UST students win young designer awards

WINNERS Ricarte and Tomas with Nippon’s (from left) Chung; Bernice Bobadilla, senior marketing manager; and Ken Ng Teck Nam, deputy general manager

THE UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) won first prize in both the Architecture and the Interior Design categories of the Nippon Paint Young Designer Award (NPYDA) 2015.

Gold winners Jose Augustine Ricarte, in Architecture, and Martha Joyce Tomas, in Interior Design, will represent the Philippines in the NPYDA regional competition in March in Thailand that will draw participants from 12 Asia-Pacific countries.

This year’s theme, “Design with Heart,” challenged participants to design and create spaces connecting different kinds of people, including the physically challenged, elderly, youth, etc., enhancing experiences and transforming lives.

Ricarte’s “Marikina Link” interprets his idea of a comprehensive Community Interactive Space. It redefines the Marikina Riverbanks area to make it more conducive to leisure and interaction.

The 21-year-old Ricarte said that in design, one had to dare to go beyond the normal and create something beneficial to society.

Tomas’ “Biojet,” which resembles a plant cell, is her interpretation of an ideal working environment. The 19-year-old said she wanted to create a living, breathing structure that blended with nature.

To make the space PWD-friendly, sustainable and well-ventilated, Tomas reduced sharp corners. She used meadow colors to soothe and stimulate the senses and created a jet-shaped roof to symbolize a progressive future—always ahead and moving forward.

Michael Chung, general manager of Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines, said that since the launch of NPYDA in the Philippines last year, they noticed Filipino designers’ “genuine passion in creating spaces which are people-oriented and environment-friendly.”

NPYDA, he said, “aimed to facilitate the growth of the design industry and provide a platform for students to use color in their designs.”

Each gold awardee received P50,000 in cash and a six-month internship at Lor Calma and Partners for the Interior Design winner and Casas Architects for the Architecture winner.

Winners will also receive an all-expense-paid trip to participate in an exclusive workshop that will feature internationally renowned experts in architecture and interior design.

As professors of the winners, Marlon Cariño and Charisse Ong (Architecture) and Michael Suqui (Interior Design) received P10,000 each. Each of the winners’ schools received P10,000 in cash and P10,000 worth of paint vouchers.

Other awardees were Marko Alab Adviento, UST, silver, Architecture; Courtney Gatus, University of the Philippines, silver, Interior Design; Ruben Felizarte, Far Eastern University, best color choice, Architecture; Gatus, best color choice, Interior Design; Kae Ann Aguila, UST, best green innovation, Architecture; and Tomas, best green innovation, Interior Design.

UST was named Best Supportive College for submitting the most entries, 145 for Interior Design and 127 for Architecture.

Architecture judges were Jose Ramon Carunungan, Eduardo Calma, Rolando Cordero, Chona Elvas-Ponce, Consuelo C. Buencamino, Carmelo Casas, Abelardo M. Tolentino Jr. and Nina Bailon Arce.

Judges for Interior Design were Michael Pizarro, Rachelle Medina, Vincent Louie Tan, Belen Morey, Johnny Hubilla, Wilfrid Nicholo Magcase, Marichie Costelo and Roland Laurena.

The NPYDA partners were Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, Council of Interior Design Educators, United Architects of the Philippines, Council of Deans and Heads of Architecture Schools in the Philippines, Lor Calma and Partners, Casas + Architects and the Commission on Higher Education.

Log on to www.youngdesigneraward.ph.