Filipino wins in lighting design awards

The Filipino designer is indeed world-class. This was proven recently when interior designer Maja Olivares-Co of Sonia Santiago Olivares and Associates (SSOA) won with Philips Lighting an Award of Merit from the International Illumination Design Awards (IIDA), a prestigious American based award-giving body that recognizes outstanding achievements in lighting design.

The IIDA cited Olivares-Co and Philips for their work in the cosmetics store Essenses, the only shop lighting entry to have merited such a recognition.

The store won the award for its highly illuminated and streamlined look, exuding a calm atmosphere in a boutique where the colors and packages of different brands vie for attention. Located at Rustan’s department store in Glorietta Center, Essenses gives a bright but serene atmosphere brought on by the white walls and floors and the bright yet gentle lighting.

A trip abroad was what inspired Olivares-Co., "I remember going to the newly renovated Saks 5th Avenue in New York in 1997 with Menchu Tantoco-Lopez of Rustan’s. The store did not use fluorescent lights for general lighting and had only minimal halogen lights yet it had wonderful illumination. I later learned that the lighting used was called Ceramic Single Ended Metal Halide Reflector or CDMR. We did our research in Manila and discovered that Philips had the light source but did not carry it in Manila. It was also not designed for retail application."

Pepsi Casas, Philips Lighting Projects Channel Lighting Division Manager, says, "Actually, CDMR had never been used in the Philippines before, so when Maja came to us, we had to come up with designs to manufacture the lighting fixture."

Says Olivares-Co, "With the usage of the CDMR combined with color corrected fluorescents, halogens and incandescent lighting, we were able to bring out the natural hues in the color spectrum. Something very crucial to cosmetics and HBA products."

One of the few designers who focus on designing for retail outlets, Olivares-Co received her Interior Design degree from the University of Santo Tomas with cum laude honors and the Parsons School of Designing New York, also with honors. She pursued further studies in master’s of Fine Arts in Lighting at Parsons School of Design and later worked for several of the top architectural design firms in New York City, such as Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), Fox & Fowle Architects/Interiors, and the design firm Naomi Leff & Associates, which is known for designing the flagship Polo Ralph Lauren Rhinelander Mansion in New York, several of Ralph Lauren’s homes, Armani shops and the Holt Renfrew Department Stores in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

At Essenses, Olivares-Co’s concept helped subdue the colors of different brands housed in the store. She was also able to define the spaces within Essenses. For instance, the spa and café are located within the store yet they don’t necessarily mix with the store’s display areas. Rustan’s engineering head Michael Gonzalez says, "The lighting not only gives out a stunning visual effect, it also brings about huge energy savings in air-conditioning due to the reduced heat emission of the CDMR lamps."