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Aya Maceda

@ayamaceda

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Brooklyn based, Manila born & raised, ex Sydneysider 🇵🇭🇦🇺, mother, architect & professor; building community, things & architecture @alao_design

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Brooklyn-based architect #AyaMaceda, guided by the concept of "maaliwalas," creates spaces that breathe, reflecting her Filipino heritage and a sense of joy in her work. From her childhood home in Quezon City to her globetrotting career and current projects, Aya's architectural journey is deeply rooted in the values of space, culture, and positive change.

Click the link in bio to read Maceda’s story.

Featuring @ayamaceda, cofounder of @alao_design

Photographed by @visualcaptivity, written by #SandraTan, Vogue Philippines, September 2023. by @ayamaceda

What a generous story of our Brooklyn sanctuary by Tim Mckeough of @nytimes . 🙏🏽 link in my bio @alao_design by @ayamaceda

Thank you @dwellmagazine for featuring this modern day carriage house we designed @alao_design - for the June 2021 issue ! 🙏🏽 special thanks to @julielaskynyc for gracious observations and @_tonyluong for capturing the life of this recreation home!🙏🏽

#architecture #modernfarmhouse #countryhome #connecticutarchitecture #modernhome by @ayamaceda

UTAaaaaaaaaah by @ayamaceda

I’ve been forest bathing and painting…painting and forest bathing. Building a retreat upstate has allowed me the space to find my way back to my first love of painting. So much of my pursuits in architecture is about chasing light… so capturing the spectacle of light in the forest and the water comes full circle. So here I am…currently working on a series that captures how I receive it all.
📸 by my daughter who makes art by me while I paint by @ayamaceda

And there are friends so generous to offer their happy place as respite, a space to reground ourselves and bathe in nature while nourished by their love language of beautiful food and design. We are truly in our entertaining and care-giving era @rajolaurel & @nixalanon 🫶🏽 by @ayamaceda

Back in my ancestral island of Bantayan… slowly figuring out what it means for me to build something in a place left behind by my grandparents when they made a new life for our family in the city. I’m curious about its coralline limestone formations, mangroves, muddy shallows and the volatility of its coastline. We’ve met some new friends and family who are guiding us on what is possible here. by @ayamaceda

The seasons turned in a breath, and suddenly the cherry blossoms are in bloom 🌸. This past winter was as sublime as it was fleeting. I didn’t grow up with four seasons, so I am in awe at every arrival of spring and every drastic change in the landscape. by @ayamaceda

Couldn’t ask for a better ending to 2025 than my bestie and part-time sauna Gusmester giving us the full #saunagus ritual to reset for 2026! by @ayamaceda

I am honored to be a part of “Sulog: Filipino Architecture at the Crosscurrents” - still on view at the @architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt, Germany through January 18, 2026. The exhibition highlights contemporary Filipino architecture at the nexus of dynamic movements of people, places and processes. As a Filipino architect in the diaspora, I was delighted to witness common threads in the collective work. I met so many Filipino architects here who have inspired me and have become friends.

Thank you to the curators @edsonix73 @patrick_kasingsing @petercacholaschmal for giving us this platform to present our work together and show the breadth of #filipinoarchitecture . I hope to see this exhibit travel and return home. *the exhibition catalogue is available for download at @architekturmuseum ‘s website by @ayamaceda

Some places I saw and sketched in 2025
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#atrani #milos #sketchbook by @ayamaceda

One of the greatest joys of my life is teaching, it’s a space where my interests in design, advocacy and theory converge. It is also how I continue my family’s legacy as educators. I hope that through my studios, I am shaping future critical and empathetic designers. For the past 10 years at Parsons, I’ve been holding space for design studios that explore urban phenomena of PLAY and how it could be used as a tool to create new urban regenerative spatial typologies. Thank you to all my students who have put so much energy into the semester and colleagues who have supported through critique. Special thanks to the 🙏@gowanuscanalconservancy by @ayamaceda