Quaint houses of adobe and wood, shuttered by Capiz windows and trimmed with Calado carvings elegantly lining tidy streets highlighted by golden sunlight. A magnificent church facade of hand-carved stone, standing out in sharp relief against a cerulean sky. This is the old-world charm that Aristotle "Aris" Carandang seeks to preserve and recreate in his art that pays homage to Filipino architectural heritage that day by day succumbs to encroaching urbanization.

Born the last of eleven siblings in Plaridel, Bulacan in 1977, Aris was exposed early in life to the beauty of heritage structures through the examples preserved in his hometown, composed of several Spanish-era houses called "balai," "casa grande," and "bahay na bato." Being a town founded during colonial times, the central part of Plaridel, then called Quingua, features a magnificent church with magnificent bell tower and facade. These cultural and architectural treasures, unfortunately, aren't always kept in the best condition.