"Sobrang overwhelming."

These were the words of Slater Young as he described how he felt when he learned that the real estate project he is developing, The Rise at Monterrazas in Cebu, won the Architizer A+ Jury award.

In an exclusive interview with PUSH, the engineer-content creator shared that it was their architect who relayed the news to him.

"I got the news from our architect kasi sila talaga ang nagde-design. This is much an award for them as it is for us as the project developer. So tumawag siya sa akin, nanginginig, halos umiiyak [at sabing] 'nanalo tayo.' This is a very, very big deal especially in the architectural space, sobrang big deal talaga. They will include us in the book pa. May hardbound book na 'World's Best Architecture of 2024,' so they made an announcement na isasama tayo dun sa libro mismo," he said.

Slater admitted that they did not expect to be shortlisted as they were competing with other projects from more than 80 countries around the world.

"It was really a shock and truly an honor talaga. It hits different. I am very, very proud," he remarked. 

Slater has partnered with Architect Lendel Patrick Go and Architect Leizle Marie Go of LLG Architects in building The Rise at Monterrazas. 

According to its website, the Architizer A+Awards "is the largest awards program focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and spaces. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion those designers that are integral to bringing great buildings to life."

When asked what he thinks made their project stand out at the awards program, Slater remarked: "I am guessing here, I think it's because we stayed true to our roots and we stayed honest to the design na okay this is going to be fully Filipino, the aesthetic is fully Filipino, and we were able to solve a problem uniquely. We are not the first one to do this but we are able to execute in a way that we can say that it is uniquely ours. I think that's what resonate with me personally."

The Rise is one of the unique but complex projects Slater has done in his career as an engineer. He highlighted that finding the right partners for The Rise gave him the confidence to pursue the project.

"Someone approached me recently na it resonated a lot because lumapit siya sa akin [sabi niya], 'Alam mo it's not just about the design eh, it's about the guts to actually do this.' And I feel like that's true. Definitely there is a financial aspect to this to be able to accomplish this and I am so thankful to our board na sinuportahan kami moving forward with this project," the engineer remarked.

He continued: "[They said], 'Okay we see your vision, we want to do it right and we want it the way you want it, the way you envision it.' These types of projects don't happen that often, these types of projects have sort of magical aspect wherein the site conditions are right, the people behind it are right, the people that supported it are right also. Ang dami ko na natayo na mga projects and these type of things are truly something special. Paminsan meron talagang special about the project and this is one of those projects."

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Are there any plans to bring unique projects like The Rise beyond Cebu?

"Definitely. I've been meeting with my team and what is motivating to me is they see it not as just as a work na. There is a certain sense of vision, there is a certain sense of hey we're actually doing something different. We're maybe not to the level of big, big developers but people are looking at us, we're creating a difference, we're doing inspiring things so there's a deeper purpose in what we do and siyempre it is not just going to be in Cebu. We are hoping to bring this style and bring our flavor to the rest of the Philippines," he stated.