Philippine Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale
Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary
The Philippine Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2023 presented Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary, an immersive architectural installation exploring the environmental, social, and spatial conditions surrounding the Estero de Tripa de Gallina in Metro Manila. Located within the Arsenale in Venice, Italy, the exhibition formed part of the Philippines’ national representation at one of the world’s most prestigious international architecture exhibitions.
Image Source: Andrea D’altoe / Philippine National Commision of Culture and Arts
Project Overview
Developed by The Architecture Collective (TAC), composed of Bien Alvarez, Matthew Gan, Archt. Lyle La Madrid, Noel Narciso, and Arnold Rañada, and co-curated by Archt. Choie Funk and Sam Domingo, the pavilion investigated the relationship between urban waterways, waste infrastructure, ecology, and community resilience through architecture, spatial storytelling, and material experimentation.
The exhibition proposed architecture not only as a physical intervention, but as a platform for reflection, dialogue, and environmental awareness. Through immersive installations, spatial sequencing, and digital projections, the pavilion invited visitors to engage with the realities surrounding one of Metro Manila’s major estuarine systems while reflecting on broader questions of climate, urbanization, and collective responsibility.
The pavilion further reflects the research-oriented and computational design methodologies cultivated within JOG+A, with key contributors Ar. Matthew Gan and Ar. Noel Narciso participating as part of the firm’s multidisciplinary design environment throughout the project’s development and realization.
Design Philosophy
Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary was conceived as an architectural response to the fragmented relationship between people, infrastructure, and waterways within the urban condition of Metro Manila.
Inspired by the ecological realities of the Estero de Tripa de Gallina, the pavilion explored how architecture can create dialogue around environmental degradation, flooding, waste systems, and community resilience. Rather than functioning as a static exhibition object, the installation was envisioned as an immersive spatial experience encouraging movement, reflection, and engagement with vulnerable urban environments.
The pavilion reflects a broader design philosophy grounded in collaboration, adaptive systems, ecological awareness, and the ability of architecture to reconnect people with environmental and social landscapes.
Architecture and Spatial Installation
The pavilion takes the form of a suspended bamboo bridge-like structure that guides visitors through projections, framed views, layered thresholds, and immersive spatial interventions. The installation functions both as an inhabitable structure and as a narrative device responding to the environmental and social conditions surrounding the estuary.
Bamboo was selected for its structural flexibility, sustainability, cultural familiarity, and adaptability to modular fabrication. The resulting installation combines architecture, exhibition design, environmental storytelling, and digital media into a cohesive spatial experience responding to the Biennale’s broader discourse on ecology and the future of architecture.
Its lightweight modular assembly system also enabled the pavilion to be fabricated, transported, disassembled, and reconstructed across multiple international locations.
Bamboo was selected as the primary material for its structural flexibility, sustainability, cultural familiarity, and adaptability to modular fabrication. The resulting spatial composition combines architecture, exhibition design, environmental storytelling, and digital media into a cohesive immersive environment responding to the Biennale’s broader discourse on the future of architecture and ecological responsibility.
The installation’s lightweight and modular assembly system also allowed the pavilion to function as a transportable architectural framework capable of being fabricated, assembled, disassembled, and reconstructed across multiple international locations.
Inspired by the ecological realities of the Estero de Tripa de Gallina, the pavilion explored how architecture can create dialogue around environmental degradation, flooding, waste systems, and community resilience. Rather than presenting a static exhibition object, the installation was envisioned as an immersive spatial experience that encourages movement, reflection, and engagement with the realities faced by vulnerable urban communities.
The pavilion reflects a broader design philosophy grounded in collaboration, adaptive systems, ecological awareness, and the ability of architecture to reconnect people with environmental and social landscapes.
Parametric Design and Community Collaboration
The pavilion’s bamboo structure was developed through a parametric design system led by the team at JOG+A as part of The Architecture Collective’s multidisciplinary design process. This computational approach enabled rapid prototyping, iterative testing, and modular refinement throughout the project’s development.
The flexible design system allowed the installation to evolve through direct engagement with the communities and barangays surrounding the Estero de Tripa de Gallina, integrating local feedback into the pavilion’s spatial and structural development. Through this iterative process, the project became not only an architectural installation, but also a collaborative response shaped by environmental conditions, community participation, and urban realities.
The parametric methodology also streamlined fabrication, transport, disassembly, and reconstruction across multiple locations. Modular bamboo components were designed for efficient prefabrication and assembly, supporting the logistical requirements of constructing the pavilion in both Manila, Philippines and Venice, Italy.
JOG+A additionally provided project management, technical coordination, and construction oversight for both the Philippine and Italian construction teams involved in the realization of the pavilion.
Images Source: Andrea D’altoe / Philippine National Commision of Culture and Arts
Exhibition Design and Fabrication
The pavilion integrated computational workflows, modular fabrication systems, and contemporary exhibition design methodologies to create a spatial installation capable of adapting to the logistical and technical demands of an international architecture exhibition.
Parametric modeling enabled geometric consistency while accommodating fabrication tolerances, assembly sequencing, transport constraints, and reconstruction requirements within the Arsenale in Venice. This process allowed the project to combine traditional bamboo craftsmanship with contemporary digital fabrication methodologies.
The resulting installation demonstrates how sustainable materials, modular systems, and computational design can support flexible exhibition architecture while maintaining spatial warmth, material richness, and cultural relevance.
Philippine Representation at the Venice Architecture Biennale
As the official Philippine participation at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, the pavilion contributed to global discussions surrounding ecology, urbanization, infrastructure, climate resilience, and social responsibility through the lens of Philippine urban conditions.
Presented at the Arsenale in Venice from May 20 to November 26, 2023, the exhibition positioned Philippine architecture and spatial practice within an international discourse on environmental futures and the evolving role of architecture in addressing complex urban realities.
The project reflects JOG+A’s continued engagement with research-driven architecture, interdisciplinary collaboration, exhibition design, computational workflows, and culturally grounded spatial narratives.
Project Information
Project
Philippine Pavilion – 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2023
Exhibition Title
Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary
Location
Arsenale, Venice, Italy
Year
2023
Project Type
Architecture Exhibition and Pavilion Installation
Scope of Services
Architecture
Exhibition Design
Parametric Design
Spatial Installation
Project Management
Fabrication Coordination
Technical Coordination
Exhibitors
The Architecture Collective (TAC)
Collaborators
Bien Alvarez
Ar. Matthew Gan
Ar. Lyle La Madrid
Ar. Noel Narciso
Arnold Rañada
Curators
Ar. Choie Funk
Sam Domingo
