Philippine Architects and the 2016 WAF Awards

The Philippines again enters the international scene and this time, it is our architects that are in the limelight. This will be at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) on November 16-18, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. It is a prestigious gathering of architects and interior designers all over the world. This is a three-day event of talks, exhibitions, and the WAF awards.

The shortlist for the 2016 WAF awards consists of more than 340 entries, CNN reports. Out of the 340+ entries, one design is from the Philippines. Yup, we only have a single entry. Guess what it is.

Is it a mall? A museum? A school? A corporate establishment? A hotel? Nope with a popping ‘p.’

It is none other than a… (Drumroll, please)

Library!

Huh? What library?

We are talking about this one:

Source: worldarchitecturefestival.com

This is the Book Stop project, a pop-up library built by WTA Architecture and Design Studio. The one that got cherry picked is from Makati but from time to time the said firm transfers their mini library at certain locations in Metro Manila.

Perhaps it is not just the library’s simplistic and functional design that caught the WAF awards judges’ attention. Its lucky charm could be its noble purpose of spreading knowledge for free. Architect William Ti said on an interview in BusinessMirror they’ve found out that “The Book Stop has been helping kids get off the streets, even for just a little while.”

Imagine of all the sophisticated and state-of-the-art buildings in the country, this one really stands “pops” out from the rest.

It is also an antithesis of this era where everyone is hooked on their digital devices. They say books and libraries are so yesterday but wait till you see these heart-stopping libraries from around that will take your breath away and we wish we had in the Philippines:

The Royal Library

Source: flickr/cuellar

This is the Royal Library of El Escorial Monastery in Madrid, Spain built on 1592. The whole monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Admont Abbey Library

Source: commons.wikimedia/Jorge Ryan

Admont Abbey Library is the largest monastery library in Austria. In a blog on TwistedSifter, its style is Baroque architecture and was completed on 1776.

Austrian National Library

Source: flickr/Tjflex2

Let us clear one thing: this is not a museum. The Austrian National Library contains 2.5 million items (gasp!), according to Atlas Obscura, and its collection dates back to the 14th century. This baroque style architecture library was finished on 1726.

Biblioteca EPM

Source: mentalfloss.com

Biblioteca EPM, located in Medellin, Colombia and completed in 2005, could be mistaken to a boutique hotel. Discover Colombia says the library is “dedicated to science, industry, environment and technology.”

José Vasconcelos Library

Source: flickr/clinker

José Vasconcelos Library in Mexico is built by Alberto Kalach. It is not just rows of shelves but floors or layers of it. ArchDaily describes it as a 250 meter structure made of concrete, steel and glass. It has a botanical garden outside.

Libraries are one of the actual testaments of architectural evolution. It is a place of refuge and relaxation where anyone can lose oneself in a book. If only we had more these in our country that could last for a lifetime and not a just pop-up architecture.

It is also a kind of national treasure we could boast to the future generation and they could benefit from it as well. This is not impossible considering we have a roster of world-class architects in the Philippines like WTA Architecture and Design Studio. They’re just out there, firms that design structures with a heart and mission in mind.