Estudio Damgo, literally “Dream Studio,” is a university-led design-and-build program based at Foundation University in Dumaguete, Philippines. It was created to give senior architecture students hands-on responsibility across the full life cycle of actual architectural projects, from research and schematic design through permitting, construction documents, fundraising, construction administration, and final turnover to a community or a chosen beneficiary. This gives architecture graduates in Foundation University an edge, because they become involved in structural and architectural design before they step out of the universit gates.

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The core purpose of the program is the incorporation of community service to practical, hands-on education. Student teams identify local needs, and develop culturally and climatically appropriate designs that use indigenous and sustainable materials, raise funds or secure partnerships, and build facilities that serve the intended community.

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Estudio Damgo is widely recognized as the Philippines’ first university design-build architecture program. It modeled itself on international design-build traditions while adapting methods to regional crafts, local materials, and community processes. The studio has completed multiple projects and is now on its 14th edition.

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Estudio Damgo works through partnerships with local government units, non-profits, donors, and community organizations. These collaborations provide funding, materials, and long-term caretaking arrangements for built works, and they create opportunities for students to practice engagement, documentation, and legacy planning. The studio also shares its methods publicly to encourage replication of design-build pedagogy across Philippine architecture programs.