About
Erin Camagay
CEO / Architectural Designer
B. Arch, M. Arch., PGAH
Transforming Spaces with Innovative Designs
Erin is an architectural designer who focuses on innovative modular and tensile structures. His interest in this form of construction started when he was growing up in the Philippines and witnessed how bamboo huts were crafted using modular units that can be replicated and modified to achieve different shapes and configurations. This made transporting materials easier and construction much quicker.
This concept of modularity followed him throughout his architectural training, especially when he was designing his final undergraduate design project which was a 5-storey timber building made of prefabricated glu-lam inspired by the parametric design of the Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront, China.
His interest for modular construction carried on into his masters degree studies in architecture. He applied the same principles in designing a round recreational building made from wood, metal and stone, and an opera house built with prefabricated modular concrete blocks and metal and glass rain screen. His designs received multiple awards and recognition.
As an architectural designer, Erin is also interested in vernacular architecture and the power of ephemeral space. His design thesis discusses the three elements of architectural relativity: time, space, and matter. He explored how we relate to the places and spaces around us. He posits that we engage more with the architecture that is relevant to us.
Erin's deep interest in structures and materialty stems from his earlier studies in architectural history when he studied the ways the Victorians used metal and glass in designing large modular buildings such as the glass houses of Kew Gardens and the great stations of King's Cross and St Pancras. He believes that well-designed and engineered structures will remain relevant to us without sacrificing the organic aspects of architecture such as shape and form.
In his professional career he have been involved in the design of tensile structures like marquees. He understands the potential of creating practical yet visually pleasing structures using prefabricated modular construction and tensile structures. He values the importance of shelter as a basic human need, especially at a time of rapid climate change where sustainability goes beyond lifestyle choices but also by becoming more creative, resillient, and adaptable.
