Jury

Believing in the significant role building professionals play in shaping the character, form, and quality of places and spaces for humanity, Ar. Geomilie S. Tumamao-Guittap is a passionate architecture-planning professional and development researcher. She finished B.S. Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas with honours in 2003 and served as a designer-coordinator for various commercial developments in United Arab Emirates at the height of the construction boom of early 2000. After she returned to the Philippines to earn her graduate studies in 2010, she joined the University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning (UP SURP) as a University Researcher in 2011 and graduated Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning specializing in Estate Planning and Development with honours in 2015. She currently heads the Capacity Building Subcommittee of the United Architects of the Philippines – Emergency Architects (UAP-EA) and she is actively involved in the International Network for Traditional Buildings, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU) – Philippine Chapter. She is engaged in various researches, outreach programs, and trainings on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and sustainable development.

As an Architectural Designer, I am drawn towards holistic designs that cultivate positive changes in the built environment. I believe in the ability of architecture, research and critical design thinking to create a better world. I have been blessed to involve with wide varieties of projects from commercial, public, residential architecture to art installations which shaped me into a skilled, thoughtful and conscientious designer.

I am pretty clear what architecture means to me, and after 50 years of being in this profession on three continents, I will not change my mind. There are great architects out there, and I just hope they see clearly the development of our profession. It is not about YOU anymore, it is about the survival of our planet. Please take this seriously!

Architecture is an emotional experience.

When artificial intelligence is used to build superstructures, then the human input can only be done by designers with great imagination and vision. High-Tech is terrific if it is applied to social benefit. We forget so quickly that everything we make, including artificial intelligence, comes from the raw materials of this planet.

I can see that people are fascinated by monstrous shiny skyscrapers, but the reality is, that this is nothing more than modern human anthills. Who wants to live there with thousands of others?

We should integrate the beauty of Nature harmoniously into our architecture. The grand design of Nature (mountains, valleys, meadows, lakes, streams, oceans shores) gives us enough inspiration to follow the idea to compliment Nature, instead of destroying it.