WDO’s next Interdesign will take place on Siargao Island in the Philippines. Hosted in partnership with the Design Center of the Philippines and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Interdesign Siargao Island 2026 will convene designers, researchers and interdisciplinary practitioners to engage with the island’s unique social, environmental and cultural landscape through the lens of Design Innovation and Resiliency for the Tropics.
Long before Siargao Island gained global recognition as a surf destination, the island’s communities developed ways of living deeply attuned to a tropical environment shaped by monsoons, shifting coastlines and rich marine ecosystems. In recent decades, rapid tourism growth and the impacts of Typhoon Rai (Odette) in 2021 have intensified pressures on infrastructure, housing and fragile ecosystems, while also revealing strong local capacities for recovery, mutual aid and innovation.
As a two-week international workshop, Interdesign Siargao Island 2026 will use this setting as both classroom and collaborator, inviting participants to work alongside local stakeholders to examine design responses to the following four areas:
- Circular economy transformation
- Climate resilience and disaster preparedness
- Ecosystem restoration and protection
- Sustainable and resilient MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) and communities
The global call for Interdesign participants closed on 31 March 2026 and selected applicants will be notified shortly.
