth Cobonpue, Founder & Creative Director of Kenneth Cobonpue (Philippines); and Simon Rawlings, Creative Director of David Collins Studio (UK).
The entire judging process was strictly supervised by global professional auditing firm KPMG, including intensive panel deliberations.
Ms. Angel Yang, President , Asia Pacific, Kitchen and Bath, Kohler Co. said, “Kohler believes in the transformative power of design industry for both residential and commercial sectors and the importance of designers in shaping the Asian century. We hope to accredit these outstanding designers by providing them a platform to facilitate the sharing of great works and projects within the region.”
The most honorable award of the night was the John Michael Kohler Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to Arch. Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa by Mr. Larry Yuen, Group President, Kitchen and Bath, Kohler Co. , for his extensive years of contributing to the design scene, and his constant and bold
development and search for indigenous materials in developing exponent for many Filipino architecture.
KOHLER Bold Design Awards was opened to hotel operators, hospi tal and residential development property professionals, architects, and designers from the local market.
Its categories include Boldest Spaces, for sectors representing projects for living, travel, leisure, culture; and the Visionaries, Innovation, which is a category for the prodigies and icons of the industry . A total of 12 awards were bestowed to the winners of KBDA 2017.
The Winners
LIVING – CONDO LIVING
PENTHOUSE EDADES CONDOMINIUM UNIT
ATELIER ALMARIO CORP.
Originally a four Bedroom unit, this penthouse was reduced to two Bedrooms to make space for an expansive entertainment area. These decisions and their implementation gave the designer a free-flowing space that they can divide and allocate in an artful manner.
LIVING – VILLA LIVING
PARAÍSO HOUSE
MANAM ARCHITECTURE
Located near the Sampaloc Lake in San Pablo, Laguna, and surrounded by tropical lush vegetation, the client named it Paraíso House. The client, an artist and neurologist, envisioned a house that could showcase his art pieces, while still retaining the purity and honesty of its surroundings. This was interpreted through the simplicity of the structure, its open spaces, and abundant vegetation, which is the most noteworthy feature of the project.
LIVING – APARTMENT LIVING
C RESIDENCE
J+A DESIGN
The overall concept was Modern, Contemporary and Practical: Modern, by using new design styles and techniques; Contemporary, by making a design that hints at timelessness; and Practical, by making everything useful and functional but no less aesthetically-coherent.
TRAVEL- RESORTS
THE ASTORIA PALAWAN AND CURRENT RESORT
ATELIER ALMARIO CORP.
The Astoria Palawan and Current Resort in Boracay are colorful and vibrant by intention. It was the owner’s direction to “own” the color narrative for these two properties as their identifying DNA. Arresting color combinations and clever use of graphics were therefore artfully deployed to create spaces in the hotel that were whimsical and relaxed. Furniture weaving was also color-coordinated and tweaked to be part of the whole color ensemble.
TRAVEL – HOTELS (URBAN)
THE G1
90 DESIGN STUDIO
Located at a prominent location at the top of Session Road, in a small 200-m² lot at the heart of Baguio City’s central business district, the building is shaped to maximize daylight and natural ventilation, its design slowly tapering into light Press Release Full Circle Comms., Inc. (02) 637-1116 / 1118 wells on the northern side. The project is currently under construction, and is set to open sometime in the first quarter of 2018.
LEISURE
SHOE SALON - AYALA CLOVERLEAF MALL
MORFOSIS DESIGN
The concept draws on the previous store's design, which is in turn inspired by
adventure video games. The main accent is the central display made of
translucent colored glass panels, representing a "portal" to a different world. It is
a modern and progressive store design that levels-up the quality of local retail
interior design.
CULTURE - CULTURAL SPACES
APT STUDIO
BUENSALIDO ARCHITECTS
APT STUDIO sets a tone of innovation, originality, experimentation, and progressive thinking for Philippine architecture, one that hopes to give confidence to the design community to also do the same, and to start a conversation with them that, perhaps, it is high time to allow Philippine Architecture to evolve to a higher realm.
CULTURE - SOCIAL SPACES
THE KAPIT BISIG PARA SA ILOG PASIG (KBPIP)
SONIA SANTIAGO OLIVARES ASSOCIATES
The Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), is a project of Gina Lopez of the ABSCBN Foundation, Inc. (AFI), along with the Department of Environment and Resources (DENR) through Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), which aims to clean and rehabilitate the River.
VISIONARIES - INNOVATION
MACTAN -CEBU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MCIA)
INTEGRATED DESIGN ASSOCIATES LTD.
Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is the gate to the central and southern Philippine islands; it is also the country’s second-largest airport. The distinguishing element of the new building is the arched roof of glue-laminated Press Release Full Circle Comms., Inc. (02) 637-1116 / 1118 timber supports. These arches—which measure 30 meters across and 18 meters high—form a roofscape which calls to mind the surrounding ocean and characterizes the interior of the terminal.
VISIONARIES - MASTER PATRON
VIVIAN SY NG
Astoria Hotels and Resorts
This award recognizes an extraordinary emerging young talent in the fields of architecture, interior design or interior architecture in the Philippines. Ms. Ng in her design journey has inspired many of her peers with her exceptional talent. She has also constantly shown appreciation for the tangible and intangible of good designs.
VISIONARIES - PRODIGIES - RISING TALENT
DOS MANALO
MANAM ARCHITECTURE
Architect Dos Manalo is part of an international team of architects and artists based on the Philippines, MANAM, developing a wide range of projects internationally. He has been working and learning from some of the best architects and interior designers in the Philippines. His unique style combines the
taste for the most exclusive luxury design in the Philippines, with the most modern tendencies in the international panorama, thanks to his multiple collaborations with foreign studios. His motivation and focus is on upgrading the design panorama in the Philippines.
VISIONARIES - JOHN MICHAEL KOHLER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
Arch. Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa
Mañosa & Co
This award recognizes the outstanding contribution of an individual or a company in shaping or educating the property design industry in the Philippines, impacting humanity, communities, and environment. This was awarded to Arch. Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa for his extensive years of contributing to the design scene, and his constant and bold development and search for indigenous materials in developing exponent for many Filipino architecture. Some of his works include, the Coconut Palace, the Edsa Shrine, the Davao Pearl Farm, and Amanpulo Resorts.
About Kohler Co.
KOHLER® was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, USA. Kohler
Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, KOHLER is a global leader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products; engines and power systems; premier furniture, cabinetry and tile; and owner/operator of two of the world’s finest five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, and St Andrews, Scotland. Kohler has been consistent in setting new standards in design, craftsmanship and innovation. The brand’s reputation is rife with compelling accomplishments and bold innovations that stem from a heritage centered on living on the leading edge of design and technology.
In Asia Pacific, KOHLER is active in 14 major countries and territories. More information can be found at kohlerasiapacific.com.