Maya Franco Design Group, Cebu, Philippines
Interview with Maya Franco, Founder of the Architectural Office Maya Franco Design Group in Cebu, Philippines
"The Philippines is still considered a developing country, so it is fairly recent that people actually understand that they need to pay for an architect. Especially here in Cebu, maybe like 10 or 15 years ago people would just go straight to an engineer, they would not even know that they needed an architect."
On a short trip to the Philippines, I first met Maya Franco in here office where she gave me a really interesting and detailed insight into her development. From a young girl who loved to tell stories all the way to one of the very few female architects in the Philippines, who successfully lead their own offices in a still very male-dominated profession.
Besides running a thriving architectural office of 14 people at the age of 35, I had the chance to get to know Maya's extraordinary hospitality in times of biggest need - a short summary of our Cebu adventure and how Maya and her boyfriend saved our weekend is following after the interview.
Where are you originally from and may I ask your age?
I was born and raised here in Cebu and I am 35 years old.
Where did you study architecture?
That was also here in Cebu. I went to the university of San Carlos, one of the oldest universities in the whole country actually.
What was your path after graduating from university?
After graduating you need two years of apprenticeship before you can take the exams to become an official architect in the Philippines. I did those two years here at home, I took my exams and then I went to the US for six months - my family already moved there before.
By the time I graduated I was actually a bit disillusioned with architecture. So I was actually thinking of a career change. In the States I worked for an architectural firm but just sort of like shadowing, kind of like an apprenticeship as well. It was there where I realised it would be hard for me to get a career going there. Not just because of the visas, that is one thing, but also where I was the companies were so huge, like 100+ people, therefore it seemed so impossible or would take so long for me to get to a point where I would actually be making design decisions. I looked at my future and I thought I would going to be stuck in a dust designing restaurants [laughs].
So I was like “maybe I return to the Philippines” and then when I got back here I applied for two different jobs. One in an advertising firm and one in an interior design office. I still wanted to do something creative but I was so burned out from architecture that I wanted to try a different field. Finally I got accepted for both jobs but the interior design firm paid more, what made the decision easier [laughs]. I worked for them for three years in Manila and in that firm they do interior architecture as well, therefore a lot of their employees were architects.
I ended up working mostly in the project management department and rose up to manage whole projects on my own. And that was when I realised I do like this side of architecture - going to the sites, make sure everything is delivered on time, dealing with a lot of coordinating and a lot of people - it made me realise that I probably could still have a career in architecture.
When, how and why did you found your own office?
After my father passed away I came back to Cebu by the end of 2007 to be with my mother and it was her who encouraged me to open up my own office. By that time the city was not as developed as today but the construction boom was starting - so there was a need. From 2007 to 2011 I started off doing freelance work, specialising in restaurant interiors. Luckily some of my work from Manila got published in magazines and that was how people knew about my work and me. And as my clients knew I was an architect, sometimes after designing restaurants, they also let me plan houses and bigger projects for them. Some of them were into development and I was really just lucky being there at the right time. In 2011 I decided to finally open up my own firm "Maya Franco Design Group" and ever since we are growing.
The office in Cebu.
How did you get into freelance work and how did you get your jobs?
At that time I was practically doing any kind of work that would come along. Like some contractors would need well-designed drawings. Also some of my contacts back from Manila started their own companies and whenever they did projects in Cebu they would need somebody here or I just did some work for them anyway. And furthermore I got work via contacts that I already had here in my hometown, like friends, parents of friends, friends of friends and so on. It is basically all about the right contacts.
Does your office have a preferred or specialised type of building or field that you are working in?
Lately we do a lot of budget hotels, we are working on the fourth one at the moment. We still design restaurant interiors because that is where we started. Not so many residential projects but we still have a few from the same clients like I said.
Does the office follow a specific design approach or have a typical handwriting?
Not really, especially with the restaurants you have to follow design trends, which change really quick in that field.
Do you have a leading concept in the office?
I personally like to do a modern, minimalist, uncluttered approach. I really admire modern Japanese architects and Scandinavian design so that is kind of my inclination. But to keep the business afloat of course we mostly have to follow what our clients want us to do - so I cannot always design a project like I would have done it but we try to find the best solution for everybody. There are projects that pay the bills and projects we really like doing [laughs].
How many projects do you work on during a year or what is your annual volume of sales?
The average per year would be about 20 but some of them of course extend to the next year. The volume of sales has been growing since 2012 for about 30-40% every year - and we started with around 5 Million Pesos (roughly 100.000 €).
Watergate Hotel in Butuan City, Philippines by Maya Franco Design Group.
Is it hard as a female architect in the Philippines?
Yes, it definitely is. Especially when I started, it was very hard for me to get taken seriously as a woman plus I am so small and look young. The only way to get around that is having enough projects to be able to show off your work. But there is also a flipside to it: One of the reasons why I started doing interiors is because people are more open to a woman doing them and that was sort of my way in. I got known for my interiors and then people were willing to trust me with doing the whole thing.
How much do you charge clients in the Philippines?
We sort of have a table that most architects in the Philippines use as a guideline for how much to charge. It usually falls around 10% with residential buildings and 6% with commercial projects but that number gets lower the more expensive the project is.
Do you take interns?
Yeah, we do - right now we have two.
Does Social Media, especially Instagram and Facebook play a role in your office, in presenting your work or even approaching possible customers?
Not as much to get clients but we use social media to recruit people to work for us. We do post some photos of work we have done but we have never actually had clients hire us because of social media. We get more exposure from publications in magazines.
Do you think that social media will play a bigger role for marketing of architecture and offices in the future?
Probably in the future but I think for now, as it involves such big investments, the generation that works within this field is maybe still an older one that is not too much into social media.
The executive office.
According to you, what are the main differences between Western and Philippine architecture?
First I think in western countries they are more developed in a sense that they actually really put a premium on design much more than the Philippines. They are willing to pay for good design and give a lot of importance to it from the start. In the Philippines they still care about design but at the end of the day it is the function and of course when they are going to get their money back on the investment. Design plays like a second role in importance. Also the budgets here are usually a lot smaller than to a comparable project in a western country. But on the other hand here you get way more involved and are in a position to do design decisions a lot faster than somewhere in Europe or the US.
Can you remember any differences or problems to the approach while working with foreigners?
I think the approach is similar, except in the Philippines a lot of the clients do not understand the design process and it needs a lot of explaining, so foreign architects would sometimes struggle a bit with their patience.
Are there a lot of foreign architects/offices working on projects in the Philippines?
Not really, the most would be in Manila but there are no foreign offices that I would know in Cebu. But on the opposite there are a lot of Philippine architects working abroad, especially in Asia since there is an ASEAN agreement, where you can get a license by doing a special exam, which authorises you to work in any country in Asia that is part of that association. They just agreed on that last year.
Would you describe the Philippines as an architecture-friendly country?
I would say so yes. We also have a national organisation of architecture, the UAP (United Architects of the Philippines) and it really has come a long way making the government understand also the value that architects bring. Nowadays when you do a building you actually need an architect design for it, whereas before you could go straight to a developer or a contractor or an engineer. But since the last ten years you need an architect to sign that.
What is your personal favourite project in the Philippines/on Cebu? Which one would you recommend to take a closer look at?
It is usually always the most recent one that our office did [laughs]. So for now that would be a hotel that was finished last October on another island in Mindanao. But there is also another architect, Medalla, here in Cebu that I admire but he has a very different style than me - it is modern and progressive. I love his design because it is very distinct and different from all the other architects here in Cebu.
Are weather extremes like the quite frequent typhoons here taken into consideration? If so, how?
Definitely but as the Philippines experience typhoons so often even our structural standards already take that into consideration. They are just a natural given thing as well as earthquakes. Other than that mostly it is about cooling down the building passively and that is also something we really consider in planning our projects.
About the career and life as an architect
What was your motivation for your career choice? Were there alternatives or other career aspirations?
I grew up amongst doctors - basically everybody in my family is or was a doctor - so I was sort of brainwashed to be a doctor but my natural inclinations were always in art. When I was in 6th grade I was telling a story about an imaginary family to my brother and to do so I started drawing a floor plan to show where and how they live and I ended up drawing a whole community. When my uncle saw it he said I should become an architect but by that time I did not even know what an architect was. When I grew older and was more or less prepared for doing medicine that saying was always stuck in my head. But I waited until the last minute - I was already signed into pre-med school and was all set to start medicine and at the very last chance I had a talk with my parents about not really wanting to become a doctor and how I would like to try and take up architecture. Finally I applied to study architecture and even though I was so late I managed to get in.
Why do we need architects?
Definitely architects bring something to the table when it comes to construction to actually make a project better for the users. We are sort of that middle person that can design something beautiful and functional at the same time. On top of that we make sure everything is well organised and on time - we play a big role in making sure that things will not get out of hand. Either to not blow up the budget or also to control that the initial design will not be lost within the process.
Do you get rich as an architect?
No I do not think so [laughs]. You can get rich as a contractor or a developer.
Why do so many architects wear black? Does that apply to you? [wearing black]
Actually at work I mostly wear black [laughs] because I do not want to think about what to wear. I never really thought about this but when I think about my closet back home most of it is black [laughs]. Maybe it is also because I am more the type who does not want to stand out so much - I like being an observer.
Do you, as an architect, plan your own house or apartment?
I have designed apartments that I am renting out but I live in the house that I grew up in so I did not design that [laughs]. But I imagine that it is one of the hardest and most unfulfilling challenges to design your own house as an architect. Still that is one of my goals and I would like to build my own house in the next five years.
Are you ever satisfied with your work? Do you ever stop thinking of new or different ideas for a project even after it was finished?
After I finish a project I always think of what I could have done differently and I think that is a good exercise for the next project. I think I have never done a design where I thought this is 100% perfect with nothing to change - I wish I could say that but every time it is like “ah, next time I will do this instead”.
What would you recommend students nowadays to prepare for the architectural profession?
Usually at university they teach you a lot about how to do good working designs but at least here in the Philippines, even though we have a subject called professional practice for two semesters, you do not really get a good grasp of how to start your own office. So because of that you need to choose your mentor well when you are about to finish university - someone who can show you how the business is done from all angles.
Describe yourself with a specific material.
I might say bamboo: it is a natural and simple material, but beautiful and if you know hot use it, it is actually strong. I like that its strength is in its flexibility and that is why I would choose it because I think I am quite flexible as well and I feel like that is one of my best assets and why a lot of clients want to work with me. So I kind of have a neat know how to go with the wind [laughs].
The Story of our little Cebu adventure
Have you ever heard of the Sinulog Festival? No? - Me neither! But apparently it is the second biggest festival in the Philippines with hundreds of thousands of people attending. I will probably remember the one of 2017 for a lifetime.
It was a usual humid Saturday in January, when my girlfriend and I came back from a couple of days on Bohol. Earlier that week we booked a hotel for the last two nights on the Philippines, which we planned to spend in Cebu. Later that Saturday I had an appointment for an interview at an architectural office called Maya Franco Design Group. Therefore we took the ferry from Bohol to Cebu early enough to check in at the hotel and have lunch before meeting Maya Franco. The day started really great with a one-hour delay of the ferry but still it would have been enough time. After a classic odyssey by cab we finally found our hotel. Next and biggest highlight: the hotel did not receive our booking but also had no rooms left - it took them about an hour to tell us that. By that time we have already figured out that the Sinulog Festival was going on exactly at that weekend. The receptionist told us to try a neighbouring hotel, which we did, but considering that I was on crutches because of an accident back in Bali and it was raining the whole time, it was a bit inconvenient as you probably can imagine. Anyway long story short: the other hotel did not have a room either and we were running out of time so we decided to take all our stuff with us and go to the interview first. Next odyssey even finding a taxi and then of course finding the place. Against all odds we made it to the office right on time, where Maya was awaiting us with fresh coffee.
After a great and fun interview we told Maya about our unfortunate situation and asked if we could use the wifi for trying to find a new place to stay. But Maya and her boyfriend Andrius, who had just arrived to pick her up, told us that it was more or less impossible to get something at all or if then just at a far too expensive price. So we tried to think of another solution but could not come up with more than just spending the next two nights at the airport. It was at that point, when we were already quite desperate, that Maya and Andrius became a mix of our new best friends, heroes, foster parents and lifesavers at the same time. Maya was so generous to let us stay in her own family's house, what alone would have been the kindest thing. But furthermore they invited us for dinner and even took us to one of their friend's party, which had been just another unbelievable experience as the party was full of extraordinary interesting people. Also the next day Maya's very kind housekeeper took care of us and prepared breakfast and also dinner for just the two of us. We were speechless about that remarkable sense of hospitality. Andrius, who is originally from Lithuania, told us that this was like a normal act of kindness in the Philippines but we were just staggered.
So I want to take this chance to once more thank you both, Maya and Andrius, for taking us in and turning this unlucky weekend into one of our best experiences ever while travelling. You both are really great people and are of course most welcome in our houses whenever you come to Austria.
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