THE CULTURAL CENTER of the Philippines (CCP) and Yatai International Corporation, manufacturer of Omni electrical and lighting products, announced the winning design of the 2017 Holiday Light Installation competition on Oct. 11 at the Carlos V. Francisco lobby.

The holiday light installation, which debuted in 2015, was rebranded as a competition in 2016. This year’s edition carries the theme “Paskong Pinoy.”

“The whole idea was to engage our artist community and make the holiday installation something that also reflects our best traditions,” CCP vice-president and Artistic director Chris Millado said in his opening remarks.

Rochelle Ong and Louie Suico Suico, architects of WTA Architecture & Design Studio, won with Habi ng Pagkakaisa: Weaving the Multi-Cultural Filipino Together. Their entry came out on top in a field of 12 proposals in this year’s competition.

Habi ng Pagkakaisa is a five-sided Christmas tree, the design of which is inspired by the weaving patterns and colors of various regions in the country.

“The tree itself is intended to represent the multicultural Filipino people and highlight the richness of the culture of our country. Since then, hand weaving is considered as one of the most important crafts in the Philippines. In fact, Filipinos, especially the tribal groups, are well-known for weaving their traditional clothing with intricate designs,” Mr. Suico said.

“We wanted to make it [the installation] shared – something experienced, something that would unite the multicultural Filipino people together. We wanted it to be more than a decoration – something that we could make memories with,” Ms. Ong said.

The tree’s form will be built on still frames and the skin will be made of locally sourced color-dyed rattan. It will be surrounded with LED lighting variations.

Guests may enter the foot of the tree and are encouraged to look up, as the tree’s design resolves into a star when viewed from the interior.

Mr. Millado said that the design’s simplicity and elegance made it stand out from the 12 proposed designs.

“We wanted something that would converse with the building. When we look at the tree, it should be in the context of the building because it’s an iconic structure, and how it should converse with the other Christmas décor that we plan to put in the building. We thought that their design would have a visual dialogue of what we’re trying to do,” Mr. Millado told BusinessWorld.

The panel of jurors was composed of Nestor Jardin, ASEAN-National Organizing Council consultant; Ariel Yonzon, CCP associate artistic director; Henry Yang, operations manager of Yatai International Corporation; and artist Jose Tence Ruiz. Proposals were evaluated based on originality and innovativeness, feasibility of the implementation, ties to the theme and to both the CCP and Omni’s institutional mandates, appropriateness to the surroundings, and eco-friendliness.

The holiday light installation will be displayed at the height of major meetings of the ASEAN’s 50th anniversary which will be held in the country this November.

Habi ng Pagkakaisa will be unveiled on Nov. 3, 6 p.m., at the CCP Liwasang ASEAN Park along with the multifaceted and custom-designed lanterns on the façade of the CCP Main Theater Building.

The 50-foot Christmas tree will be on display until January 2018. – Michelle Anne P. Soliman

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