What do you consider your greatest achievement or contribution to the profession?

For many years, I was teaching, writing and practicing at the same time so I had the privilege of having a rather wide range of audience. I also started practicing at a time when the Philippines was beginning to build a lot of commercial and residential structures so I was inevitably invited to design all sorts of projects from candy counters to resorts. I think my greatest contribution to the profession, and the industry as a whole, is in the wider public awareness and appreciation of what we do.

Who is your design hero or icon?

When I was in college, I happened to visit a department store called Aguinaldo's Echague and in its second floor was a display of rooms designed by Ched Berenguer, Wili Fernandez and Edgar Ramirez. They became my inspiration so I pursued my education in the area of interior design. Later Lor Calma became my boss and again there was someone to look up to.

Aside from your local heroes, are there designers or architects outside the country you most admire and why?

Frank Lloyd Wright, and the group of architects who started the modern movement such as Mies van der Rohe, because they moved with a purity of art that has not been repeated since then. I also like the Mexican architect, Luis Barragán, who before designing, listens to the land.

Spanning your entire career, what would you consider your most enjoyable projects and why?

The Hyatt Terraces in Baguio because it was so well organized that I visited the jobsite only four times, first to see the site, next to check construction of the model unit, third to check the colors, and last to finish the rooms, put accessories etc.

In the seventies I worked on several residences with Architect Willie Coscolluela who allowed me to do architectural changes in the interiors,giving me the leeway to actually shape rooms according the our concepts, which included design elements even to the outdoors which was handled by landscape architect Dolly Perez.

Some Asian interiors which allowed me to use local materials with either a historical or cultural background, putting together what clients own with contemporary construction, the Silva house in San Lorenzo Village, the Laperal house in Dasmarinas Village, Solviento in Los Banos.

What would be the most meaningful?

My first big project which is the central offices of the Iglesia ni Cristo in Quezon City.

How do you breathe spirit in your rooms and what are the intangible considerations you take when you design a home?

I always start by asking clients if they have any old thing they wish to be incorporated in the design. I once had a client who asked if she could use her old dilapidated rattan dining set, because, it almost had "soul". To make rooms alive, I use light, wind, plants, something old, some books, some toys or an item of whimsy. The intangibles are incorporated by introducing some meaning. In an Asian dining setting I used malongs draped at the back of chairs to extend the style, or perhaps the use of empty space to create silence, the use of color for warmth, the removal of clutter for peace, the mixture of materials and color for joy.

Do you believe in feng shui?

Of course, and in interior design one feels good chi when as you enter a house, there is a pleasant feeling that accompanies your entrance, as if, wow it is so nice to be home. It is not too much the placement of furnishings but the way things are organized that the owners can breathe well and function well inside this house.

Do you observe the old Filipino customs, traditions and rituals in designing and buildng homes? Do they still have a place in this age and time?

I do; like the number of steps in the front door, the placement of doors, the laying of floor planks, the position of the entrance door, the incorporation of the family altar, and rituals such as bringing rice, salt, oil and sugar to the new house before a full moon,the installation of the Sacred Heart and the blessing of the house itself. I hope they still have a place to bind us still to our roots.

If you weren't doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing?

I suppose I would be married with a family and at this age wearing a duster everyday. Maybe I would be a teacher doing art work with children, or a farmer tilling the land.

How do you see yourself in the next five to ten years?

Doing things that I enjoy, perhaps having a few clients who I can help really well. I'd like to do some contribution to the design field, maybe organize and add a decorative arts wing to the National Museum. I'd like to do a coffee table book on the way interior design developed in the Philippines. And then live in a farm, somewhere.

Are you ready to die and are you afraid of death?

Sometimes I am afraid, and sometimes I am not, but I have managed to assign whatever I have to whoever. It is a good form of detachment, and will make the journey a little bit lighter.

If you are reborn as a human being and given a choice, how would you like to be reborn on this earth?

As an architect. In my work as an interior designer, I have to make adjustments on many levels, but if I can manage to control structures then I would have the freedom to do original work.

Lastly, what are your aspirations for the future both in the field of education and interior design?

I just wish people could go back to basics and make life simpler and without much garbage, and design to be a reflection of this simplicity. In education, an ability to make people look, see, feel and create from original perspective.