The Manila Interior Design Summit (MIDS) is returning for its fourth edition this year, expanding from a three-day summit to a four-day program with exhibitions, showroom immersions, industry conversations and a full-day design symposium.
Organized by the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID), MIDS 2026 will run from September 30 to October 3 at various design destinations in Makati City and Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
The summit was previously held exclusively in BGC for the past three years.
This year’s theme is “Designing New Worlds: Culture, Cities, and the Future of Southeast Asia,” with the program covering human experience, cities and urban living, sustainability, hospitality, adaptive reuse, materiality, craft, technology and emerging voices in the profession.
DESIGNING NEW WORLDS
Philippine Institute of Interior Designers launches the 4th Manila Interior Design Summit, happening Sept. 30–Oct. 3, #MIDS2026 brings Filipino design into the regional conversation on culture, cities and the future of Southeast Asia. | via @rosette_adel pic.twitter.com/naYYnVU2Qi
— Interaksyon (@interaksyon) September 8, 2026
“This year we go to four, and we open more doors. More industry partners and more studios are opening their spaces to us, for activations, for design experiences, for learning across Makati and Bonifacio Global City,” PIID national president Cecil Ravelas said during a press conference on September 8.
Who’s who?: Speakers during the summit
MIDS 2026 will bring together designers and architects from the Philippines and abroad.
The international roster includes Carlos Arnaiz of CAZA and SURBA in New York, Takae Ito of SALT International in Tokyo, Alexander Josephson of PARTISANS Architecture Studio in Toronto, Defit Wijaya of IBUKU in Bali and Satoshi Ohashi of Zaha Hadid Architects in Beijing.
They will be joined by Filipino designers Ed Calma, Tina Periquet, Anthony Nazareno, Anton Mendoza, Carlo Calma, Ramon Antonio, Chat Fores, Alex Co and Edwin Uy.
Ravelas said the program will bring the two groups into the same discussions.
“Designers who built the vocabulary, and designers who are now rewriting it, in the same conversation, on the same stage. They are not here to be admired. They are here to be argued with. And they are here to learn from us,” she said.
What to expect
The opening day, themed “The Welcoming: How Space Receives Us,” will take place at The Fifth at Rockwell.
It will include the launch of “Collective 8: Our Captains of Craft,” featuring Vito Selma, JB Woodcraft, Leeroy New, Rita Nazareno and Gabby Lichauco, Milo Naval, Jed Yabut, JJ Acuna for Venzon Lighting and Iñigo Elizalde.
An exhibition at Poliform and Flexiform will also feature home vignettes by Ed, Carlo, Co, Mendoza and Alfred Wieneke.
The PIID will also mark its 62nd anniversary during the opening night.
The second day, themed “The Crafted Interior: How Space Holds Us,” will take participants to several design destinations.
At Kuysen Design and Experience Center, Josephson will lead a conversation on AI and the future of design, while Antonio will discuss designing for multigenerational families at Casa Bella Home and Living.
The program will continue at Karrivin, with sessions at Design Story and Oppein, followed by walking tours and interactive experiences at Abitare, Tamarind Place and Fashion Interiors. It will conclude with dinner and cocktails at Levanto.
The third day, “The City and the Future: How Space Carries Us Forward,” will focus on design hubs in Bonifacio Global City, including Focus Global, Hooga and SMEG.
Anthony Nazareno and his daughter Bea Nazareno will also hold an open conversation with delegates at Dexterton, before the day’s program concludes at CWC Interiors.
The last day, “The Synthesis: How Space Makes Us Feel,” will be dedicated to a full-day design symposium at The Proscenium Theater, where the international and Filipino speakers will converge.
Filipino design
The summit’s program will move through eight interconnected tracks: human experience and interior atmosphere; cities, density and future urban living; sustainability, nature and climate response; culture, identity and Southeast Asian design; hospitality, luxury and experience design; adaptive reuse and reinventing structure; materiality, craft and new technologies; and emerging voices and the future of the profession.
Ravelas said the program is intended to put Filipino design in the regional conversation.
“Across ASEAN, our neighbors have already staked their claims,” she said. “And the Philippines? Our position is not weak. It is simply unclaimed.”
She said the program draws on aspects of Filipino culture that the PIID believes can inform the country’s design voice.
“We are claiming what our culture has always understood about space. Space as a felt experience shaped by emotion and memory. Hospitality as a philosophy: warmth, gathering, the care of others. Home as the primary unit,” Ravelas said.
Those interested in attending the summit can register through the PIID’s website.
PIID said registered interior designers and allied professionals may also be granted General Membership Meeting (GMM) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for their attendance.
