The prestigious Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) recently recognized Marahuyo Design Camp, the only entry of the Philippines, at the recent Asia Young Designer Summit.
Themed “Forward: Amplifying Empathy Through Design,” the competition gathered 11 sole architecture and interior design representatives from across the region to generate innovative, creative, and socially involved design implementations.
Philippine representative and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Interior Design student Moira Kayla Ramiro conceptualized the Marahuyo Design Camp, which nurtures creativity and offers a refreshing and enlightening experience for the artistic soul.
The venue is envisioned to house diverse crafts and design studios, villa suites, and exhibition halls to achieve mental restoration, foster artistic inspiration, and promote cultural preservation. It likewise features farm-to-table dining and a farm forest.
“It seeks to establish emotional depth with connections that captivate and focus healthy attention for people by indulging with nature,” Ramiro shared.
Named after marahuyo, which means “a state of enchantment and attraction” in Tagalog, the design camp was envisioned with the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) in mind. “ART proposes that nature can help replenish a human’s mental state, attentional stability, and attain cognitive restoration in the environment,” the young innovator explained.
“The brain can easily become overwhelmed by the pressures of everyday life, making it tough to stay focused and mentally healthy. A simple way to counter the conflict of this attention is to take a break,” she continued.
She proposed to develop the site in Mabitac, Laguna, known for its arts and crafts industry. She utilizes the wonders of nature and natural resources to help with physical health and psychological comfort.
Ramiro is the recipient of Interior Design recognition for the 2021 Nippon Paint Asia Young Designer Awards (NYPDA) Philippines, where her adviser Benildean instructor Candice Arboleda was named Best Mentor.
Founded in 2008, AYDA has provided a platform for future-proof ideas and has since gathered thousands of young creators from Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.
