Each year, the Karla Roman Travel Bursary supports an architecture or interior design student in undertaking a journey of creative and cultural discovery. For 2024, the bursary was awarded to Alyana Rosete, an architecture master’s student at Liverpool John Moores University, who travelled to the Philippines to research the Bahay Kubo, one of the country’s most enduring symbols of vernacular design.
Born in the barangay of Lalapac in Tarlac, Alyana moved to the UK as a child. But her connection to the Philippines, and to the stories, landscapes and traditions she left behind, has remained strong throughout her life and studies. This trip was more than academic; it was a return, a reconnection, and an exploration of identity through architecture.
“Not only was it beneficial for my academic studies, but also deeply enriching on a personal level for my own culture, that I am so very proud of”
Alyana Rosete, 2024 travel bursary recipient
Over the course of six weeks, Alyana travelled across Luzon and the Visayas. She visited rural villages and cultural sites, interviewed local artisans and residents, and carefully documented her observations through sketches and photography. Her focus was the Bahay Kubo, a traditional stilted house built from bamboo, nipa palm and other native materials, structures that respond ingeniously to the climate, geography and social life of the Philippines.
Her research, titled “Vernacular Architecture in the Philippines: The Influence of the Traditional Bahay Kubo on Cultural Identity and Characteristic Development of Housing, and the Response to Environmental Factors,” forms the basis of her master’s dissertation. But beyond that, it’s a powerful personal exploration, rooted in heritage, memory and pride.
The journey also followed a recent personal loss: Alyana’s grandmother, who had long encouraged her creative ambitions and remained a source of strength and inspiration. This made the return to her homeland even more meaningful. Supported by the bursary, she was able to turn a time of grief into a path of growth, using design as a way to honour both personal and cultural legacy.
“The Bahay Kubo is more than architecture. It’s storytelling. It’s resilience. It’s family”
Alyana Rosete, 2024 travel bursary recipient
Alyana’s work highlights how indigenous building traditions can influence contemporary sustainable housing, an issue that’s increasingly urgent worldwide. Her project invites others to look beyond mainstream solutions and reconsider the wisdom embedded in local, resource-conscious, community-driven design.
In June 2024, Alyana presented her research at LOM’s Studio Lates event during the London Festival of Architecture. Her presentation offered attendees a heartfelt, insightful look at how architecture can become a bridge between place, identity and future practice.
We’re honoured to have supported Alyana’s journey and inspired by the way she brought the spirit of the Karla Roman Travel Bursary to life, with curiosity, creativity and courage.
Maraming salamat, Alyana, for your thoughtful, powerful work.
This trip was supported by the Karla Roman Travel Bursary, which is in memory of LOM colleague Karla Roman who tragically died while cycling to work in 2017. The bursary gives architecture students the opportunity to travel as part of their education or wider studies. For more information, visit the Travel Bursary page.
