AIA Southeast Asia Symposium - Philippines
Join us in person or online for this hybrid event as part of the SEA25 Symposium ‘Nature + Technology and the Future’!
When: Friday 12 September 2025 @ 07:00 (Eastern US Time)/ 19:00 (Singapore time)
Where: Hybrid: The Quadrant at Cecil, 19 Cecil Street #05-01, Singapore 049704/ ONLINE
CES: 1.0 LU/HSW for AIA Members
Speakers
David Zaballero, Director, Arquitectonica
Delfin “Buds” Wenceslao, CEO of D.M. Wenceslao & Associates
Moderators
Cathy Saldaña, Intl Assoc AIA, FUAP, Vice President, AIA Southeast Asia; Principal/ CEO of PDP Architects and Projects Design Plus Architecture Management Corp.
Mark Trance, AIA, NCARB, DCP. Founder and Principal Architect, IFA Architectural Design Studio
Speakers Bio
Buds Wenceslao is the Chief Executive Officer of D.M. Wenceslao & Associates, Inc. (DMWAI/PSE:DMW), one of the Philippines’ leading publicly listed real estate development and construction companies and the developer of Aseana City, a 204-hectare mixed-use district on Manila Bay.
With over 20 years of experience in financial analysis, development, leasing, and property management, he also serves as Managing Director of Aseana Holdings Inc. and Aseana Residential Holdings Co. Inc., and sits on the boards of several affiliated companies. A former Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Buds is an active member of MAP, PAREB, and the MIT Education Council – Philippines.
He holds a Management Economics degree from Ateneo de Manila University and an MSRED from MIT.
Moderators Bio
Cathy Saldaña is the Principal | CEO of PDP Architects and Projects Design Plus Architecture Management Corporation, based in the CBD Makati City.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Architecture and the Asian Institute of Management (with Honors), Cathy is currently one of the prominent female Architects in the Philippines. She is known for Hospitality Design, Retail Mixed Use, Residential and Commercial High Rises, Industrial Facilities and is one of the pioneers in the Philippines for Sustainable Island Developments.
She is a Trustee on the Board for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philippines, heads the Women’s Leadership Institute in Real Estate, a Board Trustee for PropTech, an International Associate of the American Institute of Architects and a Fellow of the United Architects of the Philippines. She was selected by the UAP to be the Philippine correspondent to the UIA WIA - Union of International Architects Women in Architecture Committee. She also sits as a Committee Board Member of East Asian Regional Organization for Planning and Human Settlements (EAROPH) and is a Chair for a Technical Working Group under the Professional Regulation Commission for Hospitality and Leisure Architecture. A certified Green Building Professional, she espouses Sustainability in all her projects. She speaks in both local and international conferences and is regularly featured on all media platforms.
Mark Trance is the Founder and Principal Architect at IFA Architectural Design Studio, located in Manila, Philippines. He holds architectural registration in both Texas, USA, and the Philippines, bringing 25 years of extensive experience across K-12 and higher education projects, mixed-use developments, urban planning, and mission-critical facilities throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Mark began his career with community-building initiatives and AIA school outreach programs, efforts that earned him the Young Professional Award from the AIA Fort Worth Chapter. He holds a Master of Architecture in Architectural Design from The Bartlett, University College London, and has worked in Singapore before returning to Manila, where he now leads a team of architects at IFA serving a global clientele.
His work focuses on sustainable, resilient, and innovative design, guided by a commitment to justice, human dignity, and positive impact. By integrating new technologies and digital computation, Mark continues to advance architecture as an accessible and transformative force in the built environment.
This symposium is brought to you with the generous support of our event partners: PDP Architecture, d’Doubles, HKS, and International Association of Business Communicators Indonesia.