The Manila Interior Design Summit (MIDS) 2025, held from July 31 to August 3 in key Metro Manila venues, focused on people-centered design. In its third and most forward-looking edition, it brought together design leaders and emerging talents from across Asia-Pacific under the theme "Design/Shift: Breaking Boundaries," examining how artificial intelligence, sustainability, and cultural awareness are influencing the industry’s future.

In its 61st year, the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID) advanced the APSDA Accreditation Program and reaffirmed its commitment to Filipino design, highlighting its role in cultural identity, technology adaptation, and cross-disciplinary solutions while urging designers to embrace purposeful disruption.

Spearheading the event, the PIID Board of Trustees—led by President IDr. Paolo Castro and joined by Vice President IDr. Cynthia Marie Fernandez-Beltran, Corporate Secretary IDr. Jose Enrico Santiago, Treasurer IDr. Lorenzo Valencia III, Executive Director for Professional Development IDr. Rossy Anne Rojales, Executive Director for Public Relations IDr. Carla Mae Leonor, Executive Director for Events IDr. Katherine Anne Correa, Executive Director for Finance IDr. Christine Villamora, and Executive Director for Practice and Ethics IDr. Ma. Carmen Lim-Regala—worked with industry partners to position design as a force for meaningful, sustainable change.

The summit opened with a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at BGC, followed by showroom tours with Focus Global Inc., Furnitalia, Living Innovations, MO’s Design, Dexterton, Porcelanosa, Rimadesio, Hooga, Studio Dimensione, and Casa Bella, offering firsthand insight into material innovation and storytelling in design.

On August 2, six keynote speakers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, the United States, and the Philippines explored themes of transition, disruption, and designing for the next generation. Sessions highlighted technology as a creative enabler, not a replacement for human ingenuity, with insights grounded in storytelling, cultural memory, and values-led practice.

Razvan Ghilic-Micu, architecture leader at Hassell, reframed technology as a tool for deeper creativity. Peter Tay, founder of Peter Tay Studio, shared a personal journey blending architecture and autobiography. Shashi Caan, CEO of IFI, urged seeing AI as additive, not artificial. Norman Agleron, principal designer at HBA Manila, offered a Filipino perspective on storytelling, space, and emotion, showing how AI can enhance creativity without losing the human touch. Steve Leung, founder of SLD Group, encouraged pushing beyond expectations, using bold thinking to disrupt conventions and reposition brands. Amata Luphaiboon, co-principal of Bangkok’s Department of Architecture Co., explored architecture as memory and movement, proving that the past can be a powerful catalyst for emotionally resonant design.

The summit closed with the PIID x APSDA Gala Awards, honoring regional design leaders and launching PIID’s I am IDr. 2025 campaign. MIDS 2025 left its audience with a challenge, to see design not only as an aesthetic pursuit but as a responsibility to shape environments that serve both people and the planet, ensuring that creativity remains a bridge between heritage and innovation for generations ahead.