The Manila Interior Design Summit is expanding to a four-day program for its fourth edition, bringing together Filipino and international designers, architects and creative professionals for a broader conversation about the future of design in Southeast Asia.
Organized by the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers, the summit will run from September 30 to October 3 across design destinations in Makati and Bonifacio Global City. This year’s theme, “Designing New Worlds: Culture, Cities, and the Future of Southeast Asia,” examines how design intersects with culture, urban development, sustainability, technology, craft and human experience.
The expansion from three days to four reflects the growing scope of the event. Instead of being centered in a single location, the 2026 program will take delegates through exhibitions, showroom immersions, design conversations, walking tours, interactive experiences and a full-day symposium.
The opening day will focus on how spaces welcome and receive people, with exhibitions featuring Filipino designers and makers. The program will also mark the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers’ 62nd anniversary.
The second day will explore crafted interiors through visits and discussions at several design destinations, including sessions on artificial intelligence in design, multigenerational living, materials and contemporary interior practice.
The third day will turn toward cities and the future, with delegates visiting design hubs around Bonifacio Global City and participating in conversations about how spaces can respond to changing urban lifestyles.
The summit will culminate on October 3 with a full-day design symposium at The Proscenium Theater in Rockwell Center. International speakers include Carlos Arnaiz, Takae Ito, Alexander Josephson, Defit Wijaya and Satoshi Ohashi, alongside prominent Filipino designers and architects.
Across the four-day program, discussions will cover human experience, future urban living, sustainability and climate response, Southeast Asian cultural identity, hospitality, adaptive reuse, materiality, craft, technology and emerging voices in the profession.
The summit also places emphasis on developing a stronger Filipino presence in the regional design conversation. Organizers say the event is intended not simply to showcase local talent, but to create opportunities for Filipino designers to exchange ideas with practitioners from across Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.
With its expanded program, the fourth Manila Interior Design Summit positions Manila as a meeting point for conversations about how culture, technology and changing ways of living can shape the spaces of the future.
