Insights from Architect Vanessa Gaston on student-led architecture and nation-building
As the Philippines celebrates Independence Day, it is also a time to recognize the people helping to shape the country’s future—not only through policy and industry, but also through education, creativity, and community-building.
Architecture plays an important role in that future. Beyond designing buildings, it influences how people live, interact, and connect. It can preserve culture, strengthen communities, and create opportunities for future generations.
In Dumaguete City, one architecture program is showing how design can become a form of service.
PhilSTAR Property spoke with Architect Vanessa Gaston, Head of Architecture at Foundation University, who also oversees Estudio Damgo, the Philippines’ first student-led design-build architecture studio. Through the program, senior architecture students develop projects from concept planning through design, permitting, and construction while working directly with local communities.
For Gaston, architecture education should remain closely connected to the needs of society.
“Our approach is to really ground architectural practice in a way that is relevant to society,” she said. “We’re not highly theoretical and disconnected from what’s really needed.”
Designing with empathy
At the heart of Foundation University’s approach is a simple but powerful idea: architects must first learn to listen.
“We want to teach our students to design with empathy,” Gaston explained. “We also say that we want them to be champions of people and the planet.”
Rather than approaching projects with predetermined solutions, students are encouraged to immerse themselves in communities and understand local realities before proposing answers.
“Designing with empathy is more of a bottom-up approach,” she said. “You consult with the end users, with the community, about what their experience has been and what they want to see in the future.”
This philosophy has become a defining characteristic of Estudio Damgo. Students begin projects through conversations, fieldwork, and community engagement, learning that architecture starts not with drawings but with understanding.
“We come in with a blank slate,” Gaston said. “Knowing that we’re the ones who know the least about the situation.”
For her, this willingness to listen is one of the most valuable lessons future architects can learn.
Learning from communities
The hands-on nature of Estudio Damgo exposes students to experiences that extend far beyond a traditional classroom.
One memorable project involved the South Negros Turtle Research Center on Danjugan Island, where students worked alongside scientists, fisherfolk, conservation groups, and local stakeholders.
“It was the first time that we were designing for turtles,” Gaston recalled.
The experience required students to immerse themselves in the island environment and understand the broader ecosystem before developing solutions.
“We had to understand how the whole living ecosystem was interacting,” she said.
For Gaston, these experiences demonstrate that architecture is ultimately about relationships—between people, place, culture, and the environment.
“The experience that grounds their practice the most in Estudio Damgo is the early conversations that we have,” she said. “From a social interaction, we then add our vocabulary and know-how in architecture to execute that project.”
Filipino design, Filipino culture
As an architect and designer who has worked extensively with local artisans and indigenous materials, Gaston believes the next generation of Filipino architects can draw inspiration from the country’s own design traditions and craftsmanship.
“Furniture was my entry point to really see the handicraft tradition and legacy of the Philippines,” she shared. “It really made me appreciate how much brilliance and ingenuity we had that sets us apart from the rest of the world.”
For her, preserving cultural knowledge is not about looking backward but finding ways to carry it forward through contemporary design.
“I’ve never detached my work from Filipino culture and vernacular knowledge,” she said. “It’s always been there, and we just really need to tap into it.”
As the nation reflects on independence and the role of education in shaping future generations, Gaston’s message is a reminder that architecture is ultimately about people. Through programs like Estudio Damgo, students are learning that good design begins with empathy, grows through collaboration, and gains meaning when it serves communities.
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