AA student Bowen Tan received a RIBA Bronze Medal Commendation on Wednesday 4 December for his third-year project ‘Next Nature Manila’, completed in Intermediate 3 last year. Bowen describes the project as ‘a visionary, speculative world-building film [where] Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is portrayed as undergoing a spectacle of green transformation. The narrative unfolds in a future where urban redevelopment integrates with nature, presenting a city revitalised by innovative and sustainable design strategies. Drawing inspiration from Bruce Sterling’s “Shaping Things”, the film envisions a convergence of technology and biology, introducing the concept of “Gizmology”.’

In the project’s visionary, speculative world-building film, Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is portrayed as undergoing a spectacle of green transformation. The narrative unfolds in a future where urban redevelopment integrates with nature, presenting a city revitalised by innovative and sustainable design strategies. Find out more about Tan’s project at AA Projects Review 2024.