About the Event

Join London-based writer Gina Consing McAdam for Houses that Sugar Built: An Intimate Portrait of Philippine Ancestral Homes on January 25, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The talk explores the meaning of home and identity through the lens of the grand domestic architecture, interiors, and artifacts created by sugar planters of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Pampanga during the Philippine sugar industry’s peak in the early 20th century. Gina will delve into how these homes, blending Art Deco, Neoclassical, and Modernist styles, served as majestic expressions of cultural and economic aspirations. The event will also feature a showcase of co-author Siobhan Doran’s award-winning photography from the book, including the “Sala Mayor” series, which earned her global accolades such as the Gold and Architectural Photographer of the Year Award at the 2023 Prix de la Photographie Paris. In December 2024, Houses that Sugar Built was named one of The World of Interiors’ recommended illustrated books of the year.