Authentic and A Bit Rebellious

“Alero” is Spanish for “eave.” When brother and sister Jesy and Jaemi Cruz were studying interior design and architecture, their father, a civil engineer, would often admonish them to use generous eaves in their designs. “We live in a tropical country!” he reminded them. The constant reminder to design for living in the Philippines stuck and as the siblings began their practices, their concern for designing with sun-shading and passive-cooling techniques expanded to designing for cultural and socioeconomic context.

When brother and sister decided to establish their design firm in 2015, they named it Alero Design Studio in honor of their dad’s influence on their outlook and values. The studio, says Jesy, stands for being “progressive, empathic, optimistic, and Filipino.”

The shortlisted entry

The Baliwag Community Center will be the municipality’s first publicly funded community center, made possible by efficient planning and the use of local and inexpensive materials. It is designed as an inclusive environment with an indoor park and promenade terraces where townsfolk may hold bazaars, expositions, small gatherings and assemblies of up