by Gary Singh

With the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games less than nine months away, Vancouver is awash in new infrastructure. The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center has tripled its size and new hotels and luxury accommodations are appearing everywhere.

In the suburb of Richmond, the brand new Olympic Oval venue will host the long track speed skating events, with the new Canada Line linking Richmond to downtown Vancouver in just 20 minutes. Two hours up the Sea to Sky Highway in Whistler, the Peak 2 Peak gondola, an unprecedented project, opened last December and now links Whistler and Blackcomb mountains together for a thoroughly staggering 2.75 mile gondola ride.

But what really makes the 2010 Games unique is the cooperation between the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) and the aboriginal peoples of British Columbia (BC), which boasts 198 First Nations (indigenous tribes), more than any other province in Canada. Because the Games overall are being held within the traditional and shared territories of four nations—the Lil’Wat, the Musqueam, the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh—those nations collectively incorporated a nonprofit organization and were a major part of Vancouver’s proposal to host the Games.

Read the whole article in our July 2009 issue.

Designer Milo Naval studied Architecture at the University of Sto. Tomas and took up Interior Design at the Philippine School of Interior Design. After more than 15 years of experience, he set up Evolve Designs, a company engaged in designing contemporary and modern furniture and accessories. His line of furniture has been exported to Europe, the US, Australia, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. His works have also been showcased in various international shows abroad: in Valencia, Spain; Maison & Objet in Paris; ICFF in New York; I Salone in Milan; and at the IMM in Cologne, Germany. He recently won the Bagong Sibol (Most Promising) Award for All Bottled Up (Recycled Product) – Manila Now 2009. His novel furniture collections are displayed in his first retail store and showroom O.M.O. (On My Own).

O.M.O. is located at the ground floor of the LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia Street (formerly Reposo), Bel-Air II, Makati City; tel. +632 403 1208.

Photos by David Angel

Currently residing in: London

Started designing young: From an early age, I was making Barbie clothes for my friends!

Favorite Filipino designer: I love Pitoy Moreno. He designed my mother’s wedding dress that I adore even to this day–his workmanship is impeccable.

Design principle: Treating and working with fabrics, not against it [sic]; movement, fluidity, a contrast of elements that all relates to the body form with a touch of surrealism.

On traveling: I always bring my favorite pair of tailored trousers that I designed for myself. You can create so many different looks with just one basic tailored garment.

On his designs: There is always an element of fantasy in my work. A piece of clothing can transform one’s being. My designs are figments of my imagination and when fantasy is made a reality, it becomes surreal, making the finished garment whimsical.

Visit www.jaspergarvida.com.