An urban forest city and a security complex featuring a forested facade are among the award-winning projects designed by Manila-based firm, WTA Architecture and Design Studio.
Founded by William Ti in 2007, WTA was hailed as the overall winner of the 2021 WAFX Awards during last year’s World Architecture Festival after first winning the WAFX Water Category.
Now celebrating its 15th year, WTA continues to bring the practice of social architecture front and center in the fields of master planning and urban design. The studio’s great social awareness and commitment to change have produced extraordinarily creative responses, as they now embark on the journey to turn these innovative ideas into practical urban solutions.
“Master planning projects allow us to affect a more diverse demographic profile. A multi-sectoral approach to designing spaces for people gives us the opportunity to address complex issues that make living in a city undesirable and turn these challenges into desirable growth. The master plans that we do focus on communities and social development, which explore new technologies and comprehensive research in order to establish sustainable, organic, and hyper-local development.”
Below is a list of international awards recently won by WTA:
Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards 2022
Award: Gold Winner
Project: Horizon Manila: Manileño
Category: Urban Planning
The Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards recognizes outstanding ideas that redefine architecture design through the implementation of novel technologies, materials, programs, aesthetics, and spatial organizations along with studies on globalization, flexibility, adaptability, and the digital revolution. It is a forum that examines the relationship between architecture and the natural world, architecture and the community, and the architects and the city.
Last May 4, 2022, WTA Architecture and Design Studio was announced as a Gold Award Winner for its project Horizon Manila.
International Architecture Awards 2022
Award: Winner
Project: Horizon Manila: Manileño
Category: Urban Planning / Landscape Architecture
Founded in 2005 by The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre, the prestigious International Architecture Awards takes place every year to recognize the most significant and inspirational building and urban planning projects around the world.
Last September 9, Horizon Manila was part of a distinct selection of architecture and design projects honored in a special awards ceremony and Gala Dinner held at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
The project is designed to span 419-hectares and will be the first and largest reclamation project in the City of Manila in over a century. It is meant to serve as a new hub for growth and development for one of the densest and largest megacities in the 21st century.
Iconic Awards 2022: Innovative Architecture
Award: Best of the Best Award Winner
Project: Batangueño – Batangas Forest City
Category: Concept (Urban Planning)
Another master planning project by WTA called the Batangas Forest City won a Best of the Best Award in the ICONIC AWARDS 2022 under Innovative Architecture. This award gives recognition to holistic projects in the fields of architecture, interior architecture, product design, and brand communication.
The core aim of the Batangas Forest City was to create a sustainable project that rekindles the connection between people and nature through architecture and urbanism.
“The project Batangas Forest City ideally embodies the vision of modern urban planning, which reconciles residential space and nature and as a result creates a location that promises a high standard of living,” said the master jury. “The fact that the focus of the planning was not just limited to living, working, leisure and recreation, but also took the subjects of industry and agriculture into account, shows just how holistic the thought behind it was. An impressive project, which despite its great complexity, was carefully thought-out, down to the tiniest detail, and is immensely important for the region.”
The project was honored during a festive awards ceremony last October 5, 2022 at the BMW Welt in Munich, Germany.
World Architecture Festival 2022
Award: Finalist
Project: Batangueño – Batangas Forest City
Category: WAF Future Project: Masterplanning
The Batangas Forest City project also qualified as a finalist in this year’s World Architecture Festival: Future Projects Shortlist.
Award: Finalist
Project: BSP Security Plant Complex
Category: WAF Future Project: Competition
Also shortlisted was the firm’s proposed design for the BSP Security Plant Complex. The project was WTA’s entry in the design competition for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) sprawling 31.3-hectare security complex in New Clark City, Philippines.
This unique public building features a foundation clad in raw metals like copper and zinc, nestled between lush sanctuaries that create a rich hotspot for biodiversity. Its most prominent feature, the living forested facade, is capable of housing over 250 endemic Philippine trees and shrubs.
The team will be presenting both projects live to the judges and audience in Lisbon, Portugal from 30 November to 2 December.
Design Studio Mag Awards 2022
Award: Winner (top 10)
Project: Batangueño – Batangas Forest City
Category: Urban Design
The Batangas Forest City is also one of the ten recipients of the Design Studio Mag (DSM) 2022 Award. The project was recognized by a multidisciplinary panel of industry experts for its ideas on community building, sustainability, and spatial and environmental form integrated into the master plan making it the best in the Urban Design category.
