For some, the calling to architecture begins with a spark—a love for drawing, a fascination with space, a dream nurtured from childhood. But for Architect Fiel Margeau Espina – Reventar, the journey began with something quieter: a gentle nudge from her father, a legacy too deeply rooted to ignore, and the quiet decision to follow a path already walked by those she loved most.
She didn’t always dream of becoming an architect. As the youngest daughter in a family of achievers, medicine was her initial aspiration, inspired by her older sisters. But when the time came to choose a college course, her father asked her to take a different path. Her father wanted her to join her brother in the Architecture program at the University of the Philippines Diliman—not just as a student, but as a companion on a shared journey. Out of love, out of trust, and perhaps a sense of duty, she said yes.
What started as a gesture of filial devotion evolved into a life of purpose.
The Unseen Battles
The path wasn’t always smooth. If the buildings she designed stood tall and proud, the battles she fought behind the scenes were often invisible. Throughout her career, one of the most painful challenges has been being underestimated—sometimes outright dismissed—by clients or fellow professionals who failed to see the value of an architect’s voice, especially a woman’s.
It’s a heartbreak that architects rarely speak of: pouring your heart into designs, only to have your expertise questioned, your creativity stifled, your efforts brushed aside.
And yet, in these moments of doubt and quiet frustration, she leaned into the love and wisdom of her parents. Their words anchored her. Their belief steadied her. Their legacy reminded her that dignity in work is not defined by the recognition it receives, but by the integrity with which it is carried out.
A Monument to Resilience
Among her many projects, one rises above the rest—not because of grandeur, but because of its timing, its purpose, and the world it was born into.
The New Governor Celestino Gallares Multi-Specialty Medical Center in Cortes, Bohol was designed in the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the world was locking down in fear, Architect Fiel and her team were drawing up blueprints for hope. It is set to be the largest government health facility in the Visayas—a place designed to protect, to heal, and to endure.
Guided by the insight of hospital chief Dr. Eno Tirol, and fueled by the urgency of the unknown, they embedded pandemic-era infection control strategies into the very walls and airflow of the hospital. There was no luxury of hindsight, no guidebook. Just instinct, collaboration, and heart.
It was, and still is, a project that speaks of sacrifice, of sleepless nights, of architecture not as art, but as service.
Lessons Written in Lines and Light
Her design philosophy is a reflection of both her roots and her reverence for context. Raised by architects who were trained in the classical discipline of the University of San Carlos in Cebu, she inherited an appreciation for structure, proportion, and restraint.
But it wasn’t just technical excellence that shaped her. It was the climate of the Philippines—the sharp heat, the sudden rains, the need for comfort in a tropical country—that taught her to design with empathy.
With Espina, Perez-Espina & Associates (EPEA), every project becomes an echo of their guiding principle: “An architecture expressive of the client’s needs and relevant to its context.” Especially in government health facilities, where the spaces must be modest but dignified, functional yet warm, Architect Fiel sees each structure as a shelter—not just from weather, but from inequity.
The Spirit of Espina
To understand the Espina approach is to understand the beauty of a family bound not just by blood, but by shared purpose. As one of the largest family-run architectural firms in the Philippines, EPEA has been built—layer by layer—by generations of architects, and anchored by an unspoken rule: if you are not an architect, you are a doctor.
It is this intersection of healthcare and architecture that makes their work singular. Their doctors advise on hospital plans. Their architects understand the rhythm of care. And at the center of it all is her father, Architect Cristopher Stonewall P. Espina—one of the country’s pioneering hospital architects, trained in North London, and a man whose vision continues to guide their every line drawn.
Despite the digital age, despite the rush of modernity, their values remain as steady as a cornerstone: professionalism, compassion, and service above all.
A Woman Shaped by Grace
Architect Fiel is not just an architect. She is the daughter of a woman whose hands shaped both gardens and skylines. Her mother, Architect and Landscape Architect Mary Ann Aranas-Espina, is her lifelong muse. Even at 70, her mother drafts by hand and draws by heart—equally fluent in AutoCAD and watercolor, in grids and gardens.
But more than her mother’s talent, it is her quiet strength that moves Architect Fiel most. Her mother leads without shouting, trusts without micromanaging, and builds—both homes and people—with grace.
As a part-time faculty member at National University Laguna, Architect Fiel now passes on these lessons. She teaches her students not only to sketch, but to stand tall—to lead with humility and design with care.
Building with the Earth in Mind
Sustainability isn’t just a checkbox at EPEA. It’s a core belief. Whether designing a hospital or a civic center, their projects celebrate nature as the truest collaborator. With thoughtful use of sun roofs, atriums, glass louvers, and green spaces, their designs let light in, let air move, let people breathe.
To Architect Fiel, the most beautiful buildings are the ones that do not compete with the environment—but commune with it.
A Dream on the Horizon
Asked what lies ahead, Architect Fiel speaks not of accolades, but of expansion—not just in size, but in reach. She dreams of one day collaborating with an international firm, bringing her family’s philosophy to a broader audience. She envisions new offices, perhaps in Davao City, where more members of her family—those gifted with the eye and the heart—can carry the torch.
But her truest dream? To keep telling the story her parents began. To shape spaces that serve, to guide students who dare, and to design with a soul that remembers where it came from.
Legacy in Every Line
Architect Fiel’s story is not one of overnight success. It is a story of quiet sacrifices, of buildings born in uncertainty, of blueprints drawn with love. It is a story of a Filipina architect whose life was shaped by legacy—but whose choices, every day, make that legacy her own.
And in every building she creates, every student she mentors, and every challenge she meets with grace, she proves one thing: architecture is never just about structures. It’s about people. It’s about family. It’s about leaving behind something that shelters—long after we are gone.
To contact Architect Fiel Margeau Espina – Reventar, go to architectsespina.com.