My lighting design firm, Toespin, was awarded the lighting design contract for the first ever IKEA store in the Philippines, which recently opened to the public. Occupying 65,000sqm in area, it is regarded as the biggest in the world.
Four years in the making, it prides me to be a part of a team of international design disciplines, tempers, and tolerances for deadpan humor. Above all, I am proud of my team -Victor, Herbert and AJ, who, in their usual all-out dedication to brilliance, contributed much to make #IKEAPhilippines shine the brightest.
The people behind the creative and engineering marvels are usually not talked about by people outside our industry’s design circle. I mean, do you really look at the ceiling in any store and wonder who designed the lighting? Or the air-conditioning? Or the acoustics? Or the toilet flush? Yeah, right!
It therefore got me excited to hear from my niece, who is an OB-Gyne resident in one of the top hospitals in the metro, beat the drum for us when the subject came up in their doctors-only conversations. She proudly told them that her dad’s twin brother -that’s me, was the lighting consultant for the project.
Said they, “Really? Your father has a twin brother?!!”
Doctors. Not engineers. Not architects. Not designers.
Cheers!
If you’ve been touched, amused, or entertained by this post, or it put a smile on your face, please favor me with a cup of coffee. I will continue writing.
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Congratulations!
Starting today (or next year?) I will look up in the ceiling of places that I visit and will say to myself… Was it Toespin that designed the lighting for the place? If it’s a good one, I’m sure it was yours 😉
Happy New Year! Looking forward to more coffee cup reflections in the year ahead. Please keep them coming!
God bless you, Rissa and the rest of the family in the year(s) ahead.
Haha. Thanks for the support. Happy New Year to you and Matt!