Our story
BluPrint was first published in 1999 by One Mega Group (then Mega Publishing, Inc.) in response to the building boom in the Philippines.
First helmed by architect Bettina Bonoan (1999-2002), the magazine included features on fashion, the arts, theater, and included book and restaurant reviews, in addition to staples on architecture and interiors.
When urban designer and landscape architect Paulo Alcazaren (2002-2012) took over, he focused the magazine’s attention on architecture, interior design, heritage structures, landscape architecture and urban planning.
Judith Torres (2013 to 2018) introduced sections and special issues focusing on urgent concerns of profession and practice, such as the impact of ASEAN integration on Filipino designers (Who’s Afraid of 2015?), the need to produce more competitive architecture graduates in a global, borderless economy (Architecture Education), and practical advice for startup and growing firms (The Business of Design, Part 1 & Part 2).
The magazine is steadily gaining a reputation for fair and honest criticism, constructively critiquing structures on their safety, logic, comfort, and convenience in the tropical context, backed up by airflow and sunpath diagrams in addition to site and floor plans. Occasionally, BluPrint tackles architectural mishaps and faux pas in the sections, What Were They Thinking? and Post-Mortem.
Testimonials
“BluPrint has evolved into a credible and critical platform for advancing ideas. It is now more than just an image-based magazine. This is what the country needs to advance and improve the quality of our built environment. People read BluPrint not only to see contemporary architecture, but also to understand it more deeply.” – Sudarshan Khadka, Senior Project Architect, Locsin Partners & Associates
“BluPrint continually provokes thinking. It explores various platforms and issues, giving readers a new approach each year. This strategy reflects the commitment of its editorial team who have their hearts in their job.” – Joey Yupangco, former dean, School of Design and Arts, CSB-DLSU
“BluPrint has helped us study the practice of architecture in the local scene. It is more objective now, and focused on the practical aspects of the practice.” – Jason & Nikki Buensalido, Busensalido Architects
“This publication energizes the local architecture and design scene with its informative and relevant content. We would have made better choices at the start of our careers had a magazine like this been available early on.” – Sonny Sunga and Arnold Austria, Jagnus Design Studio
“BluPrint is an anchor to an industry continually fraught with challenges and changes!” – Bong Recio, Rchitects
The Team
[one_half]
[one_half_last]Prior to BluPrint, editor-in-chief Judith Torres worked 17 years in television, in a variety of roles including producer of The Probe Team; executive producer of Cheche Lazaro Presents, I-Witness, and 5 and Up; news producer for CNN, covering the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia; and chief operating officer of ANC, ABS-CBN’s news channel. She brings her journalistic training to BluPrint, probing issues within the design professions, industry, and academe, asking the hard questions. “Everyone can access beautiful design from all over the world online. People read BluPrint because we strive to always be relevant, helpful, practical, inclusive, and engaging.” @judith_a_torres
[one_half]
[one_half_last]Mel Patrick Kasingsing is group art director at One Mega Group, handling five titles: BluPrint, Condo Living, MyHome, Appetite and Travel Now. He was previously the art director of adobo magazine. He graduated with a fine arts degree in Information Design from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2012, and is a big fan of architecture, post rock and conspiracy thrillers. @patrick_kasingsing
[one_half]
[one_half_last]Angel Yulo is the associate editor and resident cheerleader of BluPrint. She has three years of experience in the publishing industry as a bookseller. She completed M.A. Humanities major in Literature at University of Asia and the Pacific with a final thesis on ekphrasis (poetry about the visual arts), exploring the relationship between text and image. @angelyulo
[one_half]
[one_half]
[one_half_last]Ed Simon is the head photographer of One Mega Group’s Studio 100. He specializes in architectural and interior photography, collaborating regularly with the company’s home and design magazines. He also takes various photography assignments, from portraits to food and beverage and commercial photography. He teaches photography at the Technological University of the Philippines College of Architecture and Fine Arts. @monsied
[one_half]
Contributors
Tobias Guggenheimer is Dean of the SoFA Design Institute in Makati. He is the principal of the New York design firm, Tobias Guggenheimer Architect, PC. He taught Architecture and Interior Design at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and Fordham University. He is the author of A Taliesin Legacy: The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Apprentices, published in 1995.
Reuben Ramas Cañete is Professor and Assistant to the Dean for Research and Publications at the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. He has a Ph.D. in Philippine Studies. Dr. Cañete has been contributing to BluPrint as an art, architecture and heritage writer since 2001. His newest book from Sinag Publications is titled Amadeo Y. Manalad: Drawing a Saga.
Nick Ramos teaches Architecture subjects at the School of Design and Arts, De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde. He studied Architecture at the University of Westminster, London, and trained in New York City. A keen enthusiast also of urbanism, design, and the arts, he has nothing but “catholic detestation for this vapid age of spectacle and yearns dearly for a long overdue return to substance.”
Joselito “Joel” N. Luna is Vice President and Chief Architect of Ayala Land, Inc. He heads the company’s Innovation and Design Group where he oversees all planning and design aspects of Ayala’s portfolio of projects. He is also director of Vesta Property Holdings, Inc., Aurora Property Holdings, Inc., and Anvaya Beach and Nature Club. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Green Building Council. He is a registered architect, environmental planner, and a Certified BERDE Professional.
Leandro Nicholas Rañoa Poco is partner at Leonardo A. Poco & Associates, Architects. He previously worked at Palmer & Turner Consultants and at Surbana Urban Planning Group, both in Singapore. Poco was an ASEAN scholar of the Master of Arts in Urban Design Program of the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment. He received the Singapore Institute of Architect’s Book Prize for his dissertation, EDSA: From Urban Fringe to Urban Spine.
Stephanie Tan-Branquinho is principal architect of SpaceFabrik, which does conceptual façade projects and hotel and master planning projects around the country. Previous experience includes HSH Architekten in Berlin, and later, Foster+Partners in London, where she worked on multi-billion dollar projects such as Bab Al Bahr in Morroco and West Kowloon Train Terminal in Hong Kong. She completed her Masters of Architecture and graduated with highest honors at the Bauhaus in Dessau, Germany, focusing on algorithmic methods and biomimetics.
José Edgardo “Jed” Abaya Gomez Jr. is an Associate Professor and Director for Graduate Studies at the University of the Philippines, School of Urban and Regional Planning. He holds a Doctorate in Public Administration and a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. He enjoys outdoor activities and creative writing when his time and means permit.
Erik Akpedonu is a research associate of the Ateneo Institute of Philippine Culture. He co-authored the book Casa Boholana: Vintage Houses of Bohol, published in 2011 by the Ateneo de Manila University Press. He studied Architecture at the Lippe University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
Armando N. Allí is an environmental planner and architect with over three decades of experience, an independent consultant for local and international projects. He has been serving on the DPWH board of consultants since 2002, and its National Building Code Review Committee since March 2016. He was chair of the Professional Regulatory Board of Architecture for six years, served as a DTI CIAC construction arbitrator for 15 years, and mediator for ten. He is a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Architecture (1982) and of the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning (1994).
Marlon M. Cariño is a lawyer, architect, environmental planner, and accredited CIAC arbitrator. He is legal consultant of the Urban Development Department of Makati City and, from time to time, the Professional Regulatory Board of Architecture and the United Architects of the Philippines. He is professional practice cluster head of the University of Santo Tomas College of Architecture, his alma mater. Marlon has earned American Bar units in International Business and European Union Law from Indiana University School of Law (USA), Robert Schuman University (France), Institute of Advanced Legal Studies – University of London (England), and University of Zagreb Law School (Croatia).
Jeffrey “Foom” Cobilla is the head of the Technical Team of Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, and has been supervising the conservation of Malate Church.
Miguel Llona is a freelance writer, and previously served as BluPrint’s managing editor. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Creative Writing.
Sibyl Layag is a news reporter for Standard & Poors, a multinational financial services information company. Previously an assistant editor for BluPrint, Layag graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman with a degree in Journalism.
Illustrators
Meneer Marcelo is an illustrator and caricaturist whose works have graced the pages of BluPrint and Rogue magazines. He teaches drawing in Mapua University, and is a part-time lecturer at the Fine Arts program of the Ateneo de Manila University.
Cesar G. Ramirez Jr. is project architect of Tropiks Design Studio and Cultural Heritage Resource Associates. He is an advocate of sketching, watercolor rendering, and traditional manual drawing. He is a part-time faculty member of DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts where he mentors Architecture students in drawing by hand. He obtained his degree in Architecture at the University of Santo Tomas in 2010.