The Book Stop Project

  • 0
  • June 12, 2017

I worked with Seth Yorac to promote a premier real estate property some years back. He invited me to provide PR support to his sales strategies. A few weeks ago, he rang me to refer a friend. “But don’t call him yet, he is in the US to receive an award,” he said before hanging up.

Turns out WTA Architecture + Design Studio principal architect William Ti didn’t receive just one award, he got two Architizer A+Awards for the Book Stop – the Jury and the Popular Choice Awards under the Institutional – Libraries category.

WTA Architecture + Design Studio Principal Architect William Ti at the Architizer A+ Awards gala in New York City where over 400 luminaries from the worlds of architecture, design, and art gathered. The Architizer A+Awards is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and products. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.

The Book Stop is a pop-up library that’s open to everyone. Anybody can browse the shelves and grab a book. If people don’t want to go to the library, why not bring the library to them, right?

 

Give a book, get a book. Aside from being a venue for reading, the Book Stop also acts as an exchange point for those who would like to acquire new reading materials and give away old ones. This is the Book Stop located at Plaza de Roma, considered to be the center of Intramuros. It is across the Manila Cathedral and the Ayuntamiento de Manila.

 

This Book Stop can hold around 800 books.

The Book Stop welcomes book donations. You may contact Bruce Ingat at 721-0418 or thebookstop@wtadesignstudio.com for more details.

So far, there are two existing Book Stop units. Each with a different design meant to attract passersby. They’re both currently in Intramuros but have previously been installed at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Molito in Alabang, and San Sebastian Church in Quiapo.

The other Book Stop is located at the Pasig Riverside square, Plaza Mexico, also in Intramuros. It is near the ferry station and the Bureau of Immigration.

 

Supervising the set up of the Book Stop at Plaza Mexico are WTA Architecture + Design Studio’s Berly Locsin, William Ti, and Bruce Ingat with UST student intern, Nara Noche.

To make things more interesting for the Book Stop visitors, WTA Architecture + Design Studio organizes events around the venue such as talks by authors, storytelling sessions, open mic poetry, and various tours. For the schedule, check out the Book Stop’s Facebook page or Instagram account.

I was lucky to catch the inauguration of The Prado Museum in Manila on the day I visited Intramuros.

From the Ayala Triangle Gardens, The Prado Museum in Manila was transferred last Friday, June 9 to Plaza Roma. It will be there until July 31, 2017. The moving exhibit is presented by the Embassy of Spain, Instituto Cervantes, and The Prado Museum. WTA Architecture + Design Studio had a hand in it too.

 

The Prado Museum in Manila displays more than 50 life-size reproductions of masterpieces from The Prado Museum in Madrid, providing a unique opportunity for passers-by to experience face-to-face the works of some of the greatest masters from the 12th to the 19th centuries in the form of high-definition photographic prints.

 

William delivered the opening remarks and he allowed me to tag along when the contingent decided to go to Casa Manila where Insitituto Cervantes is expected to transfer soon.

We took the e-trike to Casa Manila to see the future site of Instituto Cervantes which is dedicated to promoting the teaching, study and use of Spanish as a second language, and to contributing to the advancement of Spanish and Latin-American cultures throughout the world. Aboard the e-trike is Architect Ramil Tibayan of the Cultural Properties & Conservation Division of the Intramuros Administration

 

Inspecting the Instituto Cervantes construction site are WTA Architecture + Design Studio principal architect William Ti, Intramuros Administrator Atty. Guiller Asido, Spain’s Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Luis Antonio Calvo, and Instituto Cervantes Director Carlos Madrid.

 

William gave me a copy of his book, “Context and Intent”. The book showcases WTA Architecture + Design’s work the past 10 years and explains the design process behind each project. Here’s an excerpt from the book’s foreword by Rebeccal Plaza, President and Managing Director of Plaza+Partners, Inc: “The work of WTA in its first decade is characterized by the desire to create spaces that catalyze a greater humanity; spaces with an understanding of the inhabitants within their contextual environment. Evident in their product is a position against subservient repetition; their work is defined clearly as a response to site, materiality, amenity, scale and culture.”

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.