The construction and design industry in the Philippines has faced relevant scrutiny in recent years over poor infrastructure planning, ghost projects, and chronic urban flooding, which eventually led to bigger political cases. While this backdrop of systemic challenges seems dire, other Filipino architects still envision a better future for the industry and the country, asking how care, culture, and collective futures can shape our communities and the physical spaces that we inhabit.
The 2026 Anthology ASEAN Architecture Festival explores this question in this year’s edition of the festival, coinciding with the Philippines’ hosting of the ASEAN Summit.
Taking place from October 2 to 4 in Intramuros, Manila, the festival will convene 128 speakers from across Southeast Asia, alongside ten Filipino and ASEAN installations, regional dialogues, and public forums. Intramuros serves both as the festival’s setting as well as its proof of concept for what design can do. “If you look at Intramuros now and what it was 10 years ago, there’s a great difference,” William Ti, festival curator, founder, and principal architect of WTA Architecture and Design Studio told Rolling Stone Philippines.
He cited the new museums, pedestrianization of streets in Intramuros, sprucing up of Fort Santiago, and the improved Pasig Esplanade. “My hope really is that by doing the festival in Intramuros, we keep shining a light on it. One of the rarest attractions in Asia is to see something like Intramuros. We have temples everywhere, but Intramuros is very unique in Asia, so I think we should celebrate and push for that more and more,” he added.
According to Ti, the festival aims to extend architecture beyond just the construction stage or the anatomy of a building, but also to discuss how to care for and maintain them. “Because that’s what makes it sustainable, by building things that are architecturally best,” he said. The festival also aims to explore dialogue on culture, which includes the everyday rituals and traditions, as well as how their convergence can build a distinct culture that inspires architecture.
Meanwhile, discussions on collective future will help architects plan their future and communities, especially with how immersed architecture is in technology and amid the rise of AI. “We have to figure out new ways of how we will build and how our spaces, especially our public spaces, will turn out in this new digital age. So that’s what the collective future is about,” he said.
The festival is further committed to the idea that architecture must engage with community, and that buildings only become architecture once they are shared.
WTA Architecture and Design Studio, in partnership with the City of Manila, Intramuros Administration, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), are the event’s organizers. For more information, visit anthologyfest.com.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The theme for the festival’s 2026 edition is ‘Sharing Ground: Architectures of Care, Culture, and Collective Futures’
The event will take place from October 2 to 4, 2026, at Intramuros, Manila.
It is organized by WTA Architecture and Design Studio, in partnership with the City of Manila, Intramuros Administration, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
The Philippines will be hosting the 2026 ASEAN Summit.
Architects, designers, and the general public can immerse themselves in an exchange of ideas on how to properly care for buildings and urban societies, how architecture can apply culture from everyday traditions, and the overall future of the industry with regard to the growth of technology.
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