Landscape architecture seniors Freya Beya Demeterio, Yuki Yamaguchi, and Bastian Jacob Ramirez bested other teams consisting of architects, designers, and visionaries around the world in the ‘Miniature Arboreal Visions—Tiny Forest Design 2024,’ an international design competition. 

Competing against 20 global entries from architects, designers, and visionaries around the world, the 4th year Landscape Architecture students defied the odds with their exceptional work, NEO-SILVESTRE, which emerged as the best in the world, as announced in July 2025.

Following a ten-day-long registration period, the competition challenged participants to design miniature urban forests in a creative and innovative way that dissolves the lines between urbanism and green spaces, aiming to bring “biodiversity, serenity, and sustainability into the heart of our cities.” 

What began as a random topic of conversation among three friends inside a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant turned out to be a great success story and a major win! But how did they manage to “grab” the trophy from international contenders and professionals? 

In a recent interview where they gave an inside scoop about their major achievement and experience from the concluded event, Yamaguchi stated that they initially decided to join “just for fun.” 

According to them, it was their first time participating in a competition of this kind. They consulted their professor regarding the matter, and in response, were encouraged to participate, at the very least, “for the experience.” But fate had a more epic narrative in store for them. 

NEO-SILVESTRE checked all the boxes. From being a space that ‘blends nature with city life’ to exploring ‘new forest typology that can be used in various urban settings.’ Their design had three main parts: soft landforms, welcoming edges, and layers of plants that bring the forest to life. More than just a design, it was made to make people feel connected again.

“Neo” is Greek for “new,” and “Silvestere” is Latin for “forest.” The idea behind this centered around their concept of a “new way of designing a new set of guidelines for designing an urban forest,” according to Yamaguchi. 

The three brought their design to life via architectural design tools and software, i.e., Archicad for the 3D model, Sketchup, Lumion, Autocad, and Affinity. With these digital instruments, there was only one thing standing between them and their success story—time.

With the weight of having only a month left before the deadline, they were able to conceptualize, make the model, render, and complete all the work on time. Ramirez did all the rendering, and according to him, time management was their ultimate best friend. 

“Most of our model is like a cardboard/wood texture. It’s more like a study model,” Ramirez shared.

Despite the time constraint, minor inconveniences, and clashing schedules during the holidays, they were duly rewarded at the end. From the words of Demeterio, “Despite the lagging laptop, I enjoyed modeling. And seeing our final output, it made it all worth it. It was a wild ride!” 

When asked about the secret to their success, Demeterio expressed that, “It’s not likely a secret, but definitely the driving force behind all this, from sharing the competition to brainstorming, is Yuki. So, we owe him a lot.” 

For Yamaguchi, “The secret is you really have to understand the brief. I think, based on the critique of the jury, they were really able to see how we aligned our design with the competition requirements of the brief, and I made sure that the design was able to tackle every single thing that they asked for, aside from trying to think outside the box.” 

As advised, Yamaguchi highlighted the importance of not letting your “imagination cup” run dry. “I think the older you get, especially when you pass the second year, you start to think about your designs and the feasibility. You focus too much on how you can do it, so you start to lose your creativity and your imagination, so your design becomes boring. So I think you have to be consistent with trying to think outside the box, how to be creative, and how to set yourself apart, especially with your concepts and your ideas from everyone else. So just keep that spark since that’s been part of you ever since you were a first-year.”

Lastly, they encourage fellow Landscape Architecture students who might want to join. “If you have the passion, time, and resources, go for it. I think just don’t get too attached to your design or you’ll end up disappointed.” Ramirez and Yamaguchi also emphasized “not to be too perfectionist” and just enjoy, at the same time, learn, and “don’t think about winning, just do it for the experience.”

Their win was more than just landing first place. It is a promising image, especially for the current reputation of Landscape Architecture nationally, being commonly seen and regarded as an obscure work or career. In the spirit of creativity and perseverance, Landscape Architecture students from the University of San Carlos hope to see their career as one of the opted career pedestals in the country.

by Geo Jones Palo, with contributions from Bhillie Alyza Momo and Nainie Caparoso, 2nd year Bachelor of Landscape Architecture