Budji Layug

Antonio Budji Layug is a pioneering Filipino furniture, interior, and industrial designer, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern Filipino design. He first drew international attention in the 1970s when his bamboo furniture was sold at Bloomingdale's in New York, and he later built Budji Living into an influential design studio and gallery known for natural and indigenous Philippine materials.

In 2001 Layug began a creative partnership with architect Royal Pineda, and together they founded BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture and Design, where Layug serves as principal designer. The firm merges architecture, interior design, furniture, and landscape into a single integrated approach. Its work includes the New Clark City Sports Hub in Capas, Tarlac, developed with AECOM for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, and residential projects such as the M House south of Metro Manila.

Layug is a designer rather than a licensed architect, and his contribution runs through furniture, interiors, and the design sensibility of the practice. In recent years he has also worked as a painter, publishing the book Budji Design Journey in 2019 and staging his first solo exhibition in 2023.