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The Philippines won its first-ever award from the prestigious Venice Biennale.

The country bagged a special award for the exhibition “Structures of Mutual Support,” which highlights the Filipino Bayanihan spirit or communal unity.

Photo by: Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

Curating the wooden structure was Framework Collaborative made up of GK Enchanted Farm community and architects Sudarshan V. Khadka Jr. and Alexander Eriksson Furunes.

“This is a historic first win for the Philippines and also the first time a Southeast Asian national pavilion has won an award at the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale,” wrote the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in a Facebook post.

Photo by: Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

The award was given on August 30 at the La Biennale di Venezia headquarters in Venice, Italy.

The Philippines earned the special mention for its “exemplary community project that creates a rich archive and experience of collaborative construction practice.”

Photo by: Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

Composing the jury was Sandra Barclay from Peru, Lesley Lokko from Ghana-Scotland, Lamia Joreige from Lebanon, and Luca Molinari from Italy.

Esteemed Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima chaired the line-up of juries who assessed the 60 total entries from various countries.

Photo by: Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

Collaborating to make the Philippines' participation possible were the NCCA, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of Deputy Speaker and Congresswoman Loren Legarda.

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