MANILA, Philippines — When designing buildings and other infrastructures, architects must consider how well the design will fit in the future, not just in the present, a panel of experts said.

 

“Architects tend to have a misconception of time,” Gerald Joson, principal architect of Joson Design, said during the Anthology Architecture and Design Festival in Intramuros, Manila held last Feb. 7-9.

 

The festival, organized by WTA Architecture and Design Studio, carried the theme “Think Architecture” where all discussions and installations at the event were designed to “inspire attendees to carefully view the built environment, and become a part of future solutions.”

 

Clifford Pearson, editorial director at US architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox, meanwhile advised architects that when talking about time in architecture, they must be able to figure out how to visualize it.

 

“When you talk about time in architecture, you have to figure out how to visualize that,” Pearson said.

 

Pearson, who has worked for various publications in the last two decades, shared that his views were rooted in studying how structures affect communities around them.

 

Chief Executive Officer of design firm Mañosa and Co. Inc, Angelo Mañosa, said that while past architects were more concerned with the “wise use” of space and materials, today’s architects must pay more attention to longevity.

 

During the discussion, the three experts then agreed that architects “must never fall in love with their drawings.”

 

“We believe that architecture is a platform for collaboration and discovery from which ideas can be distilled and opportunities can be found,” festival director and principal architect at WTA Architecture and Design Studio William Ti Jr. said.

 

“Anthology is a space where we can all share our experiences and address our questions together,” he added.