FIRST PRIZE WINNER!
Yuki Yamaguchi, Freya Beya Demeterio & Bastian Jacob Ramirez
Yuki Yamaguchi
Yuki Yamaguchi, born to a Filipino mother and Japanese father, is a 3rd-year Landscape Architecture student at the University of San Carlos. He previously served as editor for the student organization, designing posters and publications, and enjoys exploring ecological restoration and urban planning through webinars.
Freya Beya Demeterio
Freya Beya Demeterio is an incoming 4th-year Landscape Architecture student at the University of San Carlos from Maasin City, Southern Leyte. She enjoys painting, sketching, and observing the natural and built environment for inspiration in her creative work.
Bastian Jacob Ramirez
Bastian Jacob Ramirez, from Compostela, Cebu, is an aspiring Landscape Architect and incoming 4th-year student at the University of San Carlos. Passionate about design, he seeks to create spaces that are functional, sustainable, and expressive.
Interview with the Winner
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
Yuki Yamaguchi
Born to a Filipino mother and a Japanese father, I spent most of my life in the Philippines, on the island of Cebu. Currently, I am a 3rd-year undergraduate from the University of San Carlos taking up Landscape Architecture. For two years, I served as an editor for the university’s Landscape Architecture student organization where I designed posters, publication materials, and merchandise. Beyond the classroom, I enjoy attending webinars that focus on ecological restoration and urban planning.
Freya Beya Demeterio
I was born in Cebu but grew up and currently live in Maasin City, Southern Leyte. I am an incoming 4th-year Landscape Architecture student at the University of San Carlos. I have always been drawn to creative work, which is why I enjoy painting and sketching. I also love observing the natural and built environments around me, learning new techniques, and finding inspiration from how landscape architecture can improve the way we live.
Bastian Jacob Ramirez
Born in Cebu City, Philippines and currently residing in the Province of Compostela, Cebu, I am an aspiring Landscape Architect and an incoming 4th year Landscape Architecture student at the University of San Carlos. My passion for architecture and art naturally led me to landscape architecture—a field where the built environment and the natural world meet in harmony. I find beauty in designing spaces that are not only functional and sustainable, but also deeply expressive and artistic.
What inspired you to participate in Miniature Arboreal Visions – Tiny Forest Design 2024?
As Landscape Architecture students, the idea of creating green spaces within the urban context is something that we value, especially when living in a country where there are little to no parks and green spaces. We often see how large corporations quickly take up land for the development of concrete structures, and the lack of designation by local governments for green urban spaces. With this, the competition gave us an opportunity to reimagine spaces within our city as pockets of biodiversity and hubs for community-engagement. It allowed us to explore creative solutions to a problem that has become quite the norm in our own urban environment.
How did you approach the challenge of designing a miniature forest in an urban context?
Our proposal was more about introducing a new set of design guidelines rather than a design itself. More specifically, we wanted to explore how to reshape the way urban forests can be designed to be more sustainable and serve the urban population. Hence, we focused on the introduction of a new forest typology to be specifically used in an urban context. This meant that our design was not bound to a certain site, but it can be adapted to other sites within the city. This was important for us because this flexibility was a way to encourage cities, especially the one we live in, to see how miniature forests are meaningful spaces of recreation and biodiversity.
What key elements or strategies did you incorporate to enhance biodiversity and sustainability in your design?
Our design focuses entirely on the use of native vegetation to boost local biodiversity and reduce forest maintenance. In the Philippine context, we had to think about plants which can thrive in both the dry and wet seasons, which is an advantage that many native species possess. The proposed forest was also heavily centered around dealing with urban flooding, which is a problem directly linked to rapid urbanization. Infiltration zones were designated around the site’s perimeter, collecting stormwater runoff within and around the site. The proposed structure within the forest was also designed to be a multifunctional space, where its central amphitheater transforms into a detention pond during the rainy season. We also incorporated passive cooling by positioning water features on the northeast and southwest areas of the forest, where the prevailing winds blow.
How did you address accessibility and community engagement in your proposal?
Our Tiny Forest incorporated numerous recreational spaces, all of which were dictated by the needs of the local community and the types of establishments close to the forest. Play spaces for families with children, learning spaces for the neighboring school, active spaces for the youth, and even a contemplation grove for the seniors. All of these spaces are interconnected through a series of ramps and staircases, making it highly accessible for all ages. These ramps and staircases were also designed to converge at the central space, which is the sunken amphitheater. Moreover, we also redesigned the streetscape of the highway adjacent to our site to promote connections to public transport and safe accessibility for pedestrians.
Were there any unique challenges you faced during the design process, and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge that we faced during the design process was designing the circulation around our proposed landform. The terraced landform in our design, especially for a miniature forest, was quite difficult to plan because the ramps and staircases had to be clear enough for wayfinding, but it also had to provide a sense of “journey” around the canopy of the trees. Finding this balance was quite tricky because we also had to consider the sporadic behavior of our planting, as we wanted a more naturalistic feeling in our forest. Hence, it was sort of like trying to find that sweet spot between harmony and chaos.
In your view, what role can small-scale green spaces play in shaping the future of urban life?
Small-scale green spaces are very important, especially as they become a collective in the urban setting, because they are opportunities for a multifunctional landscape where they can serve ecological benefits, but also provide recreational spaces for the urban population. We might argue that it is better to have multiple pockets of green spaces, rather than one large green space at the center of the city. This is because it allows more people to easily access these types of spaces no matter where they are. Small-scale green spaces can also be connected to one another, creating a greenbelt that can link an entire city, further boosting the sense of community.
What advice would you offer to future participants of design competitions focused on ecological or urban themes?
We believe the best advice would be to do extensive research and understand the context of the site. The site’s context is a very important stepping stone to finding innovative solutions to very specific problems. The problems unique to your site, may just be what sets your design apart from everyone else. With ecological themes, it is very important to consider the way nature behaves because we adapt to our environment, not vice-versa. Hence, natural processes have to be greatly considered in your design. For urban themes, it is important to understand the needs of the urban population and how your design can adapt to the changes of the growing population.
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