About - Marvin Tolete Architects

Arch. Marvin Tolete, uap
Principal Architect

Marvin Tolete Architects
is an architectural firm located in Tayug, Pangasinan, Philippines founded in 2016. The firm specializes in Neo Filipino architecture —a progressive approach towards Philippine architecture. The firm is strongly committed in creating unique, innovative, and environmentally responsive design solutions.

The firm follows seven guiding principles in designing their projects: maganda (beauty) , matipid (economy), matalino (intelligence), matibay (strength), maalaga (care), maagap (agility), and makabayan (nationalism). Through these principles, they are able to design projects suited for Filipinos. Maganda and matipid are about creating aesthetically pleasing structures with low construction and maintenance costs. Matalino and matibay refer to a constant striving for innovation with durable structure and materials. Maalaga and maagap are about creating safe and time-efficient construction. Makabayan is about designing buildings according to its location with careful understanding of its people, community, and culture.

The firm mainly uses monochromatic tones with the use of humble concrete finishes on their projects to emphasize the people more than the space. For them architecture is about people and architecture is about creating a stage for the lives of its users. Making a building sensitive to its environment makes it sustainable and making a building sensitive to its users makes it an architecture.