Siargao Community Market

Our design for the Siargao Market was a finalist in the international competition by NGO Lokal Lab to rebuild the community structure lost to Super Typhoon Odette in December 2021, aiming to help the island build back stronger and create a space that supports daily life and long-term resilience. Inspired by the Filipino bahay na bato, the market combines a secure stone base with a lightweight timber upper floor, offering both protection and openness, ensuring it is a safe refuge during storms while remaining accessible and welcoming. Community members are involved throughout construction, designing details like shutters, doors, and artwork, and building with familiar materials such as concrete blocks, coco timber, and galvanized steel sheets, with a straightforward system of walls, beams, and posts allowing both skilled and unskilled labor to take part. The site includes amenities for vendors and the community, such as a fruit orchard that provides food year-round and shades the south facade, a community garden and food store for sustainable learning and food drying, and small concrete benches and stalls along the northern edge for gathering, enjoying the view, and selling goods.