SPECIAL ISSUE 2 2015 | PHP19 9

S P E C I A L I S S U E

ARCHITECTURE
EDUCATION
1 8 O U T S T A N D I N G T H E S E S F R O M
U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S U N I V E R S I T Y O F S A N T O T O M A S
U N I V E R S I T Y O F S A N C A R L O S M A P U A I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O G Y
DE LA SALLE COLLEGE OF ST. BENILDE

PLUS Commentary Edson Cabalfin: A manifesto for 21st century architecture education Dan Lichauco: We need
specialization in architecture education Leandro Poco: Schools must build relevance and competence Grace Ramos: What
internationalization of architecture education means Henry de Jesus: Time, speed and distance Stephanie Tan-Branquinho:
Architecture as process Tobias Guggenheimer: Making architects, testing architects Maureen Araneta: Critical thinking in
design In My Opinion Graduates speak: What we wish they taught us in architecture school Something Light Manolo Noche:
Do you recognize these professor types in architecture school?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside
Special Issue 2 2015
08 Editors Note
10 In My Opinion
Graduates Speak: What we wish they taught us
in architecture school
Commentaries
14 BuIld RElEvaNcE aNd cOMpEtENcE
Leandro Poco prods architecture schools to
adapt to the realities of the profession
20 dIstaNcE, spEEd, tIME Henry de Jesus
advocates for architecture education that strives
towards the expansion of conscience
22 MakINg aN aRchItEct,
tEstINg aN aRchItEct
Tobias Guggenheimer challenges schools and
the government to step up their game
26 INtERNatIONalIzatION Of
aRchItEctuRal EducatION
Grace Ramos pushes for international
competitiveness developed around distinct
local attributes
30 spEcIalIzatION IN aRchItEctuRE
EducatION Dan Lichauco recommends
specialization courses in architecture curricula
34 cRItIcal thINkINg IN dEsIgN
Maureen Araneta includes problematization as
part of the design process
36 paRadIgM shIft Edson Cabalfins manifesto
for 21st century architecture education
Theses
40 INtROductION Architecture as process by
Stephanie Tan-Branquinho
46 thE NatIONs gatEway The new Clark
International Airport terminal by Jym Manuel,
University of Santo Tomas
52 a faB faB laB Invention center by Kurt Cleon
Yu, University of the Philippines Diliman
58 casa kawayaN Bamboo research and
development complex by Christian Salandanan,
University of Santo Tomas
64 gOldEN spIRal Hospital complex by
Georgiana Go, University of the Philippines Diliman
70 thE lIghthOusE Cultural and recreational
telecommunications tower by Victor Emmanuel
Dionisio, University of Santo Tomas
74 EskwEla kasaMBahay Educational
center for Philippine domestic workers by
Alexander Dominic Mayoralgo, University of
the Philippines Diliman
78 vERtIcal cONstRuct Vertical communities
by Blanche Elaine Azachee, De La Salle College
of St. Benilde
Architecture Education, with projects
82 a MOdEl fOR tRaNspORt-ORIENtEd from (Clockwise, from circle)
Georgiana Go (UP), Kurt Yu (UP),
dEvElOpMENt by Elizelle David,
Kenneth Estrologo (USC),
De La Salle College of St. Benilde Jym Manuel (UST), and
86 dEsIgN fOR a NEw wavE cIty Doni Dionisio (UST)
Mixed-use BPO and commercial development
by Reginald Vyncent Yangzon, De La Salle
College of St. Benilde
88 MOca Museum of Contemporary Arts by
Kenneth Estrologo, University of San Carlos
90 thE tERMINal Southwest city-provincial
bus terminal by Aljeroe Funtila, Mapua Institute
of Technology
92 flOatINg hOusEs Low energy adaptable
and passive house by Lara Therese Cruz,
University of Santo Tomas
94 thE BEst fOR thE lEast Resilient fisher
folk housing in Barangay Baras, Guiuan, Eastern
Samar by Betina Dimaculangan, De La Salle
College of St. Benilde
97 OpEN spacE NEtwORk Guidelines for open
spaces in Ermita by Cristina Victoria Abril,
De La Salle College of St. Benilde
98 INtERgENERatIONal cOMMuNIty
Home for abandoned elderly and impoverished
children by Paula Beanca Hapatinga, De La Salle
College of St. Benilde
100 thE pEOplEs thEatRE Performing arts
mobile theatre by Diandra Meredith Muassab,
De La Salle College of St. Benilde
102 MOBIlE saNctuaRy fOR stREEt
MassEs by Kevin Roe Singzon, De La Salle
College of St. Benilde
104 valENcE aNd spacEs Military defensive
and tactical planning for Cebu by Rey Angelo
Blay, De La Salle College of St. Benilde
106 cONclusION Designing beyond self by
Leandro Poco
Exhibition
112 pORtfOlIO REvIEw Architecture faculty at
De La Salle College of St. Benilde mount
an exhibit of students best works to reinvigorate
their sense of mission
Something Light One of the student works at
CSB SDAs PO.RE exhibit,
118 Manolo Noche names the different types of photographed by Ed Simon of
professors you meet in architecture school Studio 100
Judith A. Torres One Mega Group
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EDITORS NOTE

Schooled to Compete

T
his issue has
been the most
difficult to produce
in the seven
years that I have
worked for BluPrint. As early
as January 2014, we contacted
ten schools across the country
(including Baguio, Bataan,
Cebu, Cotabato and Davao),
asking them for their best thesis
projects for architecture in
the past two to three years.
Because BluPrint was
focused last year on international
competitiveness in the light
of ASEAN integration, we also
asked them questions like,
How is the school preparing
its students to meet regional
qualifications? Could you do a
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats) analysis
of your architecture program in
the context of integration? What
is the competitive edge of your
graduates over those of other
ASEAN countries? What should
the UAP, PRC BoA and other
organizations be doing to help
its young members compete
in a borderless economy?
Incredibly, not a single school
submitted. This year, we scaled
back our ambitions and contacted
only five schools, requested
them for 3-5 outstanding
thesis projects, and asked only
one question: Why are they
outstanding? Again, not everyone
responded as we had hoped, but
we were fortunate to make direct
contact with three Best Thesis
awardees from the University of
the Philippines; and the design
coordinator of the University of
Santo Tomas, who sent us four
thesis projects. Mapua Institute
of Technology sent us two;
University of San Carlos in Cebu,
one; and the College of St. Benilde
School of Design & Arts, eight.
Because of the
disproportionate number of
submissions by CSB-SDA, we
considered choosing only four
out of the eight. But then we
thought: if the purpose is to
examine the quality of work that
leading architecture schools
reward, the values and the kind
of thinking they encourage their
students to emulate, shouldnt
all be included? So here they are,
all 18 thesis projects from 2012
to 2015 that deans and faculty
members from five schools
say are worthy of representing
their architecture program.
We could not have done this
without architects Leandro Poco
and Stephanie Tan-Branquinho,
who with our team read each
book from cover to cover,
analyzed each ones merits and
strove to provide helpful advice.
The advice is not for the authors,
most of who are now working in
various firms. The advice is for
the thesis advisers and schools as
they shape the thinking and work
habits of our future architects,
who, because of ASEAN
integration and the unstoppable
force of globalization, will
soon be practicing without the
protection offered by national
borders, as SoFA Institute Dean
Tobias Guggenheimer writes in
his provocative essay, Making
from left to right: EIC Judith Torres, Associate Editor Adrian Tumang, Editorial Coordinator Andi Arines, Senior Photographer
Ed Simon, Managing Editor Miguel Llona, and Group Art Director Patrick Kasingsing (Photographed by Studio 100)
Architects, Testing Architects.
So when you read the thesis
projects, do not think about their
authors but the educational
system that challenged, equipped,
nurtured and guided them.
In addition to Poco,
Branquinho and Guggenheimer,
we are honored to include in
this issue essays on architecture
education by passionate voices
such as Edson Cabalfin, Henry
de Jesus, Maureen Araneta,
Grace Ramos and Dan Lichauco
(Manolo Noche closes the
magazine with humorous digs at
the colorful characters populating
a typical architecture school
faculty). One overarching theme
of the essays is the imperative
for schools to rethink 20th-
century paradigms to respond
to 21st-century needs. Cabalfins
manifesto for architecture that is
inclusive, democratic, equitable,
humane, sustainable, innovative
and creative is one our schools
should examine and measure
their standards against.
The end of 2015 marks the
beginning of the end of the old
waysof protectionism and the
crippling sense of entitlement
that guardians of mediocrity
assiduously work to propagate
and keep entrenched. Soon,
ASEAN will be a single, borderless
economy. So all the huffing
and puffing for more Filipino
first legislation to delay what is
inevitable, and all the politicking
for one professional organization
or another to remain in power
when there are so many pressing
needs to attend to, have all the
forward thinking of an ostrich
burying its head in the sand.
We cant do anything about
the old guard, but we must pour
our energies to give our students
the leg up they need to compete
against economies that have and
are outrunning ours. In a global
economy, it wont be enough to
be good enough. If we content
ourselves with being the big
fish in our little pond, well be
eaten alive by the bigger fish
swimming in from across the
sea. The Filipino deserves the
best. Let that best be Filipino.
Editor-in-Chief

08
8 BluPrint
IN My OPINION
What graduates wish
they were taught in
architecture school
While I was job hunting, I had the
opportunity to be interviewed by
Arch. Joey Yupangco. I showed him
my portfolio. He commented on my
designs, saying they were clearly
thought out and executed well. Then
he said something Id never heard
before while in college. He remarked
that architectural design should be like
a Porschea marriage of function
and form. It has all the complex
engineering to make it work the way
it does, but without making the shell
so convoluted. The system and the
shell just fit together seamlessly.
That is what I wish I learned more
in UP. Its something that was not
emphasized enough when I was in
school. I guess there is some form of
intuition when it comes to designing
something that resonates with people
in a level more than just utilitarian. Ive
encountered it when I started working
at Locsindesigns that have depth,
which can be described as experiential
or even spiritual. From my present
understanding, it has something to
do with materiality, light and shadow,
nature, and sound. Its all very new and
fascinating to me. Im not even sure
if that can be taught in school or just
honed through years of experience.
Kurt yu, UP Diliman, 2013
Junior Architect, Leandro V. Locsin Partners
10 BluPrint
How to manage and act in
construction sites. We were taught
how to do it in class, however, it
would have been more educational to
experience it firsthand.
Cristina Victoria Abril
DLS-CSB SDA, 2015
Architect Apprentice, Casas+Architects
That drawing really well isnt all
that important. Sure, its great if
you can produce a masterpiece
with your hands, but I find it sad
that many beginner Archi students
are discouraged because they are
conditioned to think they have to
be stellar artists, as if its such a
critical skill. In the end, its the depth
and caliber of your thinking that will
determine your skill. As long as you
can sketch your ideas clearly and with
purpose, youre good. If youre not
good at rendering or presentation,
eventually you can outsource or
hire for that. I feel bad for the early
dropouts who couldnt draw well
enoughsome of them might have
had brilliant minds for architecture.
Aldo Mayoralgo, UP Diliman, 2014
Junior Architect, Leandro V. Locsin Partners
UST should have focused a
little more on the technical and
structural aspects of architecture.
In other words, we needed more
exposure on how to develop our
theoretical designs to actual built
work. Architectural details or
structural concepts couldve been
explained better through field trips,
manufacturer talks, and the like.
I wish I had been taught more about
structural and technical connections,
terminations, material specs. As we
all know, God is in the details.
Victor Emmanuel Dionisio, UST, 2013
Registered and Licensed Architect
Business and management
coursesthe entrepreneurial side
of the architectural industry. Also,
the architecture curriculum in the
country should be updated to
integrate new building technologies
and design software so that we dont
disseminate archaic information. The
industry is advancing rapidly, and
new methods are being generated
all around the world. Its crucial to be
well informed and up-to-date in order
to be competitive.
Elizelle David, DLS-CSB SDA, 2014
Technical Associate,
L.A. Poco & Associates
exposure that it can to its students
Working as project manager and
designer has taught me a lot in the
construction aspect of architecture.
While we are taught heavily on
theories at school, we fail to consider
feasibility and the methods in
creating the designs we envision. Its
essential for students to have more
practical subjects to understand how
to build something.
Lara Therese Cruz, UST, 2014
Designer & Project Construction Manager,
Z Hostel Makati
The Architecture program of SDA
focuses on honing the students
creativity, and on translating concepts
into architecture that is forward-
thinking. Giving equal attention to the
business and technical aspect of the
profession will prepare SDA students
for the real world.
Blanche Azachee, DLS-CSB SDA, 2015
Project Intern, Ayala Land Inc.
CSB SDA should give the best
exposure on actual site projects,
and include hardware visits as well,
because this will help students to
become more familiar with materials
and their costs, not just learning them
through visual aspect.
Paula Hapatinga, DLS-CSB SDA, 2015
Project Intern, Ayala Land Inc.
IN My OPINION
What graduates wish
they were taught in
architecture school
I wish we could have covered legal
concerns, knowing our rights as
graduates entering the workforce.
Business courses on finance and
personal financial management
would have helped. I once attended
a workshop of Bronne Dytoc
where he taught unorthodox but
reliable methods of computing and
analyzing solar and structural design
by graphical methods. Our prof
mentioned plans to divide the subject
of tropical design into four separate
subjectswind, sun, water, earth
to be taken a term at a time.
I would have really loved to go
through this curriculum. Through
science, my design would naturally
become more responsible, intelligent
and responsive to the environment.
Diandra Muassab, DLS-CSB SDA, 2015
Research Associate, SEED Institute
UST has ignited my competitiveness
because the administration, as well
as different organizations, hold
batch competitions yearly. This is
one of the reasons why I always join
competitions. However, I wish they
had incorporated actual works or
simulation projects in our classes,
which would be a really great help
when we finally step into the real
world of architecture.
Christian Salandanan, UST, 2014
Architecture Designer
12 BluPrint
We should have business and basic
accounting courses. They might
Whats important is for students be a pain in the neck, but they will
to be exposed to the construction enhance our perspective on the
side of architecture in the early practice of architecture in the real
stages of their studies. This would world, and help us appreciate the
help them understand and relate to phrase earning while doing what
things taught in class. I dont doubt you love.
the quality of education USC has
provided us, but I would certainly like
Aljeroe Funtila
for them to include a Construction
Mapua Institute of Technology, 2015
Practice subject in the curriculum
Design Associate, Gruppo Arkitekto
instead of offering it as an elective.
Company, Inc.
Second, theres a misperception
as to what Philippine architecture
is. Its a constant debate how to
design a structure representative
of Philippine architecture. Its about
time we earnestly consider, sensibly
study and religiously implement
the study of Philippine architecture
because its future depends on the
coming generation of architects,
and they should be equipped with
sufficient knowledgenationalistic
in approach, and applying current
technological developments. Actual site and fieldwork projects, so
students will better understand the
construction side of architecture.
Kenneth Estrologo , University of
San Carlos, 2014, Junior Architect,
Betina Dimaculangan, DLS-CSB SDA, 2014
KORA Architects & Associates
Junior Designer, MEDCON
Definitely model-making and
I wish they had taught us how to
more time for engineering. The
freely explore and expand on our own
congested trimester syllabus limits
architectural theories and concepts
our opportunity to learn what we
through a certain level of creative
want from the available, experienced
pragmatism. Also, how to work in
mentors. Half of what we learn from
a creatively intellectual, open and
most of the subjects comes from
shared design studio environment
self-study.
where you can freely express,
discuss and collaborate with students
Rey Angelo Blay, DLS-CSB SDA, 2015 and faculty at any time.
Intermediate Architectural Designer,
20x30 Design Studio
Jym Manuel, UST, 2014
Graduate Architect, Aidea Philippines
COMMENTARy

Build Relevance
A
ny discussion about
architecture education
inevitably leads to reflections

and Competence
ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION SHOULD ADAPT
TO THE REALITIES OF THE PROFESSION
By Leandro Nicholas Raoa Poco
on the state of the profession
in the Philippines, and to the
experiences of Filipino architects around the
world. Allow me to project in multiple tangents
so I could meander back into some thoughts
on how we could work together to improve
architecture education standards in the
Philippines.
Move up, move home
Filipino architects are recognized around the
world as talented, creative and hardworking
professionals. Since the rise of the Asian tigers
and the Gulf States in the 1980s and 1990s,
our architects have been leaving our shores
to eke out a living. The contributions of these
expatriates to their adoptive economies are
immeasurable. Foreign bosses and colleagues
appreciate the gusto with which Filipinos apply
themselves at work. For most Pinoy expatriate
architects, it was more than just a matter of
survival. It was the chance to be relevant. The
chance to practice their craft at the bleeding
edge of the design profession.

Photo courtesy of National University of Singapore

14 BluPrint
 Despite the lack of accepted international
credentials, a handful of these overseas professionals
moved up the ranks to assume leadership roles in
their respective firms. These exceptional architects
have shown that in a meritocracy, one can indeed
go far with talent and experience. Still, most of these
expats shared the dream of moving back home to
start their own practices. A handful of them have
been able to do so, harnessing their learnings and
connections gathered abroad. Many Filipino firms
whose projects are featured in this magazine are
products of this diaspora.
The dream to come home is always alive partly
because an architecture degree and license from
the Philippines allow you to practice and use the
title Architect only in the Philippines. The reason
is our academic programs neither fall under the
internationally accepted standards set by American
(National Architectural Accrediting Board) nor
British (Architects Registration Board and Royal
Institute of British Architects) accreditation bodies.
Some see this as a matter of independence.
I, however, see it as a question of competence
in international markets. How do we prove that
homegrown Filipino architects are indeed world-
class if our paper qualifications dont get us on equal
footing with peers in other countries?
Cross-border equivalency
If were serious about being internationally
competitive, why cant we make a concerted
effort to apply our programs for NAAB or
ARB/RIBA accreditation, or at least apply for
professional equivalency evaluation? The NAAB
has been accrediting programs outside the
United States, such as Canada and Mexico. The
RIBA has accredited programs in 17 countries,
including China, Singapore, Malaysia and South
Korea. Accreditation doesnt necessarily mean
referencing American and British qualifications.
On a basic actionable level, it would help future
Filipino architects if the Philippine Regulatory
Board of Architecture would get their act together
with their counterparts in the ASEAN Architect
Council to institute a common curriculum based
on common standards and skill requirements.
We are ill prepared for ASEAN integration, which
takes effect at the end of this year. Singapore firms
have a foothold in Vietnam, Brunei and Myanmar,
and because of this, locals in those countries now
take their methods as the acceptable practice. This
is while we are still happily working within our
little bubble of Philippine independence.
Semi-ripe mangoes
The diaspora of Filipino architects has hollowed
out the engine rooms of local design firms.
Commonplace are local firms with a handful of
principals on top, and a large number of 35-and-
under millennials below. Very few from the older
generation who left the Philippines came back.
Fewer still (because of the bleak economy) were
able to get their hands on local work and develop
their skills to become competent managers
in these firms. That gap in upper and middle
management is now being filled by architects of
my generation (those with ten years experience)
and younger, who are being primed for roles that
require more experience.
Some young architects, seduced by
the blossoming startup culture, heed the
entrepreneurial call and forego the whole
in-office maturation process to start their own
practices, only to realize that the education
and training they received are insufficient
preparation. In school, were asked to submit
profiles and brochures of our future design
firms, but were not taught how to write project
proposals; how to charge for services (because
the UAP documents are outdated); how to
manage projects; hire and mentor staff; and
balance the books. The academe says these are
learned during apprenticeship and practice.
But last I checked, Professional Practice is
a course subject. So what are we teaching?
How can you think outside the box and
conceptualize something unique (which is
what most students think of their work) if
your box is still empty of ideas and tools?
What are we practicing? Why is there such a
disconnect between school and practice? We
need to strengthen the preparation and training
of architects for practice. The Ateneo School of
Medicine and Public Health, together with their
Graduate School of Business, has pioneered a
course that combines clinical education of future
medical doctors with the practical rigors of an
MBA. They have acknowledged that the medical
practice is, in effect, a business. Architecture
schools could and should do this too.
Filling empty boxes
In design education and discourse, the method
of teaching is centered on developing a design
philosophy and concept. Its usually an inductive
process where the design is driven by the germ of
an idea. Ive seen design classes spend countless
hours talking about concept, only to realize during
the space programming and design stage that
the concept so eloquently crystallized falls apart
because its a horrible fit to the site, the scale of the
project, and the various uses to be satisfied.
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COMMENTARy

While teaching high-rise design (Arcdes 7) in Confront outcomes

by adding or adjusting
Generate alternative
College of St. Benilde School of Design and Arts, solutions. solutions as necessary.

one of the points I would emphasize is that some Development

Evolution of Prototype Improvisation
concepts dont work for some projects. You can
talk about creating a Filipino skyscraper, but it all
falls apart if you insist on creating a bahay kubo 35
storeys high. Its ignorant of so many other layers of
information.
Definition of Design and Monitoring &
We hammer at the need for a thought process Requirements Analysis
Implementation
Quality Control
distilling ideas into a singular object or theory for
the project, but we fail to teach students how to
process various layers of data needed to design in
Exploration Evaluation
an informed manner. How can you think outside the
box and conceptualize something unique (which is Collect data, observe Record learnings for
and do empirical future reference.
what most students think of their work) if your box analysis.
is still empty of ideas and tools?
Lets teach students to research from Design 1, Linear Design Process
and not at Design 9. The box has to be filled first with
sufficient substance to be distilled into something - Check actual
responsiveness of - Collect data,
unique. Instead of striving for creative expression, design to changing observe and do
Definition of
schools should train designers to process larger realities and define
new requirements or
Requirements
empirical analysis.
- Learning by design
bandwidths of information and synthesize ideas into parameters.

solutions. This can only happen in a research-driven,

Evaluation Exploration
deductive and iterative process. Not the linear or
inductive process were used to in most schools.

Design honesty comes from Development

Monitoring
Design and
and Quality
knowing how its put together of Prototype Analysis
Control
Woe is the young architect who, working for his
first client, finds out that design is non-linear, and
that in some cases, the concept is not his, but the
Evolution Iteration
clients. Too many egos have been fed and enlarged
to believe in the superiority of the inductive process - Refine features. - Generate
- Revise as needed. alternative solutions.
in creating architectural icons. Likewise, many - Get feedback. Implementation - Synthesize findings.

owners have scratched their heads and lost money

condoning the architects iconic vision, when
what they needed was simply a functioning piece
of architecture that serves their needs and not the
architects ego.
Architecture studios in National University
of Singapore (NUS) are tasked not only to design,
but also to detail and show how everything is put
together. Im impressed by the level of technical
knowledge that NUS students show in their
presentations. Design and Building Technology
lectures are fused and applied together in studio.
That way, they learn to be honest designers. They
do not design buildings with amazing cantilevers
made of chipboard, or with sleek, diagonal claddings
wrapping a basic shell. They are challenged to draw
something elegantly in detail. Instead of cowering
within the box of buildability, these kids dig deep to
figure out how to execute their designs using models
and mock-ups.
Geo-location
Taking the idea of design honesty further, why
not bring the students to the field and build their
designs themselves? One of my favorite examples
Iterative Design Process
of this is Samuel Mockbees Rural Studio in Auburn
University, Alabama. What started out as an
outreach activity where students patch together
recycled materials to build houses has turned into
a formal program with students spending a year
or more building homes and civic buildings for
the poor. Students learn how to do joinery, pour
concrete, weld steel and lay roofs.
While its difficult to execute a program of
similar intensity (because of time and resource
constraints), why cant we institute a design-build
exchange program between the major urban
Centers of Excellence and the regional Centers
of Development? Architecture students from
main urban centers could rotate to schools in the
provinces, be tasked to build actual designs using
local or vernacular methods, experience the difficult
building conditions, and see the socio-economic
problems far afield.

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COMMENTARy

The student starts The student collects The student develops The student synthesizes all valid
Meanwhile, corresponding students from the with data gathering. and analyzes data. multiple ideas and hypotheses into a single solution and
solutions from the data. applies it to the project.
provinces could rotate to schools in Manila and Cebu
to see the cutting edge in design, technology and
inspect actual construction of complex projects. Information Observation and hypothesis theory
and data analysis
This would enrich the less-developed programs
by exposing them to methods in the Centers of
Excellence, and could hopefully trigger a heart- Specific to General Inductive
shift in the purpose and inculcate a sense of social
purpose and responsibilityvalues usually lost to
the attention-hungry, money-driven architecture theory hypothesis
Observation and Information
analysis and data
that the bigger programs aspire to.
Another form of geo-location would be for
schools to locate design studios closer to the cores of
The student starts with The student develops The student collects The student affirms or rejects the
major practices like Makati CBD and Ortigas CBD. Ive an idea to be explored hypotheses. data and tests ideas for hypotheses, and repeats the process until
in-depth. validity and reliability. acceptable solutions are found and the
met countless young, idealistic, capable practicing best one selected for implementation.
architects who would like to teach but are turned off
General to Specific Deductive
by the inconvenience of travel to the University Belt
in Manila or Quezon City. By locating closer to the
epicenter of dominant practices, we can strengthen professional development, and experience,
the full-time academic faculty of schools with active which the professional must accrue over the
practitioners. This is a good way to attract a different years. It is incomprehensible that our Continuing
dimension of faculty. Schools cant pay adjuncts or Professional Development program is still on hold,
part-time lecturers more than full-time academicians, our professional organizations offering ad hoc
so lets make it easier for those with thriving practices CPD courses that would not stand the scrutiny of
to share their knowledge to students. accreditation bodies elsewhere in ASEAN.
Offering stratified degrees would address
Specialization, stratified degrees the demand for increasing specialization in
and licensing roles. Not only could schools offer introductory
The ongoing building boom in our country has seen electives in their undergraduate programs, Leandro Nicholas R.
the rise of various roles that architects play in the they could also offer specialist degrees to give Poco is partner at L.A. Poco
Architects, a boutique firm
property sector. Aside from the traditional roles of students viable options off the main track of
with projects small to large,
design managers and contractors, architects are architectural design practice. The architecture such as: the De La Salle Zobel
now finding niches in the full cycle of development. education landscape in Singapore for example, Our Lady of the Star Chapel
We see architects as construction managers, includes courses in Architectural Technology and in Ayala Alabang; the Net
Lima and Net Park Buildings
quantity surveyors, interior fit-out designers, urban Visualization, or Architectural Studies offered by in BGC (with Oppenheim
planners, real estate executives, brokers, property various polytechnic schools. They acknowledge Architecture+Design
managers, etc. Theres also a growing demand for the demand for highly skilled technologists, as Design Consultant);
specialists and technicians focused on visualization visual artists and production specialists needed and several mid-rise
condominiums and retail
and BIM (building information modeling). by the industry. The best job captains Ive met centers. He previously
As demand rises for people with such skills, are holders of specialist degrees; some are now worked at Palmer & Turner
the blanket solution would be to churn out and working towards a full architecture degree. Consultants on high-end
register more architects into the licensure roll. high-rises in Singapore and
The title Architect used to mean an expert
Vietnam; and at Surbana
Architecture schools have been doing this, packing versed in the art and science of designing and International Consultants,
classrooms with more chairs and drafting tables, building. But nowadays, being a licensed architect on such townships as the
without addressing the deteriorating quality of doesnt mean you get to practice as one. Theres resort-city of Sikkim in
Indias Himalayan region; a
our graduates measured against international nothing wrong with that. To practice may be
commercial and institutional
standardsnot the local board exam. These schools the dream scenario, but it is not for everybody. core planned around a man-
are not doing the profession a favor. Producing There is no harm in recognizing ones interests made lake in North Vietnam;
quantity over quality takes away from the respected and limitations, and casting off toward one of the and the Pulau Muara Besar
in Brunei Darussalam. As
title of Architect, and lessens our credibility in the specializations mentioned earlier. The envelope an ASEAN scholar, Poco
international arena. and marketplace of ideas for design-related services acquired his Masters degree
In Indonesia, fresh architecture graduates are and know-how has expanded, allowing architects in Urban Design with focus on
automatically licensed to design a one to two-storey to find their little patch of Eden. The opening of Urban Typomorphology and
City Form from the National
residence. With added experience, they can take the career options for architects requires opening University of Singapore. His
licensure examinations for the next higher strata the educational landscape and changing long- dissertation, EDSA: From
of practice, which, when passed, permit them to established notions of success and achievement. We Urban Fringe to Urban Spine
allowed him to graduate
handle buildings and developments of increasing should educate architects to find their role in the
with distinction and receive
complexity and risk. Thus, the title Architect design universe, doing what they are good at, and the Singapore Institute of
is a rank indicative of competence, continuing what makes them happy. Architects Book Prize.

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COMMENTARy

Distance,
M
y work takes me to distant
places that have been around
for a very long time. When you

Speed, Time
are asked to design in such
places, where the continuity of
human settlement is measured in terms of millennia,
you cannot escape the perspective of history. On
the one hand, the job assumes an air of significance
AN ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION as you consider its sheer scope and sociopolitical
dimension, while on anotheras you view it in the
WORTH HAVING IS ONE THAT anonymity of the vast, encompassing landscape
STRIVES TOWARDS THE it immediately dissolves into a mere strand in time.
ExPANSION OF CONSCIENCE When you look at formal education in this light
(and this is not confined to Philippine architectural
By Henry V. De Jesus education) you are struck by its relative
insignificance. If you get lucky enough to be blessed
with a 40 plus-year career (since we dont really
hit our stride until the latter years) then college is
a mere ten percent of our occupation. This is not
to diminish the importancethe privilegeof an
education in architecture in an institution; but in the
scale of time and distance five years is a pittance.
I was mentored by an architect who wasnt
even schooled in architecture. He was a literature
major who happened to interview Richard Neutra
for a book sometime in the 1950s and he ended up
as Neutras close associate for the next 11 years.
After Neutra, he spent the rest of his years with the
firm where I worked part-time while in my third
year of school. I was lucky. He has retired recently,
but we have stayed in touch over the past 25 years;
in fact, we meet for lunch occasionally at the same
restaurant because its courtyard is spare and the
tables are fully lined in white paper. We get to
sketch on the table lining as we talk, using the same
Pentel sign pens. Still teaching and learning, with no
agenda, no forethought. And thats the beauty of it.
We forget that Brunelleschi was a goldsmith,
Cairo from a distance. March 2015, photographed by the author Paxton was a horticulturist, Ando did some
prizefighting and carpentry. Wright didnt even
major in architecture. Heres the point: Dont get
hung-up on school. And another thing, which
may sound rather peculiar: Dont put too much
stock in board exams, which, by the way, prove
nothing more than entry-level competence to
any profession. What we do is so far-reaching, so
impactful, and so goddamn difficult that it takes
the totality of lifes lessons and the cooperation of
human beings from all persuasions just to make
it real and worthwhile. It can never be defined by
paper certificates obtained in the infancy of a career.
But lets set that aside for a moment and get back
to architectural education in the Philippines. One
way of framing a topic as big as that is to take a look
at the relationship between the entities of distance,
speed and time. This should be familiar to anyone
who didnt ditch physics in high school.
Distance makes us grapple with the
fundamentals: What do I want to do? Where am I

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going? What is my purpose? Its been 20 years, but
I do remember telling freshmen (and seniors with
equal earnestness) at the University of Santo Tomas
that not all of them would practice architecture and
that that was perfectly fine. But all of them ought
to capitalize on the unique attributes afforded by
an education in architecture: problem solving in
four dimensions, critical thought, collaboration, and
sheer creativity. These would serve them well in any
endeavor they may choose to pursue.
I had hoped that some would become
entrepreneurs (and if so, be a good one and be a
good patron of the arts while you are at it); some
could find themselves in politics (and if so, be a good
one however dauntingly impossible that would
be!); most would practice to be sure; and some
yet would wind up abroad.1 In any case, distance
has to do with breadth: your intellectual reach and
integrity. It is the product of work and time. School
is an excellent start to develop a well-rounded view
of things. And the more you apply this over time, the
deeper you can reach into your own well of ideas.
Speed is workthe rate of motion or progress
itself. Good work depends on the quality of your
thinking and values over time. In practical terms,
this is what gets you hired (not the manifesto);
and its progression is what keeps you hired by an
employer or a client. Work is all about the realization
of ideas: it is tactile, physical, and vigorous (even as
the means of work has turned digital).
We casually talk about individuals and firms
that do good work without much appreciation
for the fact that the actual workthe physical
manifestation of architecturedoes not even come
from the architect at all. We merely communicate
ideas to builders who make it real. And then theres
the ownerthe one who writes the checks and
determines what to buildwho ultimately makes
the whole endeavor possible. Architecture is an
incredibly complex act. We delude ourselves into
thinking of ourselves as leaders and conductors Igoe is, they need to stay in school a little while
(a hackneyed metaphor) in this complex
production when, in truth, we are at the mercy
of so many uncontrollable circumstances. Good
projects and good buildings are rare achievements
especially in these times, and considering the
totality of what gets built at any given time on the
planet, good architecture indeed is nothing short of
a miraculous act.
And all of this takes time. There are no shortcuts.
Efficiency demands that we do the most with
the least; but even getting there implies pitting
knowledge and observation against a great deal
of testing or trial and error. Arches developed
into domes and vaults in the same way the
production of automobiles has gone from days
to hours to minutes.
So what does all this have to do with the
Philippines? Nothing. Everything.
Nothing, because good education and good
architecture should be boundless and timeless.
Excellence is not possible with parochialism. One of
the mid-century Modernists, Raphael Soriano, was
fond of musical allusions, and he once remarked that
a masterly stroke on a violin is not remembered as a
French stroke or a Russian stroke or whatever; it is
simply appreciated as a masterly stoke. Fair enough.
Everything, because good education and good
architecture should be grounded and relevant.
And this, alas, is the crux of the matter. An
Architecture worth doing is one that responds
to the spirit of the ageto the very demands
of the day. In the Philippines, our perennial
affliction is invisibilitythe abject indifference
towards the poor. There are myriad technical
explanations as to why the cities are unlivable,
why the infrastructure is broken, and how the
natural world has gotten fragmented. None are
satisfactory and all can be traced one way or other
to this: You cant care for what you no longer see.
An Architecture worth doing is one that
responds to the spirit of the ageto
the very demands of the day.
We have been buildingdevelopingin
half-mirages: half-real because they deny the very
existence of those who build and maintain them.
Theirs is an invisible worldbeneath the one we
inhabit. And the cornerstone of the one we live in
is hunger.2
I am not suggesting that architecture will (or
should) cure the social ills of society. It wont. It
never has and it never will, lest Pruitt-Igoe reminds
us (and if the seniors are wondering what Pruitt-
longer). But Architecture worth doing is one that
advances the common weal, however modest
or ambitious in scope. Hence, an architectural
education worth having is one that strives towards
the expansion of conscience. You must demand of
your educators the means to achieve this end. If your
curriculum needs to morph into planning, so be it. If
it needs to be more inclusive of other environmental
disciplines, so much the better.
You must demand of yourselves the same and
more. Much more! I cannot fault you for aiming for
fame and fortune (and may that come indeed). But
whatever you may becomethat architect, that
builder, that entrepreneur, that patron, that artist,
that policymakerI hope you will play your part in
building that world where humanity is in full view;
where hunger and injustice are not simply invisible,
but resolutely non-existent.
1
This is a topic unto itself, and it strikes home
considering there are over 10 million Filipinos
working overseas (a million alone in Saudi
Arabia), and because a good number of OFWs
are architects, myself included. It is common
knowledge that the export of Filipino workers
to over 170 countriesthanks to a government
decree in 1974 to facilitate the movement
of workers in conformity with the national
interestis the countrys source of foreign
exchange, and means of poverty alleviation. OFWs
are hailed as economic heroes even as they, and
ultimately the nation, bear the consequences
of separation and abuse. OFWs are treated as
second-class citizens in host countries where
racism and indifference are appallingly pervasive.
2
From Ursula Le Guins collection of essays, Dancing
at the Edge of the World, she poignantly addressed
the subject of hunger through Pablo Nerudas
description of the fabled Machu Picchu, particularly,
how it was built on the suffering of its people: It
says that so long as the beautiful towers of stone,
of concrete, of glass, are not well founded, they are
not habitable. No house worth living in has for its
cornerstone the hunger of those who built it. We in
America now raise our cities taller even than Machu
Picchu. But along with what they call the real
city, the real estate, there is an invisible city. It is
to the stones of the city as the soul is to the body.
And thats what were talking about. That is the city
were trying to build, to found, not on hoarding and
moneymaking and hunger, but on sharing and on
justice. A house that deserves its children.
Henry V. de Jesus is an
Associate in the Los Angeles
office of Perkins and Will. He is
frequently on assignment in the
Middle East and North Africa.
As a senior project architect,
he oversees the technical
execution of healthcare and
higher education projects.
He still devotes time with
Architecture students at Cal
Poly where he was schooled
and where, for a brief quarter,
had Raphael Soriano as a
teacher. Henry taught at the
University of Santo Tomas in
the late 90s.
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COMMENTARy

Making an Architect,
Testing an Architect
SCHOOLS AND GOVERNMENT PLAY A KEY ROLE IN
SHAPING OUR DESTINIES. ARE THEY UP TO THE JOB?
By Tobias Guggenheimer
Illustration by Monica Esquivel

A
rchitectural problems
are solved in a sequential
path meandering from the
creatively schematic to the
technically specific. The
making of an architect follows a similar
trajectorywith rung after rung to be
climbed; from design and history to theory
and practice, all to be mastered in time. But
not at the same time! Architects blossom in
the context of a slow and methodical process,
a gathering of diverse intelligences that
permit the opening of doors of a life rich in
capabilities, whether or not one elects to work
in the field. To applysimultaneouslythe
principles of art, science and philosophy
promises to enliven ones time on earth.
School is where design thinking should
be reinforced at every opportunityeven
in contexts far removed from the core.
Consider as an extreme example the
obligatory general education course on
Rizal. A tired reading of the Noli focuses only
on his political dialogue. A more pertinent
approach for design students considers how
Rizal appropriates the built environment
as a medium upon which to project social
commentary. Indeed, on the very first page
of the Noli, his character, Captain Tiago, is
found planning a party at his home located
upon the Binondo creek which plays, like
many rivers in Manila, the multiple roles
of bathhouse, sewer, laundry, fishing hole,
thoroughfare and even drinking water
By page two, we hear the narrator mock the
house, which is somewhat squat, its lines
fairly uneven. Whether the architect who
built it could not see very well or this resulted
from earthquakes or typhoons, no one can say
for sure. Soon enough, we are transported
to the second storey: finding ourselves

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in a broad expanse called the caidawhich
tonight will serve both as a dining and music
room. In the middle, a long table, abundantly
and luxuriously appointed, seems to wink
sweet promise at the freeloader From these
passages, and others like them, students
recognize how effectively social and political
ideas can be enriched with allusions to
physical context. By approaching Rizal from
this new perspective, design students will
not only be more inclined to appreciate his
message, but will also confirm that narrative
is foundational to design. Similar pedagogic
gymnastics can make every course engaging,
even inspirational to the design student.
Slay the sacred cows
Academia is, or should be, a protected
universea space for students to question
everything about the imperfect world
bequeathed their generation. If only
educators adopted a similarly necessary
skepticism regarding the systems and
traditions deployed in the monumental task of
molding architects. Shouldnt the institutions
of school and government come together to
reinvent practice, regulation and tradition
to face imminent challenges? Design is
undergoing a global revolution, an immediate
manifestation of which will be the diminished
protection offered by national borders. In the
past, Philippine architects worked behind a
moat where they were only responsible for
meeting local benchmarks of competence and
experience. That moat will soon be breached
as ASEAN nations, and then the world, flood
in. The only possible defense will be peerless
education, an effective (and perhaps longer)
internship, a more pertinent testing regime,
and a reevaluation of the entire regulatory
structure of architecture and construction.
Stakeholders: Come together and slay your
sacred cows.
That schools are tied to a universally
mandated curriculum leaves unearthed
alternative methodologies, approaches and
priorities. Has this helped the Philippines?
Has our infrastructure produced an enviable
constellation of the best designers in the
worldas we have every right to expect? Do
we dominate international competitions? Do
we regularly snare plum commissions within
the global marketplace? If yes, then let us leave
the system as is, intact and unchanged. If not,
then perhaps innovation may be the only way
to enhance outcomes for the benefit of the
nation. Competing for the dubious honor of
producing top notchers is not enough.
Less crowded design studios
Given the self-evident centrality of design
studio within architectural education,
reform should logically begin there, and
every program should consider redoubling
its commitment to an enhanced design
studio experience. One of the most impactful
changes possible is guaranteeing an
uncrowded learning environment. The
current practice of cramming 30 or more
people into a design class degrades a
teachers capacity to meaningfully interact
with students. In my more than 25 years of
teaching architecture and interior design,
I have found it quite impossible to offer
consistent, meaningful critique to more than
15 students. No two students have analogous
capabilities, and thus no single teaching
method is universally effective. Certainly,
a more personalized approach is costly, yet
without imposing strict limits on studio size,
we fatally impair the ability to teach and
learn design.
Shouldnt the institutions of school and
government come together to reinvent
practice, regulation and tradition to face
imminent challenges?
Homework
I would also suggest a radical reconsideration
of how class time is deployed. The design
studio is only valuable as a venue for teaching
what design is, how design is developed,
how design is understood and how design
is critiquedsubjects mastered only via
extensive practice and interaction. Design
work itself should only be performed at home
to free up class time for the higher value
activities enumerated above. International
pedagogic norms dictate students should
minimally spend 2-3 hours on homework
for every hour spent in class. This output
should form the basis upon which class time
is structured.
Learner-centered teaching
It is likewise important for each teacher to
adopt an instructional method sufficiently
flexible as to accommodate various learning
styles. Growth comes from different places,
at different rates, for different people. Some
students are too shy to offer critique. Give
them additional assistance in that area.
BluPrint 23
COMMENTARy
Others develop solutions without exhausting
thematic possibilities. Encourage them
to be more thoughtful and patient during
the conceptual phase. Designer teachers
are effective when they are flexible and
compassionate, promoting strengths and
mitigating weaknesses of individual students.
No to group projects
Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, we must
eliminate the ultimate corruption infecting our
design studiosthe group project. The very
idea of communal creativity is a contradiction
in terms. Can one imagine artists sharing a
canvas? Matisse on the left and Degas on the
right? When considering the absurdity of that
vision, the responsibility of design schools to
every student becomes clear, especially when
supported by the regulatory admonition in
Republic Act 9266 that entry to the practice of
architecture is determined upon the basis of
individual personal qualifications.
Loosen CHED constraints
The State has stipulated an interest in
the education of the architect in order to
promote a safe, pleasant and productive
framework within which our lives unfold.
How do we know this? The architecture
curriculum stipulated by CHED Memorandum
61 powerfully infers this objective. Under
the section titled Policies, Standards;
and Guidelines for the Bachelor of Science
in Architecture, design is identified as a
cultural resource. Schools are unambiguously
commanded to direct the thrust of
architecture education to the needs and
demands of society and its integration into the
social, economic, cultural and environmental
aspects of nation building.
CHED further defines the architect as a
person who is responsible for advocating
fair and sustainable development, welfare
and cultural expression of societys habitat in
terms of space, forms and historical contexts.
In light of this directive, and the fact that
schools are not autonomous with respect to
the architecture curriculum, the educational
establishment might profitably lobby for
looser guidelines so that schools may create
their own curricula to promote a diversity
of approaches to architectural education.
Progressive building codes in some countries
encourage a more liberal, performance-based
alternative to the rigidly prescriptive tradition
we are familiar with. Why not similarly
provide space for innovation in design
education?
24 BluPrint
Board exam
Some suggest that design skills are impossible
to verify, and point to the deletion of the design
section in the licensing exam as proof. How
can we submit our students to ten grueling
semesters of design studies and then suggest
that which they learned cannot be evaluated?
The State is on record in supporting design
values through legislation. In fact, the preamble
to Republic Act 10557 clearly states: It is the
declared policy of the State to enhance the
competitiveness and innovation of Philippine
products, create market-responsive design
services, while advocating economic and
environmental sustainability. The State
shall also endeavor to promote an economy
and society driven by design and creativity
responsive to our fast-changing times and
reflective of the Filipino culture and identity.
It could therefore be argued that design,
because it is central to the needs of the
nation, should be of sufficient importance
to be returned to the architects licensing
examination. The final threshold a prospective
It could therefore be argued that design,
because it is central to the needs of the
nation, should be of sufficient importance
to be returned to the architects licensing
examination.
architect must pass should be a vehicle with
the capacity to demonstrate a baseline of
competence and proficiency. Can it provide an
accurate assessment of knowledge, experience,
capability and discernment, an effective
distillation of years of training? Given the
ubiquity of this kind of exam around the world
the answer seems to be yes.
Yet the preparatory industries which have
sprung up in support of the board candidates
suggest a gap between that which they know
and that which they will be tested on. If true,
that a uniquely presented set of concepts and
principles are served up during this exercise, Toby Guggenheimer
then perhaps the exertions necessary for success is principal of the New
York design firm, Tobias
should be considered as the basis for a third Guggenheimer Architect,
body of knowledge (the first two being 5 years of PC. He taught Architecture
school and 2 years of apprenticeship) supported and Interior Design at Pratt
Institute, Parsons School
by a mandated addendum to the academic
of Design, and Fordham
curriculum. In other words, if the typical eligible University, and is currently
candidate cannot expect to pass the board exam Dean at SoFA Design Institute
without additional preparatory classroom work, in Makati. Guggenheimer is
the author of A Taliesin Legacy:
then is it not reasonable to expect either schools
The Architecture of Frank
or government to offer such support as part of Lloyd Wrights Apprentices,
their mandate for education and oversight? published in 1995.
COMMENTARy

Internationalization
of Architecture
Education
ENGAGEMENT IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA STARTS
WITH COMPETENCIES DEVELOPED AROUND DISTINCT
LOCAL ATTRIBUTES, AND TRANS-DISCIPLINARY
LEARNING ExPERIENCES By Grace C. Ramos, PhD

Like global cities, architecture education faces the same challenge of articulating a global language and meeting internationally accepted standards while nurturing
distinct competencies anchored on unique local settings and attitudes. Bukchon Hanok is a historic traditional village in Seoul that exists within a relatively modern
city replete with glass and steel buildings. (Photo by Mark Christian P. Marcelino)

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V
alidating architecture
pedagogies is a process that
directs us to places where they
get translated en masse, within
an international mindset
cities. Often referred to as concrete jungles,
cities are the embodiment of prevalent
architectural theories produced and reproduced
in the academic realm. What do these urban
settings tell us about how architects figure
in the process that generates built forms and
designed spaces?
Cities clearly represent the quest for the
international. As hosts to activities that fuel the
global economy, there is a growing perception
these economic centers are converging in
function and form. Internationalization as an
economic concept sparks off strong emotions
rooted in the fear of the weak being subsumed
by the powerful, and of cities sans distinct
cultural expression.
Placelessness and iconism
Applying the concept of internationalization to
education instigates even more apprehension
over the prospect of knowledge reduced
to a negotiated commodity. As such, the
power to control knowledge generation and
delivery would also control the creation of
the spaces we move in. Is the homogenous
character of cities today indicative of a generic
process anchored on a universal goal to be
internationally recognized? The goal to be at par
with universally accepted standards results in
code-based design approaches that in the end
yield buildings and spaces defined by a common
language. In the recent decades, this language
has been manifested in glass, steel and concrete
structures that make up the landscapes of so-
called global cities.
The city is also marked by fierce
competition for space and for attention. While
manifestations of mass production proliferate,
there are structures that stand out due to sheer
scale and eccentricity. Densely developed areas
call for landmark qualities to make buildings
memorable.
Social polarization is most glaring in the city,
where architecture is a measure of status and
a marker of class divide, distinguishing urban
from rural. With the physical structure comes
a network of social structures that interrelate,
oftentimes in an iterative manner. While the
network is complex and multi-dimensional,
the physical milieu accommodating it is
compartmentalized and oversimplified by
internationally accepted space organizing tools,
such as land use plans and building codes.
Commoditization of
architectural services
Underlying the internally and externally
connected city is a production chain where goods
and services change hands as they go through
value-adding processes. Architectural services
are among the tertiary economic activities
typically hosted by global cities. Just like traded
goods, the services of the architect have in recent
years been componentized through outsourcing
arrangements, redefining the creative process,
and raising intellectual property rights issues.
What does it mean to internationalize?
Is it right, therefore, to conclude that
internationalization, as exemplified by
cities, breeds placelessness, cultural erosion,
lopsided power structures, inflexible and
abstracted plans, and commoditization of
creative services? If yes, does it follow that
architecture education framed within an
international mindset needs rectification if
we are to reverse the trend?
Internationalizing the product
The free flow of information that comes
with a globally linked economy leads to two
possibilities. The first is a homogeneous world
resulting from the direct transfer of ideas
from the powerful to the weak. The high-rise
condominium lifestyle set in a resort-like
development is being marketed as an alternative
to single-detached housing amidst the seemingly
irreversible densification trend in Metro Manila.
There are products in the market that represent
the mass production of spaces that do not take
into account factors like local climate, the way
Filipino family members relate with each other
and how we delineate public and private spaces.
Hybridized designs allow the use of modern
concepts and technology while reinterpreting
features of vernacular houses that represent our
own physical and social realities.
The second is a world enriched by diversity
and novelty. One cannot seek out international
competitiveness without developing basic
competencies in specific local cases. For
example, applying concepts such as design with
nature entails an in-depth understanding of
tropical design. Being a world-class heritage
conservation expert will have to begin with
setting a strong track record in protecting
Philippine architectural heritage. An urban
planner, who wants to work for international
organizations that upgrade living standards in
cities all over the world, will be most effective if
he or she can draw from personal experiences in
similar initiatives in the Philippines.
BluPrint 27
COMMENTARy
To appreciate the second, it has to be noted
that the convergence of foreign and local offers
opportunities for hybridization; and the point
of confluence of any two or more ideas can
jumpstart synergies. If architectural thoughts
are to contribute to the enrichment of the world
we live in, knowledge should not merely be
transferred, and learning should go beyond the
downloadables. Innovations beyond building
forms would take us out of the building type mode
that has limited the array of spaces in present-day
cities. Internationalization anchored on diversity
calls for multi-dimensional spaces that do not reflect
a one-to-one correspondence between function
and space, or between user and space. Overlapping,
rather than compartmentalized spaces, better reflect
the dynamic social networks that are constantly
being reconfigured. Permutable spaces allow
customization and contextualization in the midst of
mass production and product disintegration.
Internationalizing the profession
Engaging architects from any part of the world in
the global production network is ideally based on
principles of reciprocity, defined by complementary
competencies. An architect aspiring to be a player
in the international arena can develop unique
competencies around distinct geographical
attributes, unique cultural settings, local governance
and political environments, among others. Here we
highlight the notion that internationalization and
nationalism do not represent polar opposites in
the spectrum of ideals. A profession that celebrates
the local is one better prepared to enter the
international sphere.
Architecture as a career need not equate to
a single pursuit over ones lifetime. Within the
duration of ones practice, an architect would most
likely move from one part of the production chain
to another, and need not follow a set sequence. With
multiple paths and interventions in the designed
environment to engage in, graduates of architecture
should not be stifled by conventional expectations
as to what one must be doing at the various stages
of ones career. Divergent paths leading to various
unique forms of intervention account for vibrant
urban environments that make each city distinct.
Internationalizing the curriculum
How then should architecture education be
preparing students for international practice?
Given the intended products, architectural
curricula are supposed to allow for a wide room for
creativity, making choices, and trying out various
combinations. A progressive academic program
in architecture is one based on a concept of space
not always bound by conventions, laws and
regulations, and static systems. While going through
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the exercise of form-finding, which generates
primarily physical outputs, the architecture student
must also go through trans-disciplinary learning
experiencesconcerns in psychology, chemistry,
economics, law, finance and governance, among
many others, should figure in the formulation of
physical design propositions. Order and sanitation-
oriented strategies, for example, have resulted in
physically segregated urban spaces. The outcomes
of our everyday spatial experiences reflect the
equally compartmentalized problem-solving
approach adopted. For instance, the faddish word
mainstreaming crops up in discussions related to
disaster management, gender sensitivity, heritage
preservation, sustainability and accessibility. While
these concerns certainly need to be amplified in
contemporary times, it must be acknowledged
that they have always been in the architects so-
called checklist of design considerations; just as
designing with nature, user analysis, and building
on existing assets have been part and parcel of the
programming process since ancient times. That they
be made integral to the design process must not
be confused with singling them out among many
other issues just because news headline events have
brought them to the fore.
Enhancement of competencies that will
enable the architecture graduate to choose from
a wide range of engagement possibilities in the
global network of production necessarily hinges
on innovation. As with all traded goods, the
ability to meet the demands of the market is key
to survival in the international arena. Demand
is increasing not only in number, but more so in
level of sophistication. Clients are not just after
low-cost services. They are becoming more and
more concerned about quality. While in university,
architecture theses and dissertations provide Grace C. Ramos, PhD
venues for offering something new. This rite of is the President of GRANDT
passage is supposed to indicate how able the Planners, Inc.; Program
Development Associate for
graduating student is in processing and adding
International Linkages of the
value to knowledge acquired, rather than merely Office of the Vice Chancellor
displaying knowledge retained. for Academic Affairs at the
Lastly, while the architecture profession University of the Philippines,
Diliman; and faculty member
is generally perceived as a route to material of the UP College of
security, its service orientation must be more Architecture. Prof. Ramos
vigorously inculcated in the academe. Architectural acquired her doctorate in City
outcomes, regardless of scale, always have public Planning from Seoul National
University; her MS degree in
consequences. These, in varying degrees, influence Urban Development Planning
the way people think, live and interact with one from the Bartlett School of
another. It can therefore be a powerful medium Architecture in London; and
Architecture degree from the
for addressing internationally relevant issues
University of the Philippines.
such as poverty, peace and order, and climate She also completed
change. Design output always interfaces with the coursework in Housing and
earth and the airspace above, which collectively Development Management
at the University of Lund,
constitute the common domain. With the ability to
and has earned MBA units
impact comes the responsibility to conserve from Ateneo Graduate School
humanitys shared physical realm. of Business.
COMMENTARy
Specialization
in Education
IN ORDER TO PRODUCE
INTERNATIONALLY COMPETITIVE
ARCHITECTS, SCHOOLS SHOULD
REVISE THEIR CURRICULA TO
INCLUDE SPECIALIzATION
By Dan Lichauco
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D
rafting, Design, Construction
and Researchthese are
the thrusts of Architecture
education in the Philippines.
Aspiring architects are expected
to be experts in the first three, while the last
is treated merely as a means to the first.
Current school paradigms concentrate
on developing skills in one or two of the first
three thrusts, with Design perceived as the
most prestigious. Less than 1% of a batch
will develop into starchitects in the local
setting, and fewer still will be considered as
such in an international arena. The practice
of architecture is competitive the world
over, and in the Philippines, it is one of the
most overpopulated and underemployed
professions. One way that an individual or
a small firm can jump ahead of the pack is
through specialization.
The days of general practitioners
like Arellano, Nakpil, Toledo and Antonio
are over. Given rapidly changing market
demands and the explosion on the scene of
new technologies and typologies, the fact of
architecture today is that in order to develop
plans effectively, efficiently and correctly,
the project team should be comprised of
specialists, just like a crack surgical team
made up of specialist doctors.
Traditionally, specialized fields were
Image from pixabay.com
limited to interiors, landscape design,
historic preservation, building systems and
construction methods.
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COMMENTARy
Today, specialization in the practice has
expanded to space programming, acoustics,
lighting, finance and feasibility, urban design,
energy conservation, specification writing,
furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E)
consulting, and construction management.
Architects can also specialize in specific
building types like hospitals, schools, airports
and museums.
Large firms cultivate these specializations
in house, which can be expensive, and so hiring
specialists on a project basis may be the more
efficient way to go. These specialists take the
lead in the different phases of the job, with the
lead architect (not necessarily the designer)
acting as conductor and arbitrator of the
project. Few people will ever be chosen to
lead teams, so why not be a member responsible
for a key aspect of the building process?
Only one can be president, but many can
be cabinet members.
Another practical argument for
specialization is that it offers alternatives
to students who discover midway that they
cant be designers but still want to be in the
building industry. Architecture schools in the
Philippines, however, do not even broach the
idea of becoming specialists in a field of the
practice. The architect is seen as a Jack-of-all-
trades, and Design, the end-all of the practice.
The thesis programs of most of the schools
are biased towards design, not allowing for a
particular concentration in the thesis project.
There have been attempts to allow students
to choose their field of concentration, but the
programs invariably revert to being design-
centric. This may be due to the fact that jurors
and advisors are ill-equipped to deal with
specialty subjects in depth. There often is a
gross mismatch between student and advisor,
and student and juror. The schools in which
I have taught or participated in as a thesis
juror do not take the time to match students
with faculty expertise. This is a valuable
opportunity missed, as professors are required
to have masteral degrees, which would indicate
an area of concentration, not to mention, most
faculty with active practices do develop areas
of expertise.
To support the direction towards
specialization, the curriculum for design
students in their 3rd year onwards would
show an area of concentration that should be
reflected in design projects, and made part
of grading criteria. Then, the thesis program
would likewise be modified so that the area
of expertise is explored in depth during
deliberations. For example: if a student chooses
32 BluPrint
to concentrate on architectural space, then
total built area as drawn by the student should
accurately correspond to the area specified in
the space program; and a variance of, say, 5%
in area would be penalized in the deliberations.
This would require jurors competent in
detecting such variances, among other
competencies.
With ASEAN integration taking effect at the
close of 2015, the best way Filipino architects
can distinguish themselves is to provide a
service scarce in the region. An architect fresh
out of college can sell himself as a product
of a good school, but possessing skills other
architects have yet to develop gives him a
distinct edge. Aside from drafting, design and
construction, knowledge in areas like code
analysis based on international codes, space
programming, financial feasibility studies
and faade consulting will be a major leg up
in the promotion process. For boutique firms,
Specializationknowing what
you enjoy and are good at, and
concentrating on that fieldis the
best way for an architect to compete.
specializing in a certain building typology
will allow them to branch into countries less
developed than the Philippines, as well as
compete in other countries that are further
along than ours.
If one cannot gain expertise from our
schools, then the crux of the solution is to take
advantage of the Internet to avail of information,
to network with those more knowledgeable, and
to challenge ones thinking and understanding
at every opportunity in order for one to become
an expert in his chosen field.
Philippine architecture education focuses
on training designers, and in some schools,
draftsmen. In todays highly competitive
landscape, architecture education could choose
to maintain the status quo of Design as its main
thrust, but it must, in order to be of service to
future generations of Filipino architects, push
for areas of concentration as equal partners in Dan Lichauco is principal
the thesis project. architect of Archion Architects,
which he established with
Specializationknowing what you enjoy
Peter Ong in 2000. He was
and are good at, and concentrating on that born December 17, 1963, but
fieldis the best way for an architect to says he acts like hes 20. He
compete, especially in the context of ASEAN completed his studies at the
University of Santo Tomas,
integration and globalization. It could even
University of Michigan and
be a route to becoming a starchitect in a University of Notre Dame in
specialized field. the US.
 issues
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COMMENTARy

Critical Thinking Working

in Design
Architectural
Design

THE DESIGN PROCESS IS NOT ABOUT

FINDING FIxED SOLUTIONS BUT IS ABOUT
PROBLEMATIzING THE CHANGING WORLD
AROUND US By Maureen Anne Araneta Consultation

spatial Studies
Perspectives
Organization Conceptual Design
Sketch Models

Movement

form finding

site
planning

context
Integration
Co
ns

ta
ul

determination tio
of context
n Experiential
Problematize and Modes
be creative

Programming

This diagram attempts to capture how critical thinking

works in architectural design in our college. It is non-
client/Brief site linear and highly iterative, with the student going back
Requirements analysis to repeat steps as needed, as we critique the students
decisions along the way. Other modes of criticism are
data obviously valid (e.g. crit session, presentation to panel,
gathering peer evaluation) but the dialogue between design student
and design professor (i.e. consultations) is essential and
comes first in design class. Not included in the infographic
are the individual attributes of the design teacher and the
design student: teaching style, learning style, inspirations
and philosophy, to name a few.

34 BluPrint
W
e teach you to
think. We teach
you to think
critically.
I was speaking
before freshman potentialsboth accepted and
waitlistedand their parents at our college open
house, when one of the fathers asked me for my
opinion on the perceived strengths of architecture
schools in Metro Manila. While each school is
strong in certain areas, he related that the UP
College of Architecture is said to teach design that
leads to architecture of the present.
This is not untrue, but it isnt the entire
truth either. The ever-present complexities of
contexteconomic, historical, social, political,
environmentalprovoke complex architectural
problems. When UP Architecture students tackle
these problems in design studio, they are taught to
run these complexities through a design process.
The design process, however, is not about
finding permanent solutions. Because constant
fluidity is our reality, there can never be just one
design response. Change comes from all quarters:
the impact of natural disasters in the un-shaping of
our cities, the insertion of technologies in buildings
that predate them, and design trends that are at
once fickle and relentless. American architect Peter
Eisenman says that what architecture proposes
are interpretations of the environment that are
problematized. Problematization, an important
part of the design process, firstly requires
understanding the worldthe built and the
natural, the tangible and the intangible. Organizing
this information is the next task. Once organized,
solvable and the unsolvable problems are
recognized. Through recognition, an architectural
idea is introducedan idea that undergoes
permutation and iteration, builds upon itself,
and continues to take shape. It becomes feasible
through translation in form, space and materials
architecture.
This processthe design processis a messy
task. With critical thinking, the messiness becomes
comprehensible. With critical thinking, the
individuality of designers emerges. How We Think
(1910), a monograph by American philosopher and
educational reformer John Dewey, documents one
of the first definitions of critical thinking: Active,
persistent and careful consideration of any belief
or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the
grounds that support it, and the further conclusions
to which it tends. Without critical thinkingthe
conscious and voluntary effort to establish belief
upon a firm basis of reasonscreativity in design is
lost, and architecture is reduced to whim.
To elicit critical thinking from students, Deweys
two sub-processes can be applied.
The first is establishing a state of perplexity,
hesitation and doubt. Steer the conversation
towards the assessment of the design. Question
the students train of thought that led to the design.
Determine what basis began the train of thought
in the first place. It doesnt matter what the answer
isit can be as simple as compliance with building
code, or as introspective as paying homage to the
delights of a past experience. Allow the student to
answer these questions.
The second sub-process is an act of search
or investigation directed toward bringing to light
further factsto corroborate or to nullify the
suggested belief. Challenge the student to find
the rationale behind every design decision. The
answer, naisip ko lang, is not critical thinking. If
an acceptable reason cannot be found for a design
decision by both teacher and student, an additional
iteration in the design process has to be made.
It is never boring to be a design teacher
because responses to the design process
yield great variety.
Guiding students in this manner gives them
the opportunity to think critically for themselves.
It must be done for every student in design studio,
no matter how large the class. It is exhausting. The
spark of understanding does not always happen,
but when it does, it is utterly fulfilling.
It is never boring to be a design teacher because
responses to the design process yield great variety.
Design is borne of past experience and prior
knowledge, the sets of which are as many as there
are individuals. The possibilities are multiplied
further by the variations of creativity that occur
during the design process. Acknowledging
this variety redounds to acknowledging the
individuality of the person who thinks critically and
responds uniquely. Perhaps it is this process that
makes people say that UP Architecture students are
taught to design architecture of the present. But
I daresay the process could very well yield designs
that hark back to the past or foretell the future.
After the college open house, we had Maureen Anne Araneta
dons a number of hats at the
refreshments outside the amphitheater. Students, College of Architecture in UP
parents and faculty were milling about on the Diliman: Assistant Professor,
grass, and the parent who asked me the question Director of its undergraduate
program and Head of
approached. We conversed amiably, the man
the Architectural Design
sharing that he and his wife were keen to send their Laboratory. She graduated
son to another architecture school, but their son BS Architecture (cum laude)
was adamant to enter our college. The final decision in UP Diliman in 2002, holds
a masters degree for Urban
will affect a young persons life. Wherever he
and Regional Planning, and is
finally pursues his architecture studies, may critical currently studying for a PhD in
thinking prevail. Anthropology.
BluPrint 35
COMMENTARy
Paradigm Shift
A MANIFESTO TOWARDS ARCHITECTURE THAT
IS INCLUSIVE, HUMANE AND EMPOWERING
Written and illustrated by Edson Cabalfin, PhD
T
he values embodied within 19th
and 20th century models of
architecture do not completely
address the problems of the 21st
century. The value system embodied
in architecture education and the profession
needs to be recalibrated to meet the challenges
of the future. This manifesto makes 35
statements advocating for architecture that
is inclusive, democratic, equitable, humane,
sustainable, innovative and creative. This
manifesto is a call to action.
From 19th and 20th century models
to a 21st century model
From architecture as buildings
To architecture as designed and built
environment.
From architect as singular author
To architect as multiple authors.
From architecture as homogenous voice
To architecture as heterogeneous voices.
From architect as preeminent project leader
and professional
To architect as collaborator, conduit, facilitator
and team member.
From architecture as isolated profession
To architecture as collaboration across disciplines
and networks.
36 BluPrint
From architecture as singular and specialized
profession
To architecture as diverse, multifaceted and
multi-disciplinary.
Architects should go beyond thinking of
the architectural object as the ultimate goal,
and consider the processes that engender
the designed environment. Architecture is a
system, rather than an isolated object. We must
teach our students to learn from a wide array
of disciplines and fields, such as neuroscience,
anthropology, engineering, medicine, art
history, philosophy, and others. Schools should
make students work in interdisciplinary teams.
Instead of focusing on buildings, projects can
revolve around larger issues or themes, such
as water, mobility and resiliencytopics
that encompass broader and more complex
concerns. This process requires multiple
disciplines all working together to solve urgent
and intricate issues. Teachers should help
students to simultaneously ground their work
on the designed environment with learning and
insights from other fields.
From architecture as grand gestures
To architecture as small and incremental.
From architecture as elitist
To architecture as populist, participatory and
democratic.
From architecture as designed only by architects
To architecture designed by everybody.
From architecture for the privileged few
To architecture for the common good.
From architecture as cool objects
To architecture as human-centered design.
From architecture as proprietary and specialized
body of knowledge
To architecture as open-sourced and shared body
of knowledge.
From architecture as top-down and autocratic
To architecture as bottom-up and participatory.
Architecture focuses too much on people
with money and power. Whereas the histories
of architecture emphasize monuments and
megastructures as the epitome of great
architecture, teachers should cover a broader
scope of the designed environment. History
and theory courses should discuss efforts of
ordinary people in shaping their environments.
Architecture history needs to be rewritten to
include those who are voiceless and have been
rendered invisible.
In teaching studios, we must include users
who may not have the capacity to pay for our
services. Students need to learn to design for
everybody. Schools should teach participatory
design processes that engage with the
community. Projects should include small and
everyday scenarios. Teachers: Architecture
should not strive only to be iconic.
Students should be trained to listen.
Schools should teach architecture as
participatory designdesign emerging from
the users. In a human-centered approach,
teachers will need to learn diverse skills such
as interviewing, ethnography, participatory
observation, artifact analysis, discourse
analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis,
and other tools so that they can teach these in
turn to their students to enable them to deeply
understand their users. Teachers, remind your
students that they are not to impose their own
values but to serve as channels of their users
needs and hopes.
From architects serving only 10% of the population
To architects serving 100% of the population.
From architecture biased towards white,
heterosexual and able-bodied males
To architecture for all, regardless of gender, race,
class, sexuality and abilities.
From architecture as wasteful and shortsighted
To architecture as sustainable and future-oriented.
From architecture as individual expression
To architecture as expression of multiple perspectives.
From architecture as isolated and autonomous
form-making
To architecture as a complex system of economic,
political, socio-cultural and ecological imperatives.
Architecture should be inclusive. Projects
should address the needs of people of diverse
backgrounds, abilities, contexts and types. Schools
must teach students universal design principles,
and to apply them in various scenarios.
Architectural education should embody
sustainability in every phase of design.
Sustainable design should engage the ecological,
economic and socio-cultural dimensions of
the environment. Following systems theory,
architecture is understood as part of an
interconnected system. Our next generations
of architects need to learn to design within this
complex system.
In conjunction with sustainability, schools
must teach future scenario planning methods,
where students are taught to not just think of
the present situation but also anticipate possible
future conditions. Teachers, show your pupils how
to identify larger trends and drivers that shape
architecture, and have them design accordingly.
From architecture as beautiful, simple and
pristine object
To architecture as polyvalent, messy and complex.
Architecture history needs to
be rewritten to include those
who are voiceless and have
been rendered invisible.
BluPrint 37
COMMENTARy
From architecture as commodity and object
To architecture as process and product.
From architecture as produced, sold and consumed
To architecture as created, experienced and shared.
From architecture as static
To architecture as dynamic.
From architecture as fixed, immutable and
permanent
To architecture as agile, adaptive and ephemeral.
From architecture as defiant
To architecture as resilient.
While aesthetic qualities and formal
manipulation have been emphasized in the past,
architecture education in the future should not
simply focus on architecture as a final object.
Students should understand the entire process
of creating architecture from conceptualization,
to construction, to its being used. Schools
should teach design as an iterative process
where learning from failure often enough
allows students to refine their ideas.
Next, students also need to understand
the complexity of the built environment
by being exposed to building processes.
Prototyping would be an integral step in
actualizing ideas. Schools should integrate
within their curriculum design-build
programs where students are allowed to
test their ideas through actual construction,
to expose them to the intricacies of building
and the material conditions within which they
are designing.
After the design is implemented, students
also need to see and understand how users
have adapted to the building, and how the
environment has changed the building.
Teach students post-occupancy evaluation
methods so they may assess the life of
buildings after they have been turned over
to users. Students need to learn to design
architecture that is resilient to changes within
and outside architecture. Through a cycle
of conceptualizing-iterating-prototyping-
refining, the design process recognizes
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architecture as always in a state of flux.
From architecture as self-referential form-making
To architecture as design thinking and problem
solving
From architecture as blind appropriation
To architecture as critical thinking
From architecture as uncritical following of rules
To architecture as creative, inspiring and imaginative
From architecture as artistic expressions only
To architecture as entrepreneurial and innovative
While architecture has long been rooted in
materials and structures, it should not be reified
into merely a type of form manipulation where
the ultimate goal is to create a unique form.
Students need to see their form-making as part
of a larger process of innovation. Architecture
education should foster innovation, critical
thinking and entrepreneurship as core values.
We need to teach them how to innovate by
learning from the sciences and the humanities.
Critical thinking should be integrated in the
curriculum so that students may begin to
question, challenge and innovate.
Highlight creativity in the curriculum
to encourage students to develop a sense of
exploration and curiosity. Imagination should
be at the core of the design process.
While recognizing that design has its
limitations, it should not hinder the imagination
of future possibilities. Rules, codes and laws are
necessary guideposts in designing, but these
should not straightjacket a students creativity.
Additionally, optimism should also be fostered.
A sense of hope and positive thinking should be
practiced throughout the learning process.
Include lessons on phenomenology.
Architecture is about experience. Teach
students not just to design objects, but most
importantly, experiences. Put the needs of
the users at the forefront, and architecture
becomes the creation of positive and ennobling
experiences for these people.
From architecture as passive objects
To architecture as catalyst of change.
From architecture as apolitical and amoral
To architecture as social justice and equity.
From architects as passive bystanders
To architects as active agents of change.
From architecture as apathetic
To architecture as empathetic.
From architecture as firmness, commodity
and delight
To architecture as empowering, experiential and
ennobling.
From architecture as oppressive and subjugating
To architecture as liberating and emancipatory.
Too many studentsand architectsthink
they will change the world by simply dropping
their icons and monuments on the land. We
often teach architecture as passive, innocent,
neutral and inert objects. Instead, we should
teach that architecture has the capacity to
instigate change in the world. Students should
be trained to become activists advocating
social causes and mobilizing the community.
The world needs social entrepreneurs,
able to address social problems with an
entrepreneurial approach and innovation.
Change is necessary and designers should
become catalysts of such change.
Architects need to learn how to be
empathetic. Traveling should be part of the
courses. We must immerse our students in
different living conditions, work situations
and social settings, including areas of intense
poverty and humanitarian concern to
understand what people truly need. Students
should be required to perform community
work as well. Students can design and build
Too many studentsand
architectsthink they will
change the world by simply
dropping their icons and
monuments on the land.
projects for the community, focusing on
urgent needs and issues.
Schools should be advocates of social
justice. Lessons must include learning about
global issues that affect people, such as
poverty, inequality, global trade, modern
day slavery, environmental degradation and
others. The study of history as well as current
events should be integrated in the courses.
Students need to engage in community
activities, not just as innocent bystanders but
as active participants in social change.
I see pockets of genuine change taking
place in architecture education. In general,
schools make an effort to impart values,
which, when taken to heart, will help direct
our future professionals towards paths
that contribute to society and the world in
general. However, too much of our teaching is
lip service, and too much is left in the realm
of theory. We have been way too complacent
and lazy to think and change. We also cannot Edson Cabalfin, PhD is
let money and power drive how we teach, Associate Professor in the
School of Architecture and
learn and, ultimately, how we live. We need
Interior Design at the University
our students to get their hands dirty, to dig of Cincinnati. He received his
deep, to see from multiple perspectives. doctorate in Architecture in 2012
For genuine change to occur in architecture from Cornell University. Under a
Fulbright Fellowship from 2001
education and architecture, we all need to to 2003, he received his MS in
work togetherschools, students, teachers, Architecture from the University
administrators, professional organizations, of Cincinnati. Prior to coming to
institutions, users and clients. Architecture the US, he had received his BS
Architecture (cum laude) and
that empowers and emancipates people, and MA degrees from the University
instigates positive change in the future is not of the Philippines in 1996 and
something that will happen by chance. We 2001. He has taught in various
capacities at Cornell University,
cannot leave the betterment of our world to
UP, UST, FEU and DLS-CSB,
chance. The future lies in all of our hands. We teaching architecture, interior
need to change now. design, and art.
BluPrint 39
INTRODUCTION

Architecture
As Process
WE NEED TO TEACH OUR STUDENTS THAT ARCHITECTURE IS
NOT AN END IN ITSELF, BUT THE BEGINNING OF A DISCOURSE AND
A NARRATIVE Text and illustrations by Stephanie Joyce Tan-Branquinho

40 BluPrint
T
housands of students start
each freshman year with the
question: What is the definition
of Architecture? The textbook
reply is, Architecture is the art
and science of designing buildings. After
five years of plates, tests and projects, we
ask the graduating student the same, and he
is given a chance to reply in the form of
a projecta thesis.
In architecture school, the thesis project
culminates a students five years of education;
it showcases what the student has learned.
The student presents it in a composition of
design and theory. After months of sleepless
nights, research, drawing, computer glitches
and every sort of drama in between, finally,
this is his defining moment. He is asked to
perform, he is asked to defend. He is asked
many questions regarding his project, his
choices, and his method of thinking, his
understanding. All the questions ultimately
boil down to: What is Architecture to you?
As I was reviewing the 18 thesis projects,
I found that most of them follow a formula that
looks something like the sketches below.
Although formulas help students produce
their projects, the end results more often than
not offer banal and simplistic solutions devoid
of context, creativity and a deep understanding
of architecture. They lack rigor and depth in
the journey from problem to solution. What we
often see are linear movements that guarantee
a project. Although there is nothing wrong with
following a linear process, it limits the ability
of the student to explore and develop other
design methods. It is like buying a pre-mixed
Thesis Box with simple instructions to follow.
It is a guaranteed formula. All the student
needs to do is collect ingredients to come up
with a solution.
Often, students look only at the surface of
things and fail to see beyond an initial idea.
This stunted vision destroys the opportunity
to draw out more abstract concepts outside
of the obvious. What we are left with are
simplistic solutions that do not hold with
deeper theoretical questioning. It lacks a level
of rigor that I would define as thoroughness
in work, comprehension, coming up with
interesting questions or problems, an analysis
of relevant research, the development of
unique design processes specific to the
problem, and producing innovative and
creative solutions.
In architecture
school, the thesis
project culminates
a students five
years of education;
it showcases what
the student has
learned.
BluPrint 41
INTRODUCTION
Some of the thesis projects show in their end
result ideas translated into literal metaphors.
An example of a literal metaphor would be,
say, the student seeing an interesting bottle
and then simply adding a program and a
site to come up with a building in the shape
of a bottle. This maybe be acceptable for a
freshman, but for a graduating student, clich.
Another prevalent theme of thesis projects
is translating Filipino Identity into a building.
The typical solutions are to employ indigenous
materials, add banderitas, throw in fiesta
colors, and, of course, design with the climate
in mind. Voilits Filipino! If rendered well
with a dramatic sky, with just the right tinge
of dusk or sunset with the piercing rays of
the sun, then weve got the hero shot. It looks
great. Its woeful how projects from Luzon to
Mindanao are so similardifferent project,
different program, but same components. Some
of the projects presented lack a more intensive
process, and focus mainly on solutions laden
with ornamentation that can be blinding in
their glossiness.
On a positive note, the works we see now
in schools are quite impressive in terms of
42 BluPrint
presentation and visual techniques that would
hold up to international standards. The level of
articulation of detailing, and the articulation of
ideas are highly commendable. The works show
ambition and the desire of the student to be at
par with the best architects in the world.
Having said that, the thesis project can and
should be so much more. It has the potential
to be a learning process that is investigative,
open, experimental and rhizomaticone that
gives rise to new questions and ideas; one that
furthers architectural discourse. Done right,
the thesis project has the potential to be a Real
Defining Moment, a students personal journey
of What architecture is to me. Such journeys
were manifested in a few of the projects here.
Many faculty see thesis projects merely as a
requirement to pass. If schools would approach
the thesis as the culmination of a learning
experience, of growth in terms of maturity and
personal development, I daresay the outcome
would be more personal and invested work.
Developing new design processes
The thesis presents an opportunity to
discover new design processes. This is a great
opportunity for the student to develop his own
technique and learn more about himselfhis
ways of seeing and developing architecture.
He can do this by looking beyond what is
prescribed, by looking at a problem in a different
way; by observing and creating patterns out of
seemingly unrelated things, composing them
intelligently, and creating linkages between light,
sound, wind, shadow, movement, people, culture,
and so many other invisible elements that create
space and make experience and memories.
Seeing a process unfold is beautiful in
itself; it is the development of an idea. It is the
language of thought. The design process can
indicate the values the student holds dear and
how his mind works. The design process gives
argument to an architectural solution. It is where
the ways of seeing a problem combined with
research and data can evolve into creative and
innovative solutions.
It is such an important part of education
because it reveals how our schools educate. Do
we teach our students how to think? Do we teach
them new ways of seeing? Or do we simply want
them to be good followers of prescribed formulas?
Can their ideas hold up to argument from a
theoretical standpoint?
The value of focusing on process over final
work is that it demonstrates the kinetic nature
of Architecture itselfthat it is not static, that
it is not the final answer, that it can be the start
of discourse and that Architecture is only part
of a narrative that contains space, space that
transforms with peoples interpretation and
memories. A building is not the end.
Abstraction as a way of seeing
The abstraction of an idea is a powerful tool
that students could use. Abstraction does not
mean presenting illegible projects, but should
be understood as a way of seeing. Abstraction
is the ability to look beyond what is obvious,
to see something from many angles, it is the
process of exploring an object, deconstructing
its components, taking them apart and putting
them back together again. It is the experience of
investigating unseen components of an object,
a site or a concept.
Abstraction is the experiential process
that asks: What do I see? What can this be?
What makes it the way it is? The process of
abstraction would ask the student to go beyond
obvious solutions, delve into unfamiliar territory
and ask less generic, cookie cutter questions and
develop more specific queries related to the idea/
site/object/material qualities.
One example is the way of looking at a site.
Although data is present like the usual topographic
map, land use map, wind analysis, historical
background and other data, the site is so much
more than this. I notice that the dialectic of the site
and its translation are missing in many of the thesis
projects we reviewed.
Understanding a site and its unique fabric is
critical in developing a project. What is the context
of the site in terms of history, economics, politics,
memory, space and creation of place? What is its
identity and how has this evolved? What are the
memories that are there? How does the design
process respond to these abstract ideas?
Abstracting the site in all its layers makes for an
interesting development in architectural program
and solution. If a project responds to this dialectic,
it becomes richer and can develop into a more
layered and thoughtful theoretical solution.
Seeing architecture as phenomena
In school we are taught to observe wind, sun,
circulation, etc. These are definitely important
aspects, but how about the architectural
experience? Observe a group of people: What noise
do they make? What does this generate? How do
they sit? How does their body language reflect and
affect their relationships? How do people relate?
What kind of environment is created? How do
people use space? How do people use the city?
Questions could be developed to create even
more questions, reiterated and regenerated to give
birth to new processes and new solutions. How
can this affect the community? How do people
interact in a setting? How can this solution create
new networks? Challenge the obvious solution and
push it one step further!
BluPrint 43
INTRODUCTION
The importance of seeing Architecture not
only as an art and science, but also as a cultural
and social event, calls for the student to see it
as an experience. The underlying phenomena
are important in the process of design. This
breaks away from the traditional top-down
approach to problem solving. Rather than
imposing a solution, let it come about through
understanding the multi-dimensional fabric of
spaces and places.
Multi-disciplinary
Students asked to create solutions for problems
who only see from one perspective fall into the
idea that all issues are addressed in the form
of a building. One-dimensional projects come
about. When these projects are interpolated with
components such as identity, people, culture, they
fall apart.
Places and spaces can be and should be
understood in different ways. A multi-disciplinary,
multi-dimensional approach to problem solving
can help in creating a bigger trajectory in the
study of Architecture that goes beyond mere
buildings to include politics, economics, sociology
and anthropology. Architecture thus becomes
richer as it makes new connections and networks.
The study can move between observation and
interpretation. Philosophy and views widen as
multi-dimensionality takes place.
In a way, a multi-faceted and contextual
response to an architectural project shows
44 BluPrint
openness to learning. Openness is important in
the creative process, as empathy is integral to
designing successfully for people and their needs.
Seeing in multi-dimensions through different
disciplines reminds the student to set his ego aside
as new ways of pluralistic seeing are introduced.
Instead of simply becoming one who builds, he
will be one who builds for people.
Plural
Architecture is a powerful way of creating spaces
for people. The way things are planned can control
how people feel, react, relate to others, affect
their comfort and inspire. As a phenomenon, it
creates environments, events and chances. It
can create identities of communities, people and
culture. It is a kinetic library documenting the
past, understanding the present, and predicting
the future. Architecture constantly deals with
numerous issues, metanarratives, experiences
and seeming states of ambiguity.
We live in a pluralistic world, permeable
and integrated. I wish that our architectural
definitions be more permeable to new ideas, new
disciplines, have more discussions on Architecture
as a living, evolving study that is beautiful with its
complexities and symphonies. As he will not get it
in school, it is important for a studentindeed, it is
vital for architects who must be students for life
to branch out and find new ways of study to find
a meeting point between distinct and separate
areas of thought to produce new ways of seeing.
Stephanie Tan-Branquinho is
principal architect of SpaceFabrik,
which does conceptual
faade projects such as Urban
Hive in Davao, and hotel and
masterplanning projects around
the country. Previous experience
includes HSH Architekten in
Berlin, and later, Foster+Partners
in London, where she worked on
multi-billion dollar projects such
as Bab Al Bahr in Morocco and
West Kowloon Train Terminal in
Hong Kong. She completed her
Masters of Architecture at the
Dessau Institute of Architecture
am Bauhaus, in Dessau,
Germany, focusing on algorithmic
methods, biomimetics and
theories that bring sociology,
anthropology, psychology
and critical theory into the
understanding of architectural
spaces and processes. She
graduated with highest honors
with her paper, Diaspora Space,
on finding identity through
space and architecture.
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

The Nations
Gateway
JYM MANUELS NEW CLARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
TERMINAL CELEBRATES CULTURE IN 7,107 COLORS
UnivErSiTy oF SAnTo TomAS, oUTSTAnDing ThESiS 2014

An unreliable aviation industry costs tremendous loss of opportunities in tourism and trade. Manuel wants to change the frayed image of the Philippine airport
system into an improved, efficient and modernized aviation destination that offers complete and sophisticated aviation facilities meeting global standards.

46 BluPrint
U
nlike many students, Jym Manuel
started his thesis with a problem
he was itching to solve, not a
building type he just wanted
to design. His father being an
overseas worker, Manuel and his family have
had more than their fair share of trips to Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to welcome
home and send off their dad. And as a frequent
traveller himself, Manuel has endured, like
millions of others, the long queues and flight
delays at NAIA because it cant handle the volume
of flights in Metro Manila. The terminal and its
grubby waiting area for family and well-wishers
were in need of more than an aesthetic overhaul.
Unlike many students, Manuel didnt aim
for the sky. He had no lofty illusions of his
proposal as an urban catalyst or solution to
the countrys innumerable woes. Though he
extensively quotes John Kasarda, the proponent
of aerotropolis or airport cities in his research,
Manuel sensibly limited his objectives to two:
solve the problem of congestion in NAIA, and
design an airport terminal reflecting the cultural
identity of the Philippines.
What the government is doingis all
facelifts, says Manuel. He reasons that the new
terminal should be located outside Metro Manila
because NAIA no longer has room for expansion.
Citing the Study on the Airport Strategy for
the Greater Capital Region of the Republic of Vital Statistics
the Philippines initiated by the Department of
Transportation and Communications, Manuel Project Name: The New Clark
International Airport Terminal 1
endorses former US air base Clark, now a
Freeport zone, as site of the new terminal. Location: Clark Freeport Zone,
By diverting international flights to Clark, Pampanga
passenger volume in NAIA would be reduced to
Client : Clark International Airport
the capacity it was designed for. Corporation
Projected/Target Completion
year: 2020
Targeted Annual Passengers:
22,000,000
Site Area: Approx. 96.86 ha
(phase 1); Approx. 411 ha (full
gateway development)
Gross Floor Area: 99.87 ha
Number of Levels: 5
Building Height: 42.65 m
Number of Contact Gates / Fixed
Loading Apron Stands: 38
Number of Remote Loading
Apron Stands: 16
Commercial Aircrafts that can be
accommodated: Boeing 747 up to
the Airbus A380
Structural Concepts:
Backstructure Modular Unit
Construction, Point Freed Glazing
Module
Materials: Glass Fiber Reinforced
Concrete, Steel, Photochromic
Reactive Glazing
Technology: Photochromic Reactive
Glazing / Suspended Particle Devices
on Smart Glass
BluPrint 47
THESIS

01

01 Roofs of airports are the first thing that a passenger in flight will see upon take-off or descent. Hence, as an iconic statement, Manuel
designed a sculptural and fluid roof that suggests movement and activity. 02 One of the challenges of the project is accessibility. Located 83
km north of Metro Manila, which it primarily serves, the New Clark International Airport Terminal 1 needs to be supported by transportation
infrastructure to be viable and feasible.

02

48 BluPrint

First impressions are
crucial. As the gateway of
the Philippines, the New
Clark International Airport
Terminal 1 should, according
to Manuel, act as concrete
cultural identifier of the
country and city it serves.
Clark is operationally ready with two parallel
runways capable of handling simultaneous opposite
direction landings. It has space for expansion,
and can accommodate even up to four runways
in the future. The project assumes the realization
of a government-initiated mass transit project
connecting the former air base to the financial
centers of Metro Manila. Manuels logic, as he argues
his case, is entirely sound.
In terms of architecture, BluPrint consultant
Leandro Poco praises Manuels clean execution.
He adds: The plan is logical and legible enough for
passengers to navigate and undergo departure or
arrival formalities. As Manuel reasons The basic
sequence of processing functions for the enplaning
and deplaning of passengers has remained fairly
constant from the inception of air travel.
One would argue that airport terminals have
standard typological solutions easily adapted given
the space, especially with the advent of Fosters
Stansted and Chek Lap Kok, wherein a big roof is
draped over the procession from landside to airside,
but to execute the said application of typologies to
specific site conditions and requirements is still a
challenge for any student. Manuel could have tried
to push into further resolution by detailing his roof,
which which offers challenges in structural span,
heat gain from his large skylights, and drainage
especially at the Welcome Pavilion.
Fellow consultant Stephanie Tan-Branquinho
adds that the success of Fosters airports and
transport hubs are creating sequences of traveling
through space in a very instinctive man-ner: The
airport plan should tell the passengers what to
do even without signs, and create a feeling of
familiarity and seamless navigation, which the
airports at Chep Lap Kok, Beijing and Stansted,
with their clear spaces and lit passageways succeed
in doing.
Another layer that could have added depth and
complexity to a straightforward solution, Poco says,
would have been the integration of a future rail hub
(which is supposed to connect Clark with Manila)
into the Welcome Pavilion, similar to the transit
terminals in front of In-cheon and Chek Lap Kok.
In his travels abroad, Manuel has found that
airports in other countries allow more space and
liberties for well-wishers compared to NAIA, an
amusing observation considering Filipinos are
highly family-orientedand proudly vocal about
it. So he allocated approximately 2,000 square
meters for a congenial social space where well-
wishers can send off and wait for their friend or
family member.
It is Manuels second objective that poses
a bigger challenge, one that cannot be argued
purely by logic.
In a multicultural society such as ours, how
do you synthesize various local cultural symbols
and articulate it in the architecture of an icon and
agent of globalization? Manuel found inspiration
in the ubiquitous banderitas hung during fiestas
and galas around the country. This, for him, best
represents Philippine culture. So he articulated
his concept of 7,107 Islands, 7,107 Cultures,
and 7,107 Colors of the Philippines, in roof
louvers that modulate natural light similar to
that of Singapores Changi Airport. This roofs
photochromic properties emit a colorful play
of lights mimicking banderitas, and acts as a
counterpoint to the monochromatic scheme of
the terminal, following Manuels concept of design
contrast. While pretty, the idea of banderitas as
quintessence of the Filipino is a bit of a let down,
especially after the excellent manner in which
Manuel achieved his first objective.
BluPrint 49
THESIS
01
This is the most sensibly executed
project from UST. I think UST students
do well when the premises are set
and correct - L E A N D R O P O C O
BluPrint consultant Stephanie Tan-
Branquinho, likewise finds the banderitas
concept wanting. Though she admires Manuels
skill at visualization, she says, The sense
of belonging could have been more defined
not just through colors and banners. Poco
immediately noticed hints of Changi Airport
Terminal 3s aesthetic, and commented that it
could use a bit of romance and Pinoy heart.
Overall, Manuels thesis demonstrates a
clear understanding of his target users. He
executes and plans soundly, says Poco. That
surely has to be because of his deep empathy
and intimate understanding of what its like
50 BluPrint
as a domestic and international passenger,
and a family member welcoming a loved one
home. Poco adds: This is a sensibly executed
project from (his alma mater) UST. I think we
do well when the premises are correct, and the
designer keeps within bounds of typology and
brief. Expounding beyond an architectural
brief, innovating beyond typological norms,
or overreaching the physical bounds of what
architecture can do to solve socio-economic
problems, these are all too common pitfalls
in thesis projects. As can be seen in Manuels
Clark International Airport, he wisely chose not
to give in to such temptations.
01 Hoping to enhance
passenger experience as they
get off from the curbside to
the boarding gate, Manuel
used automated roof louvers
that control the amount of
light into the building. Its
made of SPD Smart-Glass
with photochromic properties
that change color upon
exposure to light. 03 The
design concept focuses
on colorful, vibrant and
heartwarming aspects of
the Filipino culture translated
into architectural forms and
applications.
 02
Says Manuel, citizens
leaving and coming back
to the Philippines must be
provided with a terminal
building conducive to the
Philippine traditions of
balikbayans and despedida.
The Filipinas Pavilion, a mini-
mall, is a place for greeters
and well-wishers to stay, dine
and mingle while waiting for
the arrival of or preparing for
the departure of their friend
or family member.

03

BluPrint 51
THESIS REVIEWED BY JUDITH TORRES

A Fab
Fab Lab
KURT CLEON YUS INVENTION CENTER AIMS TO
INSTITUTIONALIZE INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND
COLLABORATION UnivErSiTy oF ThE PhiLiPPinES, BEST ThESiS 2013

Located within the Science and Technology Park in the UP-Diliman

campus, beside the Ayala Foundation Technology Business Incubator
(Ayala TBI), and near the Department of Science and Technologys Art
Science and Technology Institute, the proposed Invention Center will
house facilities for three phases of the invention process: conception,
creation (fabrication of prototypes) and implementation (as a business).

52 BluPrint

B
Using the Internet as design concept, the author
aims to replicate a similar liberal and receptive efore you scoff at the idea of
environment, which supports collaborative institutionalizing innovation and
production. The facility, Yu says, must itself creativity, think of one of the
serve as a model for translating generated
information into physical output.
most boring places on the planet:
Singapore, circa 1990sorderly
and predictable, its citizens notorious for their
diligence, bland conformity, and unquestioning
compliance. But after 30 years of establishing
efficient institutions, Lee Kuan Yew decided it was
time to invest in culture, the arts, and out-of-the
box thinking. With almost grim determination, the
government set about promoting straight-laced
Singapore into a fun and exciting center for art,
architecture and culture. Overnight, members of
the underground gay community who before were
persecuted (police raided gay establishments
regularly, and those caught soliciting sex by
undercover cops were caned) were not only
tolerated, but their artistic brethren invited to
lead cultural endeavors. Many Singaporeans at
first scratched their heads in bewilderment at the
command to Go and be creative! but eventually,
little enclaves of home grown bohemian and
artsy scenes, and unexpected left field design
and architecture began sprouting in the little
garden state.
Filipinos, on the other hand, have no problem
being creative or inventive. We just dont have the
fab Fab Labs (and other support systems) that
Singapores students and man on the street have
access to. But what if we did? What if we had leaders
with the vision to build the fab-est Fab Lab of all?
What is a Fab Lab?
Created by Massachussetts Institute
of Technologys Center of Bits and
Atoms, a Fab Lab is a fabrication
laboratory designed for communities.
Stocked with digital fabrication and
electronics tools, and using open
source software and programs, its
purpose is to serve as a technical
prototyping platform for innovation
and invention, providing stimulus for
local entrepreneurship.
Launched in 2001 with the How to
Make (Almost) Anything class in MIT,
the school calls Fab Lab a platform
for learning and innovation, a place
to play, to create, to learn, to mentor,
to invent. Fab Lab users learn by
designing and creating objects of
personal interestEmpowered by
the experience of making something
for themselves, they both learn and
mentor each other, gaining deep
knowldege about the machines,
materials, design process, and the
engineering that goes into invention
and innovation.
Typical activities are woodworking
(manual and machined), metal
working, sewing, assembling
electronics, mold-making, laser
cutting, 3D printing, finishing and
final assembly. Fab Labs also require
documentation of production for
sharing, particularly because they
allow free-access days.
Over 200 Fab Labs in 30 countries
around the world are networked,
the idea being that all the labs can
share knowledge, research, best
practices, designs, and collaborate
across borders.
BluPrint 53
THESIS
Sun valley passive cooling & natural lighting diagram
How to make the funnels work
Some may reason that getting the Fab Labs funnels to actually work is a mechanical engineers job.
But seeing how many hot buildings there are that supposedly incorporate passive cooling techniques,
an explanation of how the funnels should work is in order.
The drawing shows both intake of cold air and exhaust of hot air happening simultaneously
in one vent, but that is physically not viable. The funnels are cut diagonally on top. When the wind
blows across the high leading edge of the cone, it will create a low pressure area, causing the passing
wind to suck up air from below. Conversely, wind blowing across the lower lip of the cone will create
a positive pressure area, forcing air to go down. Whether the funnel will suck air out or push air in
would be subject to the weathers whiman unreliable system. One could, with the switching on of
dampers and fans, have a measure of control over whether to blow hot air out or suck cold air in, but it
still wouldnt work effectively.
Part of the reason it would be impossible for cold air to enter the funnel is it is glazed. Once
the sun shines on the glass, it becomes a heated tube, and all the air in this tube will be hot. Hot air
always wants to go up. A cold layer of air above would have difficulty coming down because the tube
Section through atrium
54 BluPrint
is heated. Cold air would be able to come down if the tube were cold, which would be in the evening
when there is no sunand less need for cooling.
The remedy is to simply use all the funnels (and atrium) for exhaust, since it is so much easier to
throw hot air up. Cut the tops of the funnels evenly for a level rim so that from which ever side the wind
blows, it will cause a suction effect, exhausting air up to the top. All vents for exhausting from all of the
floors should be on the high edge of the wall where it meets the ceiling. And all the floors/rooms should
have a source of cold air, which should be located near the bottom of the wall, close to the floor.
As a rule, so that there will be a complete exchange of air for the whole room, the source of cold air
should be diametrically opposed to the vent for exhausting. If both exhaust and intake are on the same
side of a room, only that side of the room will be exhausted, while the other end of the room stays warm.
Additionally, the source of cold air should always be from a shaded area. One cannot just have
an opening to the outside, say, a parking lot where there are no trees, and expect the air to go into the
room, because the air above the heated concrete would be hot. With hot air both inside and out, there
would be equilibrium, thus, no movement, much less exchange of air.
The Invention Center:
Exploded Diagram
point providing balance
and spatial legibility
Roof structure A series of
shed roofs connected by its
own structural steel frame.
Separating the roof system
from the buildings frees
them from columns, allowing
great flexibility in the use of
interior spaces. The chainlink
fence along the roofs vertical
supports allows climbing
plants to shade hot spots of
the buildings.
The Hive: Business
Pre-Incubator Functions
as a shared office for startups
of products created in the
Invention Center. A training
center for future entrepreneurs,
it aims to shape the values of
future companies toward open
innovation, collaboration and
productivity.
Structural System
Composed of steel columns,
the Sun Valleys and meshes,
on which rooms on upper
levels are built. At the west
wing, steel tube columns
support the co-working area.
Advanced Fab Lab
Applying the concept
of interconnected
compartmentalization, this
area has rooms for heavier
fabrication activities (wood
and metal work, welding,
lathes, etc.), classrooms for
fabrication courses, and a
materials shop, all connected
by a central walkway.
Utilities The comfort rooms,
mech-elec rooms, and two
staircases (one of them an
enclosed fire escape) are
stacked in the utility core of
the structure.
Atrium roof Sun valleys Four
The central focal funnels, which serve as
columns for the structural
floor mesh below, let
daylight and cool air in,
and hot air out.
4th floor
Admin Above the atrium
is the Admin office
Eureka: Innovation
Center A space where
multi-disciplinary users
collaborate to generate
3rd floor
novel concepts and
ideas. The environment,
with its huddle rooms,
white rooms, colorful
surrounds, and random
spatial elements to disrupt
routine, is designed to
foster creative insight.
Digital and
intermediate Fab
Lab Houses lighter
fabrication activities such
2nd floor as electronics, molding,
sewing, laser cutting and
3D printing. Flex studios
provide expansion and
multifunctional spaces,
while the gallery deck
Upper ground
allows people to view the
fab spaces below
Atrium The main
vertical circulation
area of the building, it
connects the parking
and Ayala TBI via a
ramp through the indoor
Lower ground public lobby, while the
private lobby serves as
checkpoint for users.
From here, ramps to
the fourth floor can
be accessed. A spiral
staircase and elevator
add ease of circulation.
BluPrint 55
THESIS
01
02
Kurt Yu takes this crazy idea (not just of leaders
with vision) a step back and a step further: Before
fabbing, what if we had a collaborative workspace
where people could ideate and innovate concepts
first? And then, after fabbing, what if we had a
business pre-incubator, where entrepreneurial
minds and investors could meet about taking
fabricated prototypes to the market? How would
such an innovation center be designed to facilitate
these purposes, and indeed, institutionalize
innovation within its community of users?
For his research, Yu studied the spaces of
Fab Labs and other community-operated
innovation spaces, in search of physical and
business models. Because his Invention Center will
house activities other than fabrication, Yus layout
and business model are hybrids of and innovations
on existing setups.
Yu then defined his design problem as one
of flexibility to allow customization of the users
working, manufacturing and entrepreneurial
56 BluPrint
03
03
needs without encroaching on anothers working
environment; of architecture as phenomena, in that
it must foster creative, empowering, collaborative 01 Yus work won Best
Thesis for 2013 because
and sharing behaviors; and finally, of optimization
of the rigor with which he
to lower construction and operational costs. For his questioned and re-evaluated
design concept, Yu chose the Internet because of its the usual forms one would
qualities that he wants the architecture to embody: expect from an education/
institutional typology.
1) interconnected compartmentalization, with According to his adviser,
separate but interconnected realms of knowledge Gerard Joson, Yu was able
2) customization, where users readily shape and to present a unique design
re-shape the environment according to needs; brief, and was able to translate
his design approach into a
and 3) random opportunities for user insight concrete and exciting design
and interaction. solution. 02 The Innovation
Sited in the University of the Philippines, Centers proliferation of white
spaces for brainstorming,
and with Ayala Foundation as partner, Yu envisions
huddle rooms and colorful
the Invention Center to be used primarily by nooks are intended to provide
students and faculty of UP and nearby schools, with quiet places for focus, and
project types revolving around engineering, design stimuli for creativity. 03 Areas
directly beside the atrium
and architecture, in collaboration with disciplines
and Sun Valleys may be hot
such as business administration, marketing, spots given their exposure to
information and communication technology. direct sunlight.
Yu envisions the Invention Center to Design or Fine Arts programs. This is not so, if
one sees the performance requirements of the
be used primarily by students and architecture. Yu systematically listed 10 goals,

faculty of UP and nearby schools.
Other Community
Innovation Labs
There are other community-operated
facilities with the same collaborative-
peer production environment as Fab
Lab. Yu researched the layouts and
operations of the following:
Sharing Platforms is a shared
workshop equipped with typical
fabbing machines
Open Source Hardware In addition
to open source software, they provide
equipment and machinery (laser
cutters, CNC routers, etc)
Hackerspaces has as its focus
computers, technology and digital
or electronic art, and describe
themselves as places where people
can learn about technology and
science outside the confines of work
or school.
Yu succeeds in fulfilling his goals, which he
frames with this mission statement: To create a
liberal and receptive environment that supports
personal and collaborative production similar
to the Internet by translating the degree of
personalization and frequent opportunities for
interaction from virtual space to physical space.
If there were one matter to take issue with,
it would be the architectures defining features:
a large atrium and four sun valleys, which are
structurally vital to Yus design. The five funnels
serve as the inner columns for the buildings,
to which the floors of the upper stories will be
attached. They allow Yu to do away with structural
columns inside the buildings, to maximize
flexibility of interior spaces. The steel and glass
funnels provide daylighting, passive ventilation
and pleasant views of greenery. But no promise of
passive ventilation can make up for the unbearable
heat and glare users will be subjected to at the
height of summer, which, as we experienced with
last Mays blistering 41 heat wave, seems to be
getting hotter and hotter each year.
Yus Invention Center may seem overly large
and unnecessarily fancy. Naysayers will opine that
its functions can be housed in modest classroom
buildings, as an extension of UPs Engineering,
each with 3-4 performance requirements (for
a total of 38), which he then translated into
design requirements accompanied by sketches
to illustrate how the spaces, paths, systems and
furniture would work and interrelate when the
Center is built, and when expanded in Phase 2.
At the start of his thesis, Yu quoted from his
research, a compelling argument for a creative
environment like the Invention Center: Once
a person has inadvertently committed himself
to a partially effective living or working space,
economic considerations make drastic change
difficult. Whats more, lacking concrete knowledge
of improvements that could result from a more
appropriate environment, the individual is
hesitant to risk additional expense and effort for
elusive gains. And this is why, as in many other
realms of life, people continue to live with what is
only partially satisfactory, discouraged by the cost,
effort, and the risks of drastic experimentation
with change.
Singapore is an example of a country that
took the risk of drastic experimentation with
change. They were stable, all systems running
smoothly, everything painted by the numbers
what possessed them to encourage people to
think for themselves, to create, and to make
design a national priority? The same vision that
made Singapore one of the worlds most livable
cities, and the second most competitive country
in the world.

TechShop has a more solid

commercial business model requiring
paid membership for facility use.
It focuses on the physical product
and targets inventors, D.I.Yers,
entrepreneurs, artists and designers.
Both TechShops and 100k-Garages
focus on constructing the final design
of the user, playing very little to
no part in the design process. The
difference between these two is
TechShops constructs designs made
by their users, while in 100k-Garages,
user designs are bid out to fabricators.

The difference between all of the

above and Fab Lab is the latters
commitment to commons-based peer
production. A product constructed
by an individual is not an end in itself,
but a means for others to build on.
FabLab does not focus only on the
technical aspects of constructing an Kurt Yu smartly did not propose the Invention Center as the solution to the countrys unemployment woes, or moribund
invention, but the innovation journey architecture and design industries. He simply (and rightly) assumed that Fab Labs are good for communities. His thesis is a
itselfthe design process in creating success because he identified a solvable problem: How can the design of the Invention Center adapt and respond to the
an innovative solution to a problem. dynamic working, manufacturing and entrepreneurial needs of each user on a personalized level?

BluPrint 57
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA AND JUDITH TORRES

Casa Kawayan
CHRISTIAN SALANDANAN PROPOSES A CENTRAL FACILITY DEDICATED
TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE COUNTRYS
BAMBOO INDUSTRY UnivErSiTy oF SAnTo TomAS, ThESiS oF ThE yEAr 2014

58 BluPrint

The site is a 3.5-hectare piece of land in Antipolo,
along Sumulong Highway. To the north is the
Our Lady of Fatima Antipolo campus, and to the
south, a private rest house. The site is ideal for
the research center. The temperate climate and
the loamy soil make it a good planting ground for
bamboo, and its proximity to the city proper, as
well as Antipolos proximity to the major urban
centers, assures that the researchers wont be
working in isolation.
C
hristian Salandanan is bent
on one thingdoing bamboo
architecture and helping
grow the bamboo industry
in the Philippines. His model
is Vo Trong Nghia Architects, a leading
and multi-awarded Vietnamese firm that
experiments with indigenous materials
like bamboo to explore new ways of doing
green architecture with an Asian essence.
In search of a mentor, and a great admirer of
Bobby Maosa, Salandanan went to intern at
Maosa Architects to see whether the firm,
under Maosas sons, was doing experimental
work with bamboo. To his disappointment,
they hadnt used the material in a significant
way in years. Unfazed, Salandanan decided
his thesis project would be his head start on
his chosen career path as bamboo architect.
But first, why bamboo? The author
presents compelling arguments for its use in
construction, agriculture and manufacturing
sectors. Some of the grasss positive
qualities include versatility, low weight,
resistance to strong winds and earthquakes,
tensile strength (comparable to steel) and
fast growth. Apart from opening up job
opportunities, the author argues that the
widespread use of bamboo could help create
a national identity and a sense of place.
Developing the bamboo industry would help
reconnect us with our roots.
Salandanan attributes the lack of
appreciation for bamboo to the perception of
it as poor mans timber, lack of knowledge
in its utilization, and the absence of
collaboration between the three government
agencies tasked to develop forest-based
products. Salandanan therefore proposes
Casa Kawayan, a research center for
scientists, manufacturers and designers using
the material, which will also showcase the
beauty and possibilities offered by bamboo
through its architectural design.
The author argues that the
widespread use of bamboo can
help create a national identity
and sense of place.
BluPrint 59
THESIS

01

03 04

03

Casa Kawayan is composed

of seven main buildings, with
a one hectare area allotted for
a bamboo plantation.

60 BluPrint
 02 02

05

04
Casa Kawayan is composed of seven main
buildings, with one hectare of land allotted
to a bamboo plantation. Through interviews
with scientists and experts from government
agencies developing forest-based products,
the author ascertained what facilities were
needed for the research and development
of bamboo: a main building for researchers,
a gallery building, in-house training center,
treatment facility, material science division
building, utility building and a canteen.
Each structure is made from bamboo
poles to showcase their use in construction.
05
Salandanans research shows examples of
bamboo architecture from around the world to
illustrate that it can be done. We are doubtful
about the advisability of bolting bamboo poles
01 The main building where research into bamboo construction products, techniques and together, which BluPrint consultant Leandro
innovation will be housed. A tri-layered roofing made of bamboo matting serves as the Poco says is doable but not very advisable: The
architectural highlight of the structure. 02 In this section, the author shows how his structures
will use engineered bamboo shingles for durability, multi-layered roofing to allow maximum air
moment you penetrate the shell, you weaken
intake and insulation against the tropical sun, and bolted bundled bamboo on concrete pedestals it because you compromise the continuity of
for columns. 03 Through sketches, Salandanan shows how he will bolt bundled bamboo poles the fibers and expose the bamboo members to
and bamboo members together to make trusses and other connections, a method that BluPrint
linear shear. Thats why bamboo structures and
and its consultants doubt the feasibility of. 04 A nursery building designed to shelter bamboo
propagules for their first few months, before they are transferred to the plantation grounds. scaffolds are lashed together, rarely bolted.
Bamboo grows fast, developing a root system supporting the soil in a matter of weeks. Three A quick check on the Internet shows there are
to six-year old bamboo can already be harvested for construction purposes. 05 Three spiralling bamboo builders who do bolt bamboo poles
bamboo water collection towers will be constructed using a most unique methodmushrooms!
together, but have to reinforce the bamboo by
The hollow bamboos will be filled with mycelium (mushrooms) and natural composite materials.
Within weeks, the mycelium will grow, compact, then harden like concrete, preventing water from lashing them together, as well as by placing steel
escaping through cracks and openings. and even concrete inside individual members.

BluPrint 61
THESIS
01
03
For the design concept of the research center,
Salandanan takes from the bamboo rhizome and
its ability to reproduce by sending out shoots and
roots, the new growth interconnected with each
other and the mother node. Such connectivity
is meant to symbolize that the previously
uncoordinated efforts of government agencies,
would, in Casa Kawayan, be harmoniously
interconnected. The author succeeds in applying
the rhizome concept on a micro level (within
the structures), but on a macro level, achieves it
merely by connecting the buildings via pathways
with interactive nodes as interlocking elements.
BluPrint consultant Stephanie Tan-
Branquinho praises Salandanans work for the
62 BluPrint
02
choice of project and the amazing graphics,
and commends him for demonstrating process,
and for being creative and very articulate
in bamboo construction. She says: The
positioning of the buildings on the site would
be better if it really had the true essence of
Deluze and Guattaris rhizome. It is very top-
down planning versus the bottom-up
rhizomatic process.
With the growing interest in re-discovering
and developing bamboo in other Asian
countries and in Europe, Salandanans thesis is
refreshing in its optimism and enthusiasm for
a material that too many in our country hold in
low regard.
 04
01 The gallery building, where the
prototypes and bamboo product
For the design concept innovations will be displayed.
02 Housing units on site will

of the research center, accommodate visiting scientists and

guests undergoing training or study.

Salandanan takes from

03 Casa Kawayan will also be home
to a training center where builders,

the bamboo rhizome

artisans and manufacturers learn basic
weaving, bamboo pole treatment and
04 construction techniques. The author
and its ability to even drew up a module for seminars.
04 As the technical data backbone

reproduce by sending for the research center, the Material

Science Division building contains

out shoots and roots. physical and chemical departments

where scientists can experiment on
the plants properties and enhancing
these. Openings on the sides allow
for ventilation. 05 Casa Kawayans
canteen and events space with high
ceilings and leaf shaped roofs

05

BluPrint 63
THESIS REVIEWED BY JUDITH TORRES

Golden Spiral
CAN GEORGIANA GOS HOSPITAL COMPLEx NAUTILUS SHELL
CONFIGURATION AWAKEN BIOPHILIA AND ExPEDITE HEALING?
UnivErSiTy oF ThE PhiLiPPinES, oUTSTAnDing ThESiS 2012

The aerial perspective shows a prettily landscaped complex, whose greenery will be seen by few patients in the main building. Who is supposed to utilize the
green roofs, particularly on the Support Facilities and Parking buildings (bottom and right structures)? There is no discussion on the design and landscaping of
these roofs, and it is doubtful such trees will survive typhoon winds, particularly since the site is beside Manila Bay. Schools would do well to make students work
in multi-disciplinary teams.

64 BluPrint
W
hen the author
submitted her thesis
project materials to
BluPrint, she included
scans of the jurors
handwritten notes, and a transcript of the
panels comments during oral presentation and
deliberations. In the latter, she incorporated
her responses to judges queries that she was
unable to answer during deliberations, as well
as schemes that she revised to incorporate
their recommendations. (This is the norm in
UP. If a juror wants additional drawings or
explanations, the student has to submit them
before the juror approves the thesis.) The
material was too good not to use, so here we
present a unique perspective of Georgiana Gos
Fontana Vitalis, a hotel-like hospital village
that incorporates biophilic principles in its
design, which she says will serve as urban
catalyst. The consolidated transcript was
edited for purposes of brevity and clarity only.
Prosperidad C. Luis: You have a beautiful smiling face,
excellent Powerpoint presentation and commanding voice.
The graphics helps understanding; the walk-through animation
whetted my appetite into wanting to enter the facility.
Georgiana Go: Thank you!
PCL: Your layout of healthcare spaces was excellently
planned and carried out. Very professional, very impressive!
I found no mistakes, except I am concerned about your support
facilities wherein you located the morgue and the dietary in
one building?
GG: Yes, the morgue and the dietary are in one building, but
the morgue is in the lower ground of the facility building,
and its fenestration orients to the south, while the kitchen
is located on the upper ground and will never have ducts
connected to those of the morgue. The kitchen complex
likewise has an entrance oriented opposite the morgue. The
plan is laid out in such a way that there is no connection at all
between the two floors in terms of ventilation and circulation
for the morgue and the dietary. This can be loosely compared
to the arrival and departure wings of an airport terminal where
Front elevation of Fontana Vitalis
The author placed the Parking Building (left) beside the Admin Building (center) because the
employees would use the parking more than anyone in the complex. Doctors, nurses and
patients relatives and visitors may walk to the Main Building (partially hidden by the Medical
Center building on the right) from the Parking Building via a bridgeway, but that would make for an
unnecessarily high volume of traffic passing through the Admin Building. People heading for the
medical center must first pass through the Admin Building, then the Main Building.
the two spaces are in one building, yet they seem like two The Hospital Village
distinct entities, as their functions do not overlap. According to the thesis author, the
proposed design breaks down a
PCL: If the dietary is in the support facilities, how do you massive tertiary hospital into a series
propose to deliver food to the patients? of smaller spaces. One functional
GG: In my concept, I break down the massive tertiary hospital goal is for inpatients to receive care in
close proximity to their room, leading
typology into a series of smaller spaces in order to provide a
to the decentralization of diagnostic
more efficient means of service. As such, the main dietary is and treatment functions of typical
in the support facilities building where food is prepared and healthcare facilities.
subsequently distributed to other parts of the building and
stored in respective storage and pantry areas provided for in
the floors.
PCL: How can your facility relate with the School of Biophilic Design:
MetrobankManila Tytana College? The Architecture
GG: A bridgeway connecting Manila Tytana College was of Life
By Stephen Kellert & Bill Finnegan
proposed and discussed in the proposal.
PCL: How can the curved faade be maintained in the long Biophilia is the love for life or
runwindow-cleaning equipment? living systems, and describes the
GG: The facility will be cleaned using the Skybot robotic connections that human beings
subconsciously seek with the rest
window washing system, which gets windows cleaned
of life; and mans affinity, attraction
faster and cheaper than human teams. A Computer Building to and need for contact with the
Maintenance Unit (BMU) controls the Skybot, and these natural world. Biophilic design can
robots can be placed on any shape, position; it can also reduce stress, enhance creativity and
expedite healing. It:
operate in any weather. Integrates sustainably produced
natural materials, natural elements
(like water) and natural processes
(like wind)
Echoes the forms and patterns
of nature in graphic, symbolic,
biomorphic and biomimetic (human-
made processes or systems that
imitate nature) ways
Values the spirit of place and
heritage, and promotes an integrated
human and natural community
BluPrint 65
THESIS

01

02
Georgiana Gos Fontana
Vitalis is a hotel-like hospital
village that incorporates
biophilic principles in its
design, which she says will
serve as urban catalyst.

01 The five buildings (starting from center, clockwise), Admin, Parking,

Support Services, Main Building and Medical Center, spiral out like
the inside of a nautilus shell. The Parking building has a bridgeway to
the Admin Building, the Admin Building to the Main Building, and the
Main Building to the Medical Center. 02 Main Buildings second floor
plan shows three landscaped areas that few in the building can enjoy.
The large roof garden on the left is beside an imaging room, various
labs, storage and lockers. Toilets are adjacent to the interior garden at Second
the center, and the tiny pocket of green below is blocked from view by Floor Plan
elevators. Rooms like the gym or rehab and waiting areas could have
been located and oriented to enjoy these greens. The same problem
occurs on the fourth floor, with a pocket garden enclosed by disposal
area, soiled/clean linen rooms, and an instrument decontamination room.

66 BluPrint
This will be positioned on the concrete and cladding areas
of the faade. Another method I propose for the ease of
maintenance of the curved surfaces would be hydrophilic
self-cleaning glass.
Gerard Thomas F. Joson: Hi Geo, youve been my student
in past classes and this is actually the first time Ive heard
you speak!
GG: Hi Sir!
GTJ: Really good concepts (nautilus-blobitecture-biophilia)
create sensuous forms; maybe it can be expanded to interior
materials, colors, etc. Why are the admin building and parking
building too close to each other?
GG: Because users in the admin building, where the
executives stay, would utilize the parking building more than
anyone in the complex. It is directly accessible to the Main
and Med Center via bridgeway, thus the circulation and the
transition of spaces would be good in terms of sequence.
GTJ: The Main Building seems too massivehow does
nature enter the interiors?
GG: It may be massive but it does not waste land space in
the city. The initial program was broken down as much as
possible as a means of incorporating biophilia into the overall
design. Nature enters the main building through interior
pocket gardens that help enliven the inpatients biophilia.
GTJ: The segregation of buildings is too distant; the forms are
too separate from each other.
GG: Forms should be kept distant for fire and disaster
management. Segregating the forms into mini buildings within
a complex will result in a more structurally sound development
especially during earthquakes, as opposed to one massive
building form. Curvilinear structures resist loads far better than
rectilinear structures of connected flat planes, disseminating
loads evenly throughout the structure (Tsui, 1999). If I make
the five buildings into one structure, this would make the form
even more massivethe aforementioned comment on the
main building was it is too massive. Moreover, segregation
of the buildings into distinct forms was the intended design
translation of biophilia. I wanted to make a healthcare village
which entailed the breaking down of the tertiary hospital
into a more distributed body that still functions as well, if not
better, than a mega hospital.
GTJ: The wards have no windowshow does the concept of
biophilia and nature views relate here?
GG: Because of rapid urbanization, there is barely anything
therapeutic about Manilas city views. Windows of the wards
facing the core of the facility have nature views, so I included
windows in that direction. But wards on the other side have
little to no nature viewsthey face the Manila Bay area,
but many views are obstructed, and in the long run, any
unobstructed views will be blocked by towering developments
that are beyond the control of the client, Metrobank.
Consequently, I proposed that illusions of nature be provided
by the installation of LED windows showing high-resolution
photographic images of lush, moving, picturesque landscapes
far from the city. These LED panels have been used in
healthcare settings. The viewer experiences little difference
between a view of real nature scene and the high-definition
image of the same scene. The LED windows can be designed
to any rectangular or curvilinear shape, and even installed
on the ceiling. In any case, if this proposed LED-imaging
technology is still questionable, I have also refurnished my
architectural drawings to include actual windows in the
wardrooms that open to real outside views. Kindly refer to
my sheets for the revised drawings with window layouts. If
the city view is starting to get really ugly over the years, the
windows can be subsequently filled with LED.
GTJ: Where is the ambulance bay in your main building?
GG: Its right here, Sir!
GTJ: The floor-to-floor heights are too low, you have to
allot additional clearance for beam depth, ducting for A/C
and utilities. The spiral of the nautilus
GG: The floor-to-floor height is enough to provide shell inspired the
sufficient crawl space for maintenance of machinery configuration of buildings
in Geo Gos Fontana Vitalis
within the interstitial space. I have also included a revised hospital complex.
detailed drawing with increased floor height as per your
recommendation. This will entail an overall increase in the
height of the main building, which cannot be reflected in the
design drawings due to time constraints.
Enrico B. Tabafunda: Hi George, how can the therapeutic
benefits of biophilic design be quantified in studies?
GG: Evidence of natures benefit to healing was extensively
discussed in the review of related literature.
EBT: How do you strengthen biophilic ideas in how the
interiors are designed?
GG: For the interiors, I generally followed the checklist from
Biophilic Design by Stephen R. Kellert, et al (2008):
Concept of
1. Incorporating vegetated atria and interior planting beds
Urban Catalysts
2. Providing potted plants and small garden strips by Dorm Logan and Wayne Attoe
3. When views to nature are very much impossible (most
especially in urbanscapes), natural building materials A catalyst is an urban element
(wood grain, patterned stone, etc.) and artificial high shaped by the city that in turn
shapes its context. Catalytic urban
definition nature views can be used. design works not from a master
4. Organic forms should be incorporated into buildings; plan, but from a master program.
organic, curvilinear furniture if possible in the years It sets out intentions and methods
but not solutions. It uses zoning as
to come.
combined tools of control, guideline
I had also initially provided operable windows with views to and incentive. It is characterized
the core waterscape in the development. by sequencing of development.
EBT: Did you consider healing colors, natural materials, It thus calls for both idealism and
pragmatism: idealness about
biomorphic furniture? the specialness of the place, and
GG: Yup! pragmatism about making the place
EBT: Did you consider biophilia in terms of the color scheme? work in relation to contemporary
GG: I sure did! White is the applied color since it has the traffic needs and local culture and
values. This dual need calls for a
highest heat reflectivity and it harmonizes with the green unique vision for each urban place.
surroundings.
Ruel B. Ramirez: Hi George, consider removing the columns
that block the lobby and atrium of the main building.
GG: Sure, sir. I have removed the columns as per your
recommendation, since the main building will not be
expanding any further as it has reached the maximum number
of floors (10 floors) in the development.
RBR: Also consider removing the columns that obstruct
vehicular circulation in your parking building.
GG: Actually, in the plans, these are not columns but
directional arrows of the intended/planned vehicular
circulation in the parking building.
BluPrint 67
THESIS
RBR: Why did you choose that site?
GG: First of all, it was located in Pasay because as per the DOH
bed need computation, there was a lack of beds in Pasay City.
RBR: But why place it in the reclaimed area?
GG: The project was located in the Metropolitan Park
because Federal Land/Metrobank will be the principle client.
The client owns a significant portion of reclaimed land in
Pasay City, and has plans of constructing the Metropolitan
Park development. They have allotted a significant parcel of
land right next to the Manila Doctors College (which they
also own) with the intention of building a hospital. The initial
hospital plans for construction were of the mega hospital
typologytall and imposing, etc. I proposed a different
take by introducing biophilic design principles into a new
healthcare typology, the healthcare village, while still retaining
the land in which they had already zoned to be a healthcare
institution in the Metropolitan Park.
RBR: Good answer, George!
GG: Thanks, Sir!
Romeo B. Santos: Geo, you spoke with enthusiasm
and conviction and I would like to commend you for that.
Moreover, I believe that the translation of your concept was
very successful.
GG: Thank you, Sir!
RBS: Can you please stress again: How exactly does the form
influence the therapeutic character of the hospital?
GG: The shell is a natural structure that mollusks possess to
provide protection for their sensitive and weak bodies. The
nautilus shell became the inspirational form since it has a
rational and dynamic symmetry that follows the golden ratio. The
function of the proposed development is just like the shell where
inside lies the weakest, most vulnerable part of the nautilus.
RBS: Why follow the golden proportion?
GG: The spiral plan is natures perfect solution. The golden
ratio as computed by Fibonacci is a natural number system
expressed in the golden spiral that is found all throughout
nature. One of the most common examples of this is
the nautilus. By programming a space based on natural
dimensions, I hoped to reinforce the experience of nature as a
means of providing a therapeutic environment. Moreover, the
spiral-shaped plan nicely integrates this reduction in space in
its tighter portion while simultaneously creating larger, open
spaces for the core. An added benefit of the shell shape is its
gradual winding spiral that increases in height. The form of
the complex also follows the shape of a shell with the support
facilities being the smallest, gradually winding off in a counter
clockwise direction up until the last structure, the main
building, which is the tallest of the five structures. This plan is
perfect for natural ventilation with regard to wind circulation
because the varying heights of the buildings keep the wind
circulating inside the complex for longer.
RBS: Can you please elaborate on the phase expansion? How
many additional floors will be added to the parking building?
GG: All buildings in the proposed structure may rise only
up to 10 storeys for structural integrity since it is a lot in a
reclamation area.
RBS: Because this is on reclaimed land, I think you have
to consult with a structural engineer on the stability of
the expansion.
68 BluPrint
GG: Actually, I already consulted with a structural engineer 01
beforehand. The columns were already planned for future
expansion, hence the number of columns.
RBS: No further questions, then!
GG: Thank you Sir!
Reading the authors thesis leaves one with
many unanswered questionsperhaps more
information was imparted during the oral
presentation?
One of the jurors inquired how food,
prepared in Support Facilities would be
delivered to the Main Building. Where do they
pass, especially when it rains, as there is no
connection between the two buildings.
Just as there is no connecting corridor
for food and linen services to make it from
the kitchen and laundry area to the main
building, there is no passageway for taking
the deceased to a proper holding area; and the
morgues plan does not indicate a receiving
area for family members to claim their loved
ones remains.
Go says that the future hospital typology 03
will move away from the mega hospital to that
of a healthcare village, and decentralizing
diagnostic and treatment services will bring
them in closer proximity to patients rooms. But
wouldnt decentralization mean patients having
to go to more floors or even buildings because
these functions have been spread out? There
is no discussion of how it would work, which
one would expect of an innovation claiming to
improve on a typology.
Why are mothers rooms on a separate floor
from their newborn infants? Isnt it the more
progressive practice for mothers and babies to
even room in together?
Views from the Main Building of roof
01 & 02 With the exception
gardens and interior landscapes are of the use of wood-like
disappointingly few for a project that aims surfaces, and some hints
to uplift the spirits of the weak via scenes of of green, its a bit of a
stretch to claim that the
nature. Configuring buildings to fit within
Main Building atrium and
the nautilus shells golden spiral is a facile entrance lobbys design is
interpretation of biophilic design. Go says biomorphic, biomimetic, or
people cant tell the difference between views one that enlivens biophilia.
The intense heat and glare
of nature and high-definition video of it, so why coming through the glass
not just fit all the windows of monolithic mega cladding during summer will
hospitals with LED screens? increase cooling costs and
BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco gives his have people avoiding the
area. 03 & 04 Renderings
comments: Innovation by bringing in nature show the authors intent
into the hospital. The greenery was put onsite, to offer hotel-quality
around the buildings and on their roofs. There patient rooms with a mix
of soothing and lively color
were some attempts to create garden atriums
palettes. 05 Rendering of
but in most cases, the technical requirements one of the Main Buildings
of the hospital typology tended to overrun interior gardens. Located on
these pockets of interior greenery. the sixth floor, this will be
enjoyed by patients in the
In some cases, the functional typology womens wards. Patients in
ended up erasing these interior pockets, the floors above may enjoy
creating deep floor plates with interior spaces the view below.
 02
04
without any windows and away from these
green spaces at the exterior
The thesis aims to become an urban
catalyst, but does not help establish any urban
edge or activate any interaction with the
surrounding blank urban fabric. It is essentially
a building placed in the middle of open spaces,
shying away from the street edge.
An alternate strategy would have been to
push the building blocks out to the edges of the
lot, creating an edge with landscaping,
Left elevation of
Fontana Vitalis
05
but hollowing out a larger open space in the
middle from which her biophilic design intent
could germinate and permeate the program.
That would have done great to establish an
urban artifact in an otherwise blank area
devoid of context.
It seems the project took the narrow view
of what it means to be an urban catalystto
set out intentionsbut not solutions. Its
disappointing to see the academe swayed by
intentions. But then we werent there.
Vital Statistics
Client: GT-Metro Foundation,
chaired by Dr. George Ty
Site: Metropolitan Park,
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City
(reclaimed land)
Project construction cost:
P5 Billion
Phase 1:
Main Building (inpatient) - 300 beds
Medical Center Building
(outpatient) for diagnostic services
and 104 doctors clinics
Admin Building
Support Facilities Building
Parking Building - 300 slots
Phase 2:
Additional 6 floors to the parking
building for a hotel
Bridgeway to nearby Manila
Doctors College
BluPrint 69
THESIS REVIEWED BY JUDITH TORRES

By the authors own reckoning, one of the threats to the project is flooding at the site due to its low elevation and proximity to the Pasig River. BluPrint
consultant Arch. Leandro Poco concurs: It is next to the river, and in a portion of Makati that is probably not in the hard strata of soil to allow for such a tall
structure to get built.

The Lighthouse
VICTOR EMMANUEL DIONISIOS CULTURAL AND RECREATIONAL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER AS THE COUNTRYS BEACON
OF HOPE UnivErSiTy oF SAnTo TomAS, oUTSTAnDing ThESiS 2013

70 BluPrint
 T
01 he problem, says the author, is
Manila doesnt have a modern-
day landmark to propel the city
and the country into the league
of developing countries, the way
Singapore has Marina Bay Sands, and Kuala
Lumpur, the Petronas Towers. We dont have
an icon of progress, prosperity and hope, and
the Lighthouse is the project to answer such
problem, writes Victor Dionisio. It will provide
cultural development, economic growth,
national pride and a central hub for leisure and
recreationa benchmark of progress for the
new Manila and future of the Filipino race.
If only life were that simple. The rendered
images are magnificent, and if built, would
indeed be a spectacle to behold.
Whats to keep this from being a white
elephant? There is no discussion beyond the
conviction, If you build it they will come. The
mixed-use tower complex includes leasable
space for retail, restaurants and events space,
a convention center, theater, and art gallery/
mini museum, but the research is insufficient
for one to conclude that the owners, the Lopezes
of Rockwell Land, Smart Telecom, and the
Department of Tourism, will get returns on their
investment from this public-private project
(PPP). Lets assume theyd invest anyway, even
with the hurdle of Smart Telecomm being owned
by Manny Pangilinan, who also owns ABC-5, a
rival TV network of Lopez Groups ABS-CBN.
Would it work? One curious lapse
is the assumption that broadcast and
telecommunications functions and operations
are one and the same, as can be seen in the space
programming. A 37.28-sqm office space located
at the Administration Level on the third storey of
the Tower base is allocated to:
Broadcasting & Telecom GMs office (5.2 sqm)
Broadcasting & Telecom Engineers office
(5.2 sqm)
02 Broadcasting & Telecom staffs office (12 sqm
for 2 pax)
Common area, storage and restroom
It is unclear what scope of telecom facilities will
be housed in the tower, but it is reasonable to
anticipate that Smart Telecom, as one of the three
owners of the property, would want a visible and
beneficial presence in the iconic landmark.
More lapses can be seen 80 storeys up in
the TV Broadcast Level, whose space program
shows a lack of appreciation for the operations
of broadcast news. For example, there are four
TV studios, with an average dimension of 8.3 by
7.7 metersminiscule by industry standards.
01 About the design, author
Victor Emmanuel Dionisio
says: Without extravagant
form, this project would not
be a viable project to build.
The Lighthouse aims to
create a distinct archtectural
character in order to be known
worldwide. 02 At 86 stories
high, the Observation Deck
promises to have unrivalled
views of Makati CBD, Fort
CBD, Ortigas CBD, and sights
of Quezon City, Manila Bay,
Antipolo mountain ridge, and
Laguna de Bay n the distance.
Design concept:
The Triad
The Triad, otherwise known as the
Rule of Thirds, is a numerical pattern
evidently found in every aspect of the
universe. Much like the Golden Ratio,
this concept is a proportion ratio that
is tried and tested, proven efficient
in nature, artwork, mathematics and
engineering, to name just a few. This
conceptual pattern, transcended
from a mere idea to the actual design
process, can be an efficient tool in
designing both function and form of
any architectural project.
The above paragraph is the
totality of the discussion on the
towers design concept. Apart from
mistakenly equating the Rule of
Thirds (a guideline used for framing
subjects in photography and painting)
with the Golden Ratio (which Greek
philosopher Euclid, circa 300 BC,
computed to be 1.6180339887), the
author is silent on how it was used in
the design.
Design criteria
Avant-garde as well as applicable
to the Philippine setting draw
inspiration from Philippine ideals to
embody a modern Manila as well as
express the dreams and aspirations
of the Filipino peoplethe design
shall relate its three main uses of
telecommunication, recreation and
culture as its defining traits in order to
build cohesion and synergy
BluPrint 71
THESIS

01

03 the tv Broadcast level (950 sqm) provides four TV studios approx. 60 sqm each, which leaves
little room for cameras to move, back lighting, and back-of-house for sets and props. Adjacent control
rooms accommodate only 3 personnel and 4 TV monitors each, which are below standard broadcast
needs. The plan makes space for 18 editors, housed in two rooms (for 12 and 6 pax) instead of individual 03
suites with acoustic insulation, which is standard. The number of editors indicates a large volume of
material to be edited at once, indicating production of several programs simultaneously. However, there
are no workstations for production staff (producers, writers, directors, production assistants) and for
technical and engineering staff (lightmen, cameramen, etc.) 04 Radio has a floor to itself, despite the
need for less equipment and staff than TV. The plan provides for six studios, which could house all of
ABS-CBNs needs. DZMM, for example, broadcasts out of one studio only, with announcers going on
board when it is time for their show. A separate studio is used for recording voice-overs and the like. As
with the TV Broadcast level, what is lacking here are workspaces for producers, writers, etc. 05 Located
at the third story, the administration level houses The Lighthouse Company, which owns and runs
the Tower complex. Included here are the Presidents office (24 sqm) and the offices of Accounting and
Leasing (59 sqm), Buidling and Grounds (212 sqm), Marketing and Events Management (59 sqm), HRD
and Legal (41 sqm), and Broadcast and Telecomm (37 sqm), plus office support facilities.

Without extravagant form, this project

would not be a viable project to build.

72 BluPrint
02
01 Dionisios vision for his project: To be the defining
structure that embodies Philippine progress; to be the
premiere telecommunication facility in South East Asia; and to
be a total experience to see and witness. 02 The 300-person
capacity Sky Restaurant, which is above the observation deck,
is envisioned to have a triple height ceiling, and a mezanine bar.
04
05
Vital Statistics
Client Public-Private Project (PPP)
owned by The Lighthouse Company,
a merger of Rockwell Land,
Smart Telecommunications, and
Department of Tourism
Location Makati City, the Colgate-
Palmolive lot beside Rockwell Land
Development and Pasig River
Typology Mixed use development
with transmission tower
Lot area 4.6 hectares
Total building area 18,000 sqm
FAR of site 4.0
Construction cost estimate
P2.16 Billion (120,000 / sqm)
Total height of tower
414 meters incl. 42-m antenna
Gross ground floor of tower
916 sqm
Total useable floor area of the
tower +/- 11,874 sqm (not including
mechanical & refuge floors)
Depth of tower below ground
75 meters
Number of floors 96 (typical floor
to floor height = 4 m)
Number of steps approx 2156
Height of observation deck
341.25m above NGL
Observation deck capacity
+/- 540 (based on code standards of
2.4 sqm/person in the1300 sqm area)
Diameter of observation level
70 m including outdoor walk
Height of restaurant 374 meters
Restaurant capacity seats
380 pax in GFA 1,234.28 sqm; bar
capacity 280 pax
Gross floor area of Broadcast
level 1,126.44 sqm
Number of elevators
5 @ 25 pax capacity
Speed of elevators Otis skyrise
elevators 8 meters/sec, approx 43
seconds to the observation deck
(same elevator used in Burj Kalifa)
Number of service elevators
1 @ 30 pax capacity
While the four studios would offer four different
vistas of the metro, what are the chances of
four TV programs all wanting skylines as their
backdrop? On the other hand, if programs using
the studios do not avail of the skylines, and use
instead built backdrops, what a waste of precious
real estate that would be! They could very well
have stayed in ABS-CBNs studios in Quezon City,
and no one would be the wiser. Instead of four
small studios, which cannot contain more than
two news anchors, and room for studio cameras
to maneuver; one large studio to accommodate a
variety of setups, creative camera angles, guests
(including bands, etc.), and perhaps a live audience
would optimize the studios singular location.
This could have made a great exploration of
fascinating what ifs for the TV network. Its a
shame the author did not interview creatives
from ABS-CBN who could have helped him
imagine the possibilities for such an extraordinary
studio setting. (Oddly, the author interviewed staff
from rival network GMA for pointers in designing
this facility.)
More importantly, I would have liked to see
the thought process that went into site selection
and design development. In choosing the site, the
author considered orientation, zoning ordinances,
accessibility, safety and security, utilities, lot size
and terrain. One special criterion was probable
viewswhat one would see from the tower. I
want to know how the tower would be seen by
the city. The author chose Makati City, citing it as
a Techno City and the countrys Urban Tourist
Desination. However, would people walking in
the shadows of Makati Citys skyscrapersor for
that matter, the high-rises of Ortigas, Mandaluyong
and Taguigbe able to see it? The reason the Eiffel
Tower retains its primacy as the symbol of France
is that modern Paris made sure its high rises would
keep their distance from the citys historic core.
Washington DC, Seattle and others do the same,
imposing height limits to ensure sightlines to their
iconic landmarks, including views of mountains, as
in the case of Montreal, which safeguards views to
its namesake, the majestic Mt. Royal.
From an intellectual and emotional standpoint,
one is left unsatisfied. No story is told; no narrative
unfolds. There is a claim to embody Filipino culture
and values, but where is the evidence? There is a
promise to create a whole new experience for
users, but what is there, apart from ascending a
great height? If only height assured might and
delight. I feel for this beautifully rendered project,
which just might have, with guidance, made a
good case for its existence. The author is clearly
technically gifted, a young man with panache and
soaring aspirations. What a shame the school failed
to imbibe in their student the lessons and values one
hopes he is now learning in the real world.
BluPrint 73
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA

Eskwela
Kasambahay
ALDO MAYORALGOS EDUCATIONAL CENTER FOR
THE HOLISTIC FORMATION AND EMPOWERMENT
OF FILIPINO DOMESTIC WORKERS
UnivErSiTy oF ThE PhiLiPPinES, oUTSTAnDing ThESiS 2014

01 The site chosen for the educational center
is a 10,000-sqm plot of land along the Alabang-
Zapote Road in Las Pias, right beside the
University of Perpetual Help. Originally, the
parking area on the left corner was more than
twice as long. Mayoralgo reduced it after
exhibiting his preliminary designs in school and
receiving a comment that few of his target users
would need parking spaces. 02 The layout of
Eskwela Kasambahay funnels visitors through
the entrance into the campus square, opening
up sightlines of the surrounding structures, with
the tallest one looming up aheadthe main
education building. 03 The area right above the
lobby entrance is meant for a library, with spaces
for commercial use on either side. Curtain glass
allows views of Alabang-Zapote Road and the
commercial developments beyond.
H
ong Kong columnist Chip
Tsao caused an uproar
among Filipinos back in 2009
when he infamously called
the Philippines a nation
of servants. Though Tsaos statement was
intended to be derogatory, it is false pride to
take offense, given the millions of Filipino
domestic workers all over the world who we
laud as heroes, and whose remittances power
the Philippine economy year after year. In 2007
alone, their remittances totaled 13 billion pesos.
The plight of domestic workers is hard to
ignore. In his thesis, Aldo Mayoralgo says that
entry into this kind of employment is typically

01

74 BluPrint
 02

characterized by sacrifice in response to a

financial crisis, with many young people
The authors thesis, which he dedicates to
foregoing education, formation and personal his late yaya who served his family for
development in pursuit of a living. Reports of
abuse at the hands of their employers pop up 27 years, is built on the Kasambahay
in the news every year; and should they intend Law passed in 2013 that provides
to quit the job, reintegrating into the economy
is difficult given their lack of education. safeguards for local domestic workers.
Mayoralgos solution is an educational center
he calls Eskwela Kasambahay, envisioned to
be a beacon of hope and empowerment for a
sector of society that is so wrongfully belittled 03
by many.
The authors thesis, which he dedicates to his
late yaya who served his family for 27 years, is
built on the Kasambahay Law passed in 2013
that provides safeguards for local domestic
workers. Apart from outlining basic needs
such as work hours and wages, the law also
emphasizes the right of domestic workers
to education. A center such as Eskwela
Kasambahay would serve as a tangible and
integrated response to this need, and a
more comprehensive version of the program
currently being offered by TESDA (Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority)
for domestic workers.

BluPrint 75
THESIS

01

02 03

Eskwela Kasambahay, in theory, will serve as 04

the stepping-stone to better opportunities for

domestic workers.

76 BluPrint
 Empowering domestic workers is a noble
idea, and would better serve our economy in the
long run due to the businesses that educated and
skilled workers could set up. The educational
centers target demographic includes those
already working in local households (according
to Mayoralgos research, 1.8 million households
in the country employ domestic help), those
intending to work abroad, and those returning to
the country. The center will provide primary and
secondary education, and technical-vocational
courses to equip them with the skills, values
and knowledge necessary to ensure better
opportunities for them. One of Mayoralgos design
goals is to make the architecture adaptable and
replicable for other uses, and as such it could serve
as a model for government-owned buildings.
BluPrint consultant Stephanie Tan-Branquinho
lauds Mayoralgo for his good process and
articulate arguments, leading to solutions focused
on the problem. After identifying the problem
and researching the needs of domestic workers,
the author collates the functions and programs
of three separate government agencies for his
educational center: NRCO (National Reintegration
Center for OFWs, provides monetary assistance
and loans), ALS (Alternative Learning System,
a free education program for people who cant
afford a formal education), and TESDA (provides
technical skills for specialized jobs). From there,
he draws up the layout of the campus, with a
central plaza surrounded by the main buildings for
teaching and laboratory, administration, faculty,
service, security and public/commercial. He uses
pattern language in iterating form. This could
be key in establishing a typology which could be
replicated in different locations with a method
or language to handling scale and proportion,
explains consultant Leandro Poco.
Branquinho likewise praises Mayoralgos
work as a good exercise in proportion. Poco,
however, questions the scale of the project, saying
a program that could have fit in a few classrooms,
was enlarged to something thesis-able. Mayoralgo,
however, argues that creating a university feel
for the center will help domestic workers feel
elevated into the context of higher education. The
experience of passing through the grand lobby
entrance, emerging into the open plaza and seeing
the main buildings is also meant to make the worker
students feel the world opening up to greater goals
and opportunities. Whether these will inspire or
intimidate domestic workers is a question whose
answer we probably will never know.
Says Poco: I think its great when architects use
buildings to shape outdoor public and open spaces,
as this project tries to do, though most architects
(even successful practitioners) run into a wall when
it comes to activating and articulating these spaces
beyond the usual crossing pathways, geometric
patterns, lawns and planting beds. These require
teamwork with landscape architects to bring these
outdoor spaces to much better use.
Eskwela Kasambahay, in theory, will serve
as the stepping-stone to better opportunities
for domestic workers. Both BluPrint
consultants are in agreement that it is a thesis
with heart, one of the few featured in this issue
they consider a real architectural project with
[a] program and project brief.

01 The 4-storey educational building is the biggest structure, with views of the whole complex. Laboratories go on the first and second floors, and classrooms
on the upper floors. One of Mayoralgos design goals for Eskwela Kasambahay is for the buildings to follow a standard footprint, so that replicated campuses
may simply be scaled up or down as needed. 02 & 03 The layout of the laboratories is designed for adaptability, so they can be modified with ease in the event
of a change of use or renovation. The labs range from 128 to 160 sqm, and can accommodate up to 40 people. Some of the technical subjects that the author
designed laboratories for include dressmaking, landscaping, housekeeping, massage reflexology, culinary arts and bartending. 04 Tambayan corridors connect
the different building zones, and function as communal spaces. 05 Since the target demographic will be using public transportation, the complex is set back from
the main street to make way for a transport hub and drop-off point for buses and jeepneys.

05

BluPrint 77
THESIS REVIEWED BY JUDITH TORRES

Many condos are gated

vertical developments.
Providing porosity or
permeability by allowing the
outside community into the
mixed-use space at the ground
level (with consideration for
natural access control, natural
surveillance and residents
privacy) will help establish a
postive social space.

Vertical Construct
BLANCHE AZACHEE PROPOSES A CONDO DEVELOPMENT THAT FOSTERS A
SENSE OF COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORLINESS

Theres no arguing that the

buildings irregular design,
which the author says was
arrived at in part by being
sensitive to its surroundings
in Pasay City, will be a
memorable one, and just
may help the project achieve
a sense of place. Blanche
Azachee provides the
development with two big
scale communal spaces: an
amenity deck at the podium
level (Level 5), and a town
center in the middle of the
tower (Level 11). These heights
allow people at the amenity
deck to see movement at the
town center and vice versa,
enabling them to surveil their
surroundings and feel a sense
of security.

78 BluPrint
M
ost of us will agree that
condo towers, despite their
developers marketing
hype, look pretty much
the same wherever one
goes. Some developers go the extra mile to
make theirs look different. But stripped of the
trappings of glamour and the borloloy cladding
and crowning the buildings, they too are basically
stacks of boxes connected by long corridors with
elevators, stairs and utilities at the core.
The problem shown by Blanche Azachees
prodigious research is not simply condo
dwellers dissatisfaction with their buildings
architecture, communal areas and quality of
amenities. The essential sameness with which
the condo typology is designed in our cities
will have insidious effects in the long term. In a
detailed survey of 402 condo residents, and focus
group discussions with managers of different
real estate developers and representatives
of condo homeowners associations in Metro
Manila, Azachee found a large majority say
they value having a sense of belonging and
community but do not feel it where they reside.
Azachee cites anthropologists, sociologists and
psychologists around the world who note that Neighborliness is the most important principle in designing housing, the critical aspect of which lies outside
people living in high rises without a sense of the individual homes. Planning how residents interact determines the vitality and sense of community
community develop social apathy, a sense of of the development, and clearly, this is where Azachee poured most of her efforts, to the detriment of
the layout of unit interiors. One lauds the authors vision but deplores the inattention of her adviser to the
isolation and disconnectedness from the rest of
fundamental flaws of the individual units.
the community, depression, and a decrease in
a sense of wellbeing and satisfaction with ones
place in life. Azachee puts forth a straightforward objective:
One could argue that Filipinos, being highly A holistic approach to condominium design that
sociable, could satisfy their need for belonging
outside their condo homes. But Azachee points to fosters active social relations among residents and
research that children growing up in such places the surrounding community.
are hindered from learning the social skills
needed to maintain well-being throughout life,
and to strengthen resiliency in avoiding
social pathology. The consequences in children
and adolescents not exposed to positive
community social interaction are depression,
bullying and shyness. And because they were
raised without appreciation for the importance
of community interaction, they will not be able to
pass this knowledge on to the next generation.
Having adequately buttressed her concerns
about high rise living, which she formed upon
coming home to a friendly neighborhood in
Manila following a lonely childhood in a high rise
abroad, Azachee puts forth a straightforward
objective: A holistic approach to condominium
design that fosters active social relations among To enhance proximal relationships beyond ones own floor, Azachee zones the tower into neighborhood
residents and the surrounding community. units of five floors each, and provides them with medium-scale communal space

BluPrint 79
THESIS

Her design goals are to: 01 02

create a sense of belonging amongst
residents
foster neighborliness between residents
promote a sense of ownership for
communal spaces
provide natural mechanisms for safety
within the development
facilitate social interaction at a
community level

The thesis project has evidently served as a

journey towards self-awareness for the author,
who describes her eight years growing up in a
condo as one of isolation and deprivation.
When she quotes Christopher Alexander on the
problems of vertical communities as symptoms
of a disconnected, sick society, one can feel the
sense of urgency underlying the breadth and depth
of her study. Aside from examining traditional
neighborhood design and Alexanders Pattern
Language, Azachee supports her design solutions
by synthesizing insights gleaned from the 402
survey respondents preferences and complaints
with her understanding of Filipino values, place
making, proxemics, crime prevention through
environmental design, territorial reinforcement,
deterritorialization (the weakening of ties between
culture and place), spatial order, social capital and
other social phenomena. There is nothing glib about
her justifications, which puts her above her peers.
Azachee makes a sincere attempt as well to
optimize the buildings efficiency in terms of gross
floor area (GFA) versus gross leasable area (GLA),
and a study of the minimum annual income a
developer would require for buyers of the different
unit typesstudio, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom units, and
single detached units.
The final design, however, is not without
problems. The towers are Jenga-like structures
that are anything but common. BluPrint consultant
Leandro Poco points out that some units do not
have views out. Indeed, an examination of the floor
plans shows that some units bedrooms look out
to another units kitchen and bedroom. Further
detailed review of the plans show that some of the
loft units have a bathroom for the maids room, but
none for the family on the lower level. The living
areas of some 2-bedroom units face the door of the
bathroom and the dining area, with no wall space for
an entertainment system. The bathroom sizes are
quite small (1.5 by 2.75 meters) and have difficult
clearances, and do not have size transitions for
different unit types.
BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco, who has
worked on a number of condominium projects, mid
and high-rise, locally and in Singapore and Vietnam,
wonders whether the project will fly: Locally and
abroad, developers aim to maximize efficiency of
04
floor plates, and to aggregate together open spaces
and amenities to create an impressionable marketing
effect. Homebuyers will want to get the most value
for their investment, and most attribute this to space
within their units. These huge pockets of communal
spaces could be seen as trade-offs versus larger 01 By providing gradations
living-dining rooms for the individual units. of public-private space in
communal areas, Azachee
Compared with the simple grid of most condo
allows residents the freedom
projects, the complicated floor plans and profusion to choose different degrees
of uneven volumes of Azachees proposal will of privacy, and how they
undoubtedly cost more to construct. Aforementioned interact with others. In
her project, medium scale
problems aside, will Filipinos be willing to pay communal spaces like this
the price for the thoughtful pockets of spaces and one are connected via a green
activity nodes that will give them opportunities to Emerald Necklace.02 Large
be neighborly, and their children safe places to play? and segregated communal
spaces can be intimidating
Will they take ownership of communal property, and to users. And because they
considerately maintain and share these spaces with have no relationship with the
one another? Will they tolerate and watch out for users private spaces, they
tend to be underutilized. To
each other, and learn to solve problems collectively?
extend the residents sense
Can architecture overcome the kanya-kanya of ownership to common
mentality, bring out the best in people, and promote facilities, the author provides
a sense of community? them at different scales, big,
medium and small, with the
Azachees optimism, earnestness and
medium and small communal
industriousness make me want to believe that spaces in closer proximity to
the answer is yes. their homes.

80 BluPrint
 03 By bumping out and
03
recessing groups of units,
Azachee creates different
configurations for floor
plates to avoid a monolithic
structure. According to
Christopher Alexander, The
more monolithic the building
is, the more it prevents
people from being personal,
and from making human
contact04 The provision
of parks and walkable
spaces and interesting public
settings will ensure that
activity nodes provided by
the develoepment will be
used by residents and the
surrounding community.
This, Azachee says, can
help establish community
relationships.

05 According to Christopher Alexander, apartment buildings are stealing people from

the streets. The corridors inside condo buildings would seem to give the opportunity for
pedestrian movement, but these spaces are most often dead. This happens because indoor
space is not as public as outdoor space; and in a multi-story building, each corridor carries
a lower density of traffic than a public outdoor street. It is therefore unpleasant, even 07
unnerving, to move through them; people in them are in no state to generate or benefit from
social intercourse.06 Heeding Alexanders and other experts standards for liveability,
Azachee breaks up the straight long corridor of the typical condo with small scale (6 x 6 sqm)
communal spaces around which small groups of units are clustered. Clustering, Azachee
says, will encourage social interaction because of Filipinos propensity for small group-
centeredness. 07 The diagram shows where the big scale green spaces will be. The podium
level will accommodate community garden plots, a jogging and biking path, picnic areas,
pools, and other typical amenities.

05 06

BluPrint 81
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA

The MRT Tala Station will be located along Araneta Avenue near the intersection with Quirino Highway. The station will be connected to a mall, market area and
office establishments (pictured). Dont judge the architecture. In the scope and limitations section of her book, the author says, Architectural design and details
will not be given priority, most especially in terms of material and structural feasibility.

A Model for
Transport-Oriented
Developments
ELIZELLE DAVID ADVOCATES SOCIO-ECONOMIC
DIVERSITY IN TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENTS
DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2014

82 BluPrint
B
elieving that transit systems form
the backbones of cities, Elizelle
David proposes creating transit-
oriented developments (TOD) to
decongest and improve Metro
Manilas existing transit experience. I want
developers and government sectors to realize
the potential of our transportation systems
and how to efficiently build around [them] to
enhance transit experience and sustainable
development, she says. TODs are high-density
mixed-use developments within a 600-meter
radius of a high-volume transit station designed
to create a pedestrian-friendly and car-
independent community.
Using case studies in developed cities like
Hong Kong, Singapore, Portland and Bogota,
David shows how TODs connect low to middle-
income workers with jobs within proximity or
walking distance of their homes, greatly reducing
travel time and transport costs, which constitute
a significant chunk of their daily expenses.
Davids research also shows, however, that
TODs often displace the low-income households
that they are intended to benefit. The rising value
of properties close to the transit station (a market
behavior explained in the Bid-Rent Theory)
pushes out lower-income households, leading to
the gentrification of the community. To control
gentrification, David proposes the implementation
of a mixed income development (MID) with the
TOD. Mixed-income developments are designed to
eliminate segregation of neighborhoods according
to income levels, especially the concentration
of rich households in exclusive enclaves, versus
the concentration of low-income households in
impoverished neighborhoods.
To demonstrate how this would work, David
applies the principles of MID and TOD in the
setting of Northern Caloocans Tala station
on the soon-to-be-built MRT-7 line, which
Davids vision is to create an exemplar of
an inclusive Philippine TOD (transit-oriented
developments) in a hilly setting.
will stretch from the North Avenue station in
Quezon City to San Juan Del Monte in Bulacan.
Tala station will be located within Pangarap
Village, home to 40,000 residents of low- to
middle-income range, with 45% working or
studying in Metro Manila at the time of the
authors research. Her vision is to create an
exemplar of an inclusive Philippine TOD in a
hilly setting.
Below A view of the outdoor
market from the transit station,
with an indoor market and
high-end grocery nearby (the
building with the brown roof).
The author created this area
to serve as the identifying
landmark of the site, and a
melting pot of all income
levels where higher-income
households can buy food
sold by the lower-income
population of the TOD, and
produce from the northern
provinces. The sunken area
can also be converted into a
space for community events.
Definition of Terms
Transport-oriented development
An urban planning strategy that
builds a high-density residential
and mixed-use development around
a mass transit station, so that all
are within 10 minutes walk away
from the transit hub. This strategy
lessens the need for cars, reduces
carbon emissions and transportation
cost, and promotes healthier
neighborhoods.
Mixed income development
Housing or multi-family dwellings
that deliberately include different
socio-economic groups, a type of
development that helps prevent
the concentration of poverty in
neighborhoods, and encourages
social awareness between different
income groups.
Gentrification
A phenomenon that occurs when
higher-income residents displace
the working class residents of a
community, through urbanization,
increasing land values, and other
socio-cultural and economic factors.
Bid-Rent Theory
A spatial-economic model by planner
and economist William Alonso that
says that the closer the space is to a
central business district, the higher
its rent or property costs will be.
BluPrint 83
THESIS

In Davids master plan, she changed the existing road scheme of the area into a semi-radial layout to promote connectivity and divide the development into
different catchment areas. Bordering the primary catchment area is Main Street, a 500-meter walkway surrounded by commercial establishments. A 2.1-kilometer
creek runs along the site, which David assimilated into the development with landscaping and parks for a pleasant walkable experience for pedestrians.

Site Layout Transit stop 01 Market

Residential 02 Office
Commercial-Residential 03 Park
Commercial-Office-Residential 04 Mall
Commercial 05 College
Institutional 06 Main Street

12 Parks and Recreation 07 University

11
13 Utilities 08 Business Park

09 Barangay Hall
08 10 Church
08 11 Elementary & High School

12 Chapel

04 13 Medical Center
09
06
10

02 06
05
01 03
02
06
TODs usually have three zones: the transit stop, the primary
catchment (the area with the highest density due to proximity to
07 the transit stop), and the secondary catchment. Commercial and
office establishments are concentrated in the primary catchment
to take advantage of the influx of transit riders from the stop, while
the secondary catchment is populated by residential buildings.

84 BluPrint
Anticipating that upper-income families may be
reluctant to live with low-income households,
the author allots almost 50% of the residential
spaces to middle class households, for them to
serve as bridge between the two.
The research into TOD and urban design
guidelines in Davids thesis are excellent, and
her presentation, well executed, impressing
both BluPrint consultants, Leandro Poco and
Stephanie-Tan Branquinho. Both agree that
Davids planning and application of the guidelines
are very well done. While the urban planning
aspect of the thesis is solid, the architecture
component, Poco says, lacks a sense of scale
and urbanity, and a sense of how the buildings
themselves will tie together, and relate to each
other as part of the larger whole. Branquinho
comments that for the thesis not to appear as a
collection of successful existing city models, the
author could have focused on creating a sense of
place and space specific to the locality.
The author herself cites a number of local
developments that attempt to implement TOD
principles, such as Eton Centris, Ayala Center
and Araneta Center. The latter is home to one of
the largest transit hubs in the country, with its
sprawling Farmers Market, Araneta Coliseum,
residential towers, malls, restaurants and
recreation establishments. One could say that
it is also an ad hoc MID. As such, Araneta Center
would have made a good case study, given the
opportunity for up-close observation (or even
immersion), and perhaps even more relevant
02
insights and responsive solutions to user needs,
behavior and interface. The thesis could also
have provided more convincing plans for how
the proposed MID-TOD in Northern Caloocan
would provide a healthy environment, as it
will be pierced through the middle by busy
Araneta Avenue, and bound on one side by
Quirino Highway, both notorious for air and
noise pollution.
In conclusion, Davids work is larger and
more important than an enriched and inclusive
transit experience. Her thesis presents
thoughtful and commendable urban planning
models that have succeeded elsewhere for local
government and developers to consider, with
excellent research for planners to sink their
teeth into.
01
01 The creek extends to the
secondary catchment area to
the east of the TOD, passing
a couple of blocks filled
with commercial-residential
structures. The author didnt
limit the secondary catchment
area to residential buildings
because she wanted to allow
lower-income households to
conduct business at the lower
floors. 02 From Main Street,
the town plaza and church can
be seen, which are located on
the second highest point of
the site. The author thought it
would be a good idea to place
the public spaces on higher
elevations.
BluPrint 85
THESIS REVIEWED BY JUDITH TORRES

01

02 03

01 A wide view of the development shows the modern BPO building on the right and mid-rise condo on the left, with lower structures hidden in foliage. 02 View of
the BPO building from the frontage of Tatak Bulakenyo tourist hub and commercial center, which Yangzon says is a modern interpretation of Spanish colonial houses.
03 The drop off at Tatak Bulakenyos commercial area. The wood and glass faade in a grid pattern of one of the stores, Yangzon says, is a modern adaptation of
capiz windows. The balcony above clad in brick is Yangzons translation of the volada.

Design for a
New Wave City
REGINALD YANGZONS MIxED-USE BPO AND TOURISM HUB FOR
MALOLOS, BULACAN mAPUA inSTiTUTE oF TEChnoLogy, BEST ThESiS 2013

86 BluPrint
R
oughly 50% of BPO employees
in Manila come from outside the
National Capital Region, says
Bulakeo Reginald Yangzon, and
tapping neighboring provinces to
host the next BPO hubs will not only provide jobs
and keep families together in these provinces, but
also help relieve overcrowded Manila.
Historic Malolos City in Bulacan, site of the
first Philippine constitutional convention in 1898
and home to Barasoain Church where the first
Philippine Republic was established, was declared
by the Department of Science and Technology and
Business Processing Association of the Philippines
as one of the countrys New Wave Cities, or urban
centers outside of NCR that are best fit to host IT-
BPO structures and attract foreign investments.
Yangzon proposes a mixed-use BPO center-
cum-tourism hub in Confradia, Malolos, just
200 meters away from McArthur Highway, and
near the site of the proposed Philippine National
Railway Central Terminal. The variety of mutually
supporting uses (residential, commercial, office
and tourism), Yangzon says, will help make the
development sustainable and promote tourism in
the province, thereby generating more jobs outside
of the development. All in all, the complex will house
a potential 10,000 workers, and the residential
building, 500 people (900 with expansion), as
Yangzon assumes most of the workers have their
homes within the city. Tatak Bulakenyo, the tourism
and commercial center, which can accommodate
1,000 visitors at any given time, is where people may
buy goods made in Bulacan. It serves as information
center and dissemination point for tourists who
want to see Malolos and other parts of the province.
In addition, 20 shops will serve their various needs.
According to Yangzons adviser, Carlos Sauco,
Yangzons work was recognized as Best Thesis, a
distinction Mapuas Architecture department hadnt
seen in years, because of the need for the project; the
manifold issues it would address; the authors vision
of sparking the business district of Bulacan; his
thorough analysis of the site; and smart orientation
of structures, with the BPO building sheltering the
commercial/tourist center from afternoon heat and
glare, which in turn will offer pleasant views for
computer-weary eyes at the BPO.
The pioneer development is designed to
represent modern Bulacan. Yangzon translates
the capiz windows and volada of Spanish colonial
architecture as a nod to the many heritage homes
still proudly standing in Malolos historic core.
Yangzon is proudest of his sustainable solutions,
achieved in great part by building orientation, and
by the application of solar panels on the south faade
of the BPO.
One, however, doesnt get a sense of place
from the architecture, despite the authors efforts.
With the exception of the solar paneled faade, the
monolithic BPO building could have been lifted out
of Manila. BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco whose
firm has worked on BPO building typologies, says
this projects office floor plate configuration wont
be efficient for locators who require contiguous
The south faade of the BPO
cuts closer to 1,800 to 2,500 square meters. Closer is installed with solar panels
inspection of the plans opens up finer details for to help reduce its 24/7 power
improvement: The commercial centers security is requirement
leaky. The fire exit configuration at the residential 04 The red arrows show how
block creates dead ends at opposite locations the tallest building (10-storey
thats a firetrap right there, says Poco. The doors of BPO) has pleasant sightlines
the auditorium in the BPO building open inwards to greenery, and shades the
commercial establishments
instead of outa no-no for congregation spaces. below. The second tallest
And, the condo building has parking slots for only building (6-storey condo) also
23 cars and 2 for motorcycles, which is questionable enjoys views of greenery
and activity below, while the
given building code requirements for residential
commercial establishments and
developments of this scale. tourist hub look out to a tree-
Still, Yangzons adviser Sauco has the highest lined avenue.
expectations of his former student. He will make
a great architect. He has the right attitude. He has
design flair. His design teachers told me they were
surprised that he played it safe for his thesis. One
wishes indeed that Yangzon would live up to his
teachers hopes, and that experience will teach
the passionate young man what he needs for his
envisioned projects to be executed more sensibly.
Yangzon proposes a mixed-use BPO center-cum-tourism
hub in Confradia, Malolos, just 200 meters away from
McArthur Highway, and near the site of the proposed
Philippine National Railway Central Terminal.
04
BluPrint 87
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

Museum of
01

Contemporary
Arts (MOCA)
KENNETH ESTROLOGOS MUSEUM TO SHOWCASE
PHILIPPINE CONTEMPORARY ARTS IN CEBU
UnivErSiTy oF SAn CArLoS, BEST ThESiS 2014

The faades perforated steel mimics the holes of Philippine crafts made of rattan, and is painted white in reference to a blank canvas.

01 Estrologo finds it strange that a metropolis such as Cebu has no museum for contemporary arts given most Philippine local artists come from the central and...southern
parts (of) the Philippines. He believes theres more than enough material to display in his proposed museum. 02 The Museum of Contemporary Arts has green building
features such as double piping system, rainwater harvesting, LED lights, and use of low maintenance materials (perforated steel). 03 The buildings footprint depicts a top
view of the human being embracing the old acacia tree representing a Filipino embracing, owning and loving his own.

88 BluPrint
 02
F
or many years, Cebu has not only
been the major economic force in the
Philippines next to Manila, but also
the creative center of the Visayas
region. While the city hosts a number
of museums that exhibit historical, cultural and
religious artifacts important to Cebuanos, it lacks
a proper venue to showcase contemporary
artworks. Kenneth Estrologo proposes a
Contemporary Filipino Arts Museum that will
promote todays local artists and educate the
public about the visual arts.
As with all museum projects, space
requirements, lighting, acoustics and security
are just some of the challenges that confronted
Estrologo. Aside from showcasing artworks,
he wanted the museum itself to embody
contemporary Filipino culture through
architecture. In contrast to the solid and massive
architecture of most museums in Manila,
transparency and permeability are central to
Estrologos design. He located the vehicular
drop-off on a side street at the rear and designed
a roundabout around an existing old acacia tree
that he wanted to preserve. Pedestrians enjoy
the landscaped open spaces fronting the building
along the major road. The ground floor is planned
with an outdoor central plaza that divides the
building into two wings and connects the front
entrance with the rear entrance. A water feature
with a deconstructed statue of man at the center
of the outdoor plaza gives a strong focal point to
the area while activating the spaces around it.
The building itself is wrapped with perforated
steel material gradually offset from the buildings
glass skin, which not only makes for an interesting
envelope that controls natural light entering
the building, but also acts as an acoustic buffer
and an added layer of protection to the interior
spaces against UV and Infrared rays harmful to the
artworks. The buildings take full advantage of the
sites rectangular shape and the fact that its longer
sides face north and south and the shorter sides,
east and west. And it is on the south, east and west
sides that Estrologo wisely protects his building
from the sun with the perforated metal shields.
The general layout, however, is uncomfortably
similar to that of Ayala Museums, complete with
the ground floor void, central fountain, and glass
interconnection between massings with stairs
inside. However, unlike the Ayala Museum, which
serves as a gateway to an expansive interior park,
this one opens out to the acacia tree and a road
behind. There is no attempt to use the gateway
effect of the structure as a means to visually link
or physically connect the museum to the
surrounding context.
03
Five elements of
contemporary art
Appropriation. We live in a
culture that overflows with images
and objects that todays artists
incorporate into their work in pursuit
of creative expression.
Time occupies an important, but
invisible, place in human culture.
Space. In traditional drawing or
painting, artists have often been
concerned with creating illusions
of space or depth upon a flat
surface using light and shadow.
Contemporary artists focus on real
spacethe dimensions of a room
and the spaces we move through in
the city. Technologies like television
and smart phones have transformed
our conception of time, a key element
in the work of many artists today.
Performance art describes artists
explorations of the processes,
motions and actions they use to
create art. Some use paint brushes
or musical instruments while others
create multimedia events in which an
artwork is the by-product or part of
the documentation.
Hybridity. In science, a hybrid is
created by mixing characteristics
of two different species in order
to create one that is better. This is
the aim of many contemporary art
works today.
BluPrint 89
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

The
Terminal
ALJEROE FUNTILA WANTS TO BRING A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
TO THE SOUTHWEST CITY-PROVINCIAL BUS TERMINAL
mAPUA inSTiTUTE oF TEChnoLogy, 2013
rECommEnDED By ThE DEAn oF ArChiTECTUrE

01 02

03 04

01 Funtila designed the centralized bus terminal to resemble the shape of an eagle in flight, something one might be able to appreciate from above. 02 Aside from
the air filters, air curtains are also used right outside the exit of the boarding area to prevent fumes from entering the building when passengers make their way to the
bus. 03 Instead of a gutter, a skylight runs through the middle of the butterfly roofs for daylighting. 04 Funtila visited bus terminals to observe user behavior patterns.
He discovered that arriving passengers stay up to two hours in the terminal, departing passengers up to three hours, and transfer passengers up to four hours. This
convinced him of the need, not just to provide better indoor air quality, but also a pleasant, engaging and productive environment for commuters.

90 BluPrint
Front elevation
M
etro Manila residents
are no strangers to the
perennial woes of our urban
transport system. Day in
and day out, commuters
suffer not only the monstrous traffic but also
pollution caused by smoke-belching vehicles
plying our thoroughfares. As a commuter himself,
Aljeroe Funtila had had enough, so he proposed
a centralized city and provincial bus terminal
with integrated office and retail spaces, and a
mechanism that reduces passengers smoke
intake. The site is within the vicinity of the
temporary Southwest Integrated Provincial Bus
Terminal along Coastal Road in Alabang.
Regarding the site planning, BluPrint
consultant Leandro Poco points out the non-
intuitive circulation for buses: There are too many
forced turns, and the plan requires buses to back
into a driveway or road. The plan is also premised
on having a bus drop off in one location, and then
pick up in another location, which is very non-
intuitive for both bus driver and passengers. Poco
adds that the student would have benefited from
undertaking case studies of successful bus hubs
like Denvers Union Station Bus Concourse, where
circulation is clear and movement of buses is
unimpeded. It also creates a centralized passenger
concourse that is airconditioned and protected
from the elements.
As for the architecture, the terminals arrival
and departure wings feature butterfly roofs that
slope downward to the middle, where skylights
are installed. Clerestory windows and glass
curtains in certain areas are more than enough
to allow for natural lighting; the skylights will
just add to the energy load needed to cool the
airconditioned building. It is also unclear how this
glass valley will handle storm water runoff, given
the lack of gutters.
The highlight of the thesis is Funtilas defenses
against smoke inhalation. As a first line of
defense, the waiting area is vertically segregated
one floor apart from the bus platforms. Funtila
reasons, The farther the location of people,
Polluted air
Fresh air
UV light
Pre-filter HEPA filter Nano Silver filter Photocatalyst filter Activated Ionizer Fragrance
carbon filter diffuser
Source: http://i1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb384/fangfangwu88/air_purify_8.jpg
the better place for a bus to be located. Second,
the platforms where passengers queue during
boarding time are enclosed, and access doors will How the air
only open once the bus is in position to pick up purifying system
or drop off passengers. Third, smoke-reducing works
devices that absorb, filter and purify air are
installed just outside all access doors to reduce The thesis highlights an air-purifying
mechanism, commonly used in cars,
smoke intake by passengers at the moment they to be installed in the terminal to
cross the threshold and hop onto the bus. It not reduce passengers smoke intake.
only prevents the smoke from entering the body Polluted air passes through eight
of a passenger but that of the bus driver as well, purification filters that will turn it
into clean air.
says Funtila.
Air filtration is hardly an architectural (1) The Pre-filter is where large
solution, and its benefits to commuters, in the way particles like threads are filtered.
(2) The Hepa Filter is where
Funtila uses it in the thesis project, are doubtful.
smaller particles like allergens,
The research focused too much on the air filter pollen, dust and smoke are trapped.
mechanism, but bus passengers will stand to (3) The Nano Silver Filter
benefit from it for a minute at most. More than eliminates germs, viruses, fungi,
and bacteria, and eliminates
anything, it is the air conditioning of the terminal foul odors.
that will make the commuters wait (Funtilas (4) The UV Light kills whatever
research shows that commuters wait for buses germs, viruses, fungi, and
anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours or more) bacteria make it through the
Nano Silver Filter
less injurious to their health. (5) The Nano TiO2 Photo-
The thesis projects proposed responses are catalyst Filter breaks down
sophomoric in relation to the big problems it is poisonous volatile organic
compounds.
trying to solve. Funtila claims the structure itself
(6) The Activated Carbon Filter
will be able to lessen the traffic in Metro Manila, further absorbs unpleasant smells.
and that it will improve the sustainability of the (7) The Ionizer filter improves
society in terms of reducing the pollution brought air quality
(8) The fragrance diffuser
by the smoke emission released by buses. Why
releases fragrance
hasnt anyone told him that achieving urban
sustainability requires more than a central bus
terminal with air filters?
BluPrint 91
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

01 02

03

04

01 In 2014, Lara Cruz won a design competition with a similar proposal inspired by the same principles and design of the LEAPHaus, a low-impact and adaptable
housing prototype that floats when flood water reaches critical level. 02 As part of the storm water management, the author designed the subdivision with
porous asphalt with subsurface infiltration, bioswales, permeable walkways, and lagoons acting as water catchments. However, the subdivision plan suffers from
code violations of such basics as road hierarchy, fire lanes, block widths, and lengths of cul-de-sacs. One area even has a five-meter road right-of-way, something
not permitted even in socialized housing. 03 Lara Cruz believes that, Architecture should be progressiveNatural disasters cannot be prevented but our homes
should at least be designed to adapt to extreme weather conditions. 04 The concrete barge is reinforced by a welded steel frame coated in plaster and treated
with waterproofing agents. The guide posts are supported by subsurface concrete footings.

Floating Houses
LARA THERESE CRUZS AMPHIBIOUS HOUSING IS A NOVEL IDEA, BUT
WOULD YOU BUY IT? UnivErSiTy oF SAnTo TomAS, BATCh 2013
rECommEnDED By ThE DESign CoorDinATor oF UST CoLLEgE oF ArChiTECTUrE

92 BluPrint
 05
05 Following the principles of passive tropical design, all LEAPHaus models feature a three-meter high ceiling for air circulation, and vertical louvers and wide
overhangs for shading. 06 Double glazed glass panels allow natural light to come in while blocking excess UV rays from the sun. They are encased in perforated
metal as protection against gale force winds.
I
magine a world where developable sites
have been built up, and whats left of our
brownfields are rendered inhabitable due
to rising water levels brought by climate
change. Such was the premise behind
LEAPhaus by Lara Cruz. Standing for Low-Energy,
Adaptive and Passive, LEAPhaus takes inspiration
from similar projects like the Amphibious homes in
the Netherlands, and the Float House in the US.
LEAPhaus is built atop a barge made by a
combination of autoclaved aerated concrete and
high-performance lightweight concrete. As water
level rises, the concrete barge carries the house
up to five meters above ground. The barge is
supported by dolphins or vertical guideposts to
resist horizontal force, securing the house in place
when marooned in water.
The project aims for a Filipino identity and
climate responsive design via the use of indigenous
materials, pitched roof, high ceiling, eaves, etc.
The design, however, presents problems on
several fronts. Elevated on a barge, the house is
accessed by a staircase. Railings to keep residents
from falling off the platform prevent them from
accessing garden spacebut if frequent floods
are expected, better uses for the perimeter space
should have been explored. The carport is at street
level; in the event of flooding, car resellers will
enjoy a surplusis this a deliberate strategy to
discourage car-dependency?
The authors intention was to build prototypes
of the house, which would have been complex
enough for an undergraduate thesis; but the
adviser instructed the student to attack the
06
problem at an urban scale, so a site for a proposed
subdivision in Laguna was selected to offer
LEAPhaus houses as selling point. Now this
changed the parameters and premises of the
project completely.
The new rationale purported to decongest Utilities
Manila, and build a model community promoting
new urbanisman ironic assertion, as suburban Utilities are an important
consideration in designing
villages are associated with gas-guzzling, amphibious houses. The following
carbon footprint-enlarging urban sprawl. The strategies are used to address this
rationale latched onto the Filipino dream of land critical aspect of the project:
ownershipan aspiration ostensibly so strong as
Storm Safe Service
to outweigh the risks of buying in a flood-prone Entrance Connection
subdivision. The LEAPhaus subdivision was then A technology patented in the US, this
presented as a private venture of a developer service entrance device automatically
disconnects electrical lines to the
catering to the upper middle-class. No estimate
power main as soon as a significant
of the concrete barges was made, but assuming magnitude of force is exerted to
a developer would be willing to spend for it, one the cable.
wonders why the investment would not be put
Vacuum Pump-out
into better site planning and drainage facilities Septic System
instead. BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco adds In this septic system, a waterless
his notes: The planning of the subdivision does toilet is connected to a holding tank
not attempt to innovate beyond the linear block where sewage is collected and then
pumped out when the tank reaches a
devleopments so usual in our current housing critical level.
context. The author could have attempted to
foster a stronger community feel with a central
common green, instead of relegating open spaces
to the edges.
The LEAPhaus is a novel idea, which could
have made for interesting explorations, given
the right premises. Without guidance and a firm
foundation for the authors ideas to build on, it is
difficult to imagine anyone taking a leap of faith
with the LEAPhaus.
BluPrint 93
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG AND JUDITH TORRES
The Best
for the Least
LIKE HOPE, BETINA DIMACULANGANS TYPHOON-PROOF
HOUSES FLOAT DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2014
I
t is always refreshing to see students
eschewing iconicism and tackling instead
unglamorous yet urgent problems such
as social housing. Betina Dimaculangan
started with a belief that properly
designed, affordable and disaster-resilient housing
will uplift the self-worth of the people living in
vulnerable coastal communities. Beyond the
physical, she touched on the psychic value of
architecture in establishing human dignity.
She wanted to design a disaster-resilient
community for fisherfolk in Guiuan, Eastern
Samar. Of the 60 barangays in Guiuan, 44 are
coastal including Barangay Baras by Leyte Gulf,
one of the communities most vulnerable to
disasters because of the absence of mountainous
areas that decrease the strength of winds
blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean. In 2013,
when super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) first made
landfall in Guiuan, it left 101 people dead, 16
missing, and 4,089 injured. The National Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council
reported social housing as one of the most vital
forms of assistance needed. Dimaculangans
project, therefore, aims to provide the survivors
and their families with quality dwellings that
can withstand similar typhoons as well as
earthquakes, without relocating them away from
their livelihood source.
Dimaculangans proposed house sits on a
concrete foundation with a floating device made
of plastic water drums, enabling it to float three
meters above ground when water level rises. The
94 BluPrint
method of construction provides a continuous
load path, where the structural frame members
from roof to foundation are tied together,
enabling the house to hold out during high-wind
events or seismic activities. As an added feature,
the house is shielded by louvers at high angles to National Housing
resist wind. Authoritys
BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco raises structural design
questions about practicality: Its steel-framed. standards post-
Typhoon Yolanda:
How do you weld or bolt these when fishing
villages have rarely enough electrical supply wind load - 250 kph for 1-2 storeys,
to power equipment? He asks: Why are 300 kph for 3-storeys
we building in steel next to the sea? Did she or higher
consider alternate materials which could be Strength of walls and
locally sourced and assembled instead of steel superstructure - 3,000 psi
which has to be shipped in and would require
Soil bearing capacity - 95 kpa
special coatings to resist corrosive salty air and
seawater? Seismic - Zone 4
Dimaculangan has numbers to showcost
and structural analysis to support her design. Loading - 50 psf
Fellow consultant Stephanie Tan-Branquinho Fire resistance - 2 hours
gives her credit for a lot of research and good
development of thesis. Indeed, the research is
methodical and crafted around existing studies
and policies, building on what is already being
done by the national and local governments
and NGOs. In addition, she made an effort to
do bottom-up planning, conducting in-depth
profiling of target users through extensive
interviews to grasp the realities on the ground. It
is a thesis with a sense of social conscience, and
we hope to see more of it taught and encouraged
in architecture schools.
 01

01 & 02 Perspectives of a single detached unit with expansion and a single detached unit. Dimaculangans designs comply with the National Housing Authoritys
structural standards for resilient structures in areas vulnerable to typhoon winds and storm surges. This includes a wind load of only 250 kphan inexplicable
underestimate, given Typhoon Yolandas sustained speeds of over 300 kph. 03 As protection against the elements, steel materials will be treated with epoxy
primer and epoxy coated paint, wood materials with coal tar and elastomeric paint, and sawali materials with varnish and fire retardant chemical.

02 03

Betina Dimaculangan started with

a belief that properly designed,
affordable and disaster-resilient
housing will uplift the self-worth
of the people living in vulnerable
coastal communities.

BluPrint 95
THESIS

Having said that, we hope to see schools 01

training our students to approach data
with skepticism. Without skepticism, there
is no critical thinking. For example, by
simply complying with the governments
no-build zone of 40 meters from the sea,
Dimaculangans project, if built, would put
families in harms way with the false assurance
that metal frames, louvers and a floating
mechanism will save them in a storm surge.
The raging waters that swept over Guiuan
during Typhoon Yolanda reached five to six
meters high, and pushed by winds over 300
kilometers per hour, sped inland by over a
kilometer. Assuming Dimaculangans house
02
could float six or seven meters high, it still
wouldnt work in a storm surge where the
water is heaving in from one direction, as
against water that is steadily rising all around.
Typhoon Yolandas waves carried boats large
and small and dumped them in the middle of
villages. In Tacloban, the surge pushed a steel
dredging ship 100 meters inland. What defense
could the proposed house have against that?
What if the next disaster is a tsunami? The
premise that fisher folk shouldnt be relocated
far away from their livelihood is parochial,
driven by well-meaning but misguided
sentiment. The problems still besetting Guiuan
today are complex and cannot be fixed with
03
simplistic solutions and good intentions.
Schools must cultivate in students a healthy
skepticism needed for multi-dimensional
critical thinking, so that pieces of truth are not
mistaken for the whole truth. Critical thinking
is not merely the ability to reasonand one
can indeed see this skill in the various thesis
projects featured in these pages. One must also
evaluate information with the worldview that
things are not always entirely as they seem,
as sociologist Howard Gabennesch writes in his
article, Critical Thinking: What is it Good For?
Intellectual due process, as Gabennesch
calls it, is the best way of arriving at the truth,
and it requires being unwilling to subordinate 01 Floorplan for a single detached unit with a footprint of 15.26 sqm (3.43 x 4.45), with a 7.8-sqm
ones thinking to orthodoxiestenets, beliefs, livelihood area outside. Future expansion will bring the total footprint of the unit to 32.53 sqm, not
counting the livelihood area and a verandah. 02 Based on Dimaculangans cost analysis, a single
general sentiments, political correctnessat
detached house (total floor area 29.5 sqm) costs P431,000; a single detached expansion (TLA 40.76
the risk of being charged with heresy and sqm) costs P510,000; while a duplex unit (TLA 24.25 sqm) costs P353,000. 03 Dimaculangans
insensitivity. To paraphrase Gabennesch, thesis project assumes that buffers such as mangroves will be in place, which could be why she
architects, planners and designers who are designed structures for 250 kph only, and for them to be located 40-50 meters from the shore. One
must question the wisdom of placing so much faith in mangroves. They will not reduce wind speed,
careful about the truth are less likely to be fooled
nor stop a storm surge caused by sustained winds pushing the surface of the sea. In any case, if
by thinking that justifies reactionary resolutions there were a protective wall of mangroves lining the coast, then the objective of locating the houses
and simple solutions. close to fishermens source of livelihood is flawed.

Schools must cultivate in students a healthy skepticism needed for

multi-dimensional critical thinking, so that pieces of truth are not
mistaken for the whole truth.

96 BluPrint
 THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

01

01 According to Abril,
Open spaces should be the
need to go to places of a
community, rather than the
areas people need to get
away from. Says Poco of
the project: Its largely an
application of established
good green urban design
guidelines that have been
successfully applied abroad,
and the attempt to apply it
in the local context is a good
start. 02 Parks and open
spaces are important in
community planning as they
encourage social interaction
and provide opportunities
for community members to
build relationships.

Open Space Network

CRISTINA VICTORIA ABRIL DRAFTS GUIDELINES
FOR PARK DESIGN IN ERMITA, MALATE
DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2015

P
ublic parks are often assigned surface runoff from surrounding buildings and
to leftover spaces after all the stores it in underground tanks.
buildings have been planned. Her study is more urban design than
Cristina Abril considers these architecture. It needed more intensive What is multi-
urban voids as breathing spaces architectural questioning, says Tan-Branquinho, functional space?
in high-density cities and places of social and adding: I would have wanted to have attention to
cultural significance to the community. A the spaces createdwhat is the sense of place? Multi-functional open spaces are
green places that provide a variety of
connected, interactive open space can unify the For his part, consultant Leandro Poco, notes: activities for different types of users.
community and improve the function of the She took pains designing street furniture when Communities and their recreational
city in terms of flooding, traffic and pollution, she could have identified a building structure and needs tend to change over time.
she says. designed it to link together these open spaces she Multi-functional and flexible open
spaces are better at adapting to
Abrils thesis is centered on a set of design was proposing. changes, allowing a range of users
guidelines for the redevelopment of open Nevertheless, Abrils thesis shows exciting to enjoy the same space and at the
spaces in Ermita, Malate, one of the oldest prospects of how neglected public spaces, when same time, allowing the space to
evolve, mature and adapt to the
districts of Manila and currently the seat of the developed, may bring new life to blighted urban
changes in the community.
local city government. Of the 14 major open corridors.
spaces in Ermita identified by Abril, she chose
fourPlaza Olivia Salamanca, Remedios Circle,
Rajah Sulayman Park, and Plaza Fergusonas 02
examples where she showed how the guidelines
could be applied. The challenge is to create a
visual connection between the pocket parks and
the buildings around it. The parks share common
elements such as public art, informative displays,
way-finding devices, benches, and multi-
functional open spaces, which can accommodate
various community activities and events. The
parks also have food stores and can serve as
venue for occasional street performances. As
part of its urban sustainability feature, the parks
have a storm water retention system that collects

BluPrint 97
THESIS REVIEWED BY ADRIAN TUMANG

Intergenerational
Community
PAULA BEANCA HAPATINGA DESIGNS A CARGOTECTURE COMMUNITY FOR
ABANDONED CHILDREN AND ELDERLY DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2015

01

01 Stramps or stairs with

ramps is a prominent
landscape element in
Hapatingas masterplan
that promotes walking and
stair climbing as a form of
simple physical exercise for
the elderly and the children.
They also serve as venues
for interaction. 02 Hapatinga
wants children and elders to
live harmoniously and build
a close familial relationship
so he designed communal
spaces that provide
opportunities for formal and
02
informal interaction.

98 BluPrint
T
he author feels for orphans and the architectural solution will be beneficial to both 03 Before they are
completely admitted to the
aged living in underfunded social social welfare dependent elderly and impoverished
community, children have to
welfare institutions. More than children? and What planning model can be go through a rehabilitation
providing for their basic need for used to physically and socially integrate social process that includes
shelter, Paula Hapatinga believes welfare dependent elderly and impoverished seminars and psychological
briefing to prepare them
that architecture should also provide for their children, which will let themfeel their self-worth for their new home and
psychological need to feel loved and cared for. She and purpose? Its difficult to conceive how the environment. Rehabilitation
says, Every child deserves to be happy...and every use of container vans per se is beneficial. If the takes place in the reflection
elderly (person), a sense of purpose even when intergenerational housing program is run well and area and provisional shelter
units. 04 Elders can teach
they are no longer part of the work force. She supported financially, the buildings will of course children about organic
rethinks the idea of welfare housing and proposes benefit its users, regardless of material, humble gardening at the Vegetable
an intergenerational community in Quezon City or sophisticated. Hapatingas research questions Garden Bridge. Vertical green
vegetation are also applied at
that that encourages the children to treat the elders are complex question fallacies that presuppose
both exterior and interior walls
as their grandparents, and the elders to treat the that architecture, by itself, can solve the problem of the container structures to
kids as their grandchildren. In her plan, Hapatinga of abandoned children and elderly, and empower serve as thermal insulation.
provides amenities like a chapel, school, parks them to find purpose and meaning. We commend
and a fitness center that will help young and old students for taking on such projects, but social
generations ease into their new roles. Her proposed issues are complex and just not solvable by
set-up banks on traditional Filipino values that will architecture alone.
allow children to feel cared for by an adult, and the
elderly to find purpose in taking care of abandoned
children as their own.
Hapatinga chooses shipping containers as a low-
cost and sturdy alternative to mainstream building 03
materials like concrete and steel. Its sustainable, she
says, and solves the problem of empty containers
crowding the Port of Manila. Cargotecture, as
this strategy is called, has been successfully
implemented in different parts of the world.
However, it only works as a temporary solution and
Hapatingas proposal is a permanent housing facility.
And, the problem of unused containers is one that
will disappear if government does what it should to
boost manufacturing and trade, in particular, export.
The glut of container vans in our port area is not an
opportunity, says BluPrint consultant Leandro Poco,
because these vans are worth more to shippers than
they are to any developer as a building material. 04
Poco raises concerns about the projects
structural integrity. The student lines up several
container vans and assumes whole walls can be
removed to combine the narrow spaces into a
large footprint. Doing so will weaken the structure
because the strength of the container rests not in
the frame but the exterior skin, which, if removed,
compromises the containers ability to handle
different loads.
Consultant Stephanie Tan-Branquinho, for her
part, questions the process that led to the design
conclusion. She asks, What are the justifications
for the way the container vans are positioned? How
does their configuration contribute to solving the
issues cited?
The problem with Hapatingas thesis premise
is that it seeks to answer the questions: What

BluPrint 99
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA
The Peoples
Theater
DIANDRA MUASSAB WANTS TO TRUCK PHILIPPINE PERFORMANCE ARTS
TO RURAL AREAS DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2014
T
he problem identified in the thesis
project is the local masses lack of
exposure to quality arts, particularly
theater. Logistical, financial and
transportation constraints prevent
producers and performers from taking their
act to rural areas; and local barangay halls and
basketball courts serve as poor stages for a theater
performance. Diandra Muassabs solution: design
a truck that can be unfolded to become a theater
stage, making transport to far-off areas easier.
The Peoples Theatre isnt just for plays
Muassabs plan allows lighting and sound system
setups for music and dance performances too.
The mobile theater system has three main parts:
the ceiling rigging system, flooring and the base.
The roofing, trusses, structural supports, stage
panels and backstage walls are all folded inside
the truck, and can be unfolded and set up once the
truck is parked. Muassab hopes that by making it
easier for quality arts to reach the masses, their
potential creativity can be sparked and developed.
To appreciate Muassabs work, BluPrint
consultant Leandro Poco recalls I.M.Peis senior
thesis in MIT, a mobile propaganda unit for rural
China made of dismountable bamboo, off a mobile
container. His aim was to create a platform
to educate the vast numbers of rural Chinese
using projectors and film reels carried within
the piece of mobile architecture. Of course, his
tutors in MIT were taken aback by Peis use of the
word propaganda as the message the mobile
containers carried to the masses, Poco recounts.
The world has changed a fair bit since I.M.Peis
student years, and the need for a mobile structure
as a means of transmitting information, or for that
matter, entertainment, to the far masses is easily
surpassed by virtual channels like the Internet,
and mass media like radio and television. Poco
elaborates: Put up a screen in front of a packed,
100 BluPrint
generic tin gym for a Pacquiao fight, and the space
of the MGMs Arena is virtually multiplied and
expanded to include the vast number of gyms in
the Philippines showing the fight for free, along
with all the living rooms around the world with
Pay-Per-View. But that does not make the gym the
MGM Arena, nor does the structure transform into
a piece of architecture.
Poco endeavors further to take Muassabs
proposal seriously: Its a temporary venue
to view a temporary event. Can architecture
become part of an event, or the event itself? Yes.
The world expos are examples of architecture
as event, but temporal and material difficulties
arise when this direction is pursued for smaller
scales as in the case of this project. Searching for
similarities between Muassabs mobile theater and
the World Expo pavilions that enthrall millions
every year is most gracious of Poco. What is the
theater experience here? asks fellow consultant
Stephanie Tan-Branquinho. She elaborates:
Im looking for the architecture of space and
place that creates anticipation of a show and a
performance. How would the experience of going
to this mobile theater be different from going
into a barangay singing contest or a basketball
game? How is culture and art housed in a unique
architectural space?
Like another mobile project proposed by a
fellow SDA student, The Peoples Theatre raises
the question of what architecture is or isnt
valid and compelling questions. Does the final
product provide an experience of space and a
sense of place? Unless the answer is yes, it is a
bit of a stretch to call it an architectural solution.
The Peoples Theater is a set-up light and sound
system suppliers might want to add to their list
of offerings, but not something an architecture
student should have expended so much time and
energy rationalizing.
01 02 03

04 05 06

07
Diandra Muassabs solution to
the local masses lack of exposure
to quality arts, particularly
theater: design a truck that can be
unfolded to become a theater
stage, making transport to far-off
areas easier.

08 09

01 Perspective showing the Peoples Theatre being unfolded. Here, the outer panels of the truck are being unfolded to create the small backstage area.
02 After the backstage area is set up, the next step is to unfold the truck walls that will serve as the stage flooring. The rest of the Peoples Theatre parts are stacked in
the middle: the ceiling system, crane and trusses, and the modular floor panels. 03 The floor system consists of 20 panels that are connected through a hook-and-eye
system, and measures a total of 7.2m x 13m when assembled. 04 Using a chain block and crane, the ceiling system can be lifted up to the desired height, depending on
the performance. Once the ceiling system is up, folded trusses on the side should be lowered down for structural support. 05 & 06 The author designed the Peoples
Theatre to be set up on one side of a basketball court, which, she points out, is also the events space of most baranggays. She claims the mobile theater design would
eliminate the acoustical problems and inadequacies of such sites. The bigger question, however, is whether the immediate surroundings of the typical baranggay basketball
court has enough space for a truck 6 by 2.4 meters in size to maneuver from the street into position. 07, 08 & 09 The Peoples Theatre can be used for three different
performance types: orchestral and choral music, plays, and dance performances.

BluPrint 101
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA

According to liturgical guidelines, there must be a structure where parishioners can faithfully practice liturgy, and an altar for the Eucharistic celebration.
Furthermore, it states that a church must stand as a symbol of the community itself. The modular sanctuary therefore must symbolize the community and help
its people keep the faith. While the modular sanctuary is helpful for the disabled and the elderly, it doesnt enhance the churchgoing experience for everyone else.

Mobile
Sanctuary
A MOVABLE CHAPEL FOR STREET MASSES BY KEVIN ROE SINGZON
DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2014

102 BluPrint
K
evin Singzons thesis project is
a fairly simple onea movable
place of worship for people in
remote areas of Bulacan who find
it difficult to reach the town church.
The Bishop of the Diocese of Malolos discourages
the practice of holding outdoor masses because
the practice of Liturgy is not being followed in this
scenario, so the author saw fit to design a modular
sanctuary that would bring the church experience
to the different sitios in the area.
The location chosen for the thesis is the
municipality of Doa Remedios Trinidad, which is
divided into 8 barangays with over an 80% Catholic
population. The proposed design allows for the
modular sanctuary to be pulled by a tractor, vehicle
commonly found in the province. A 4 x 2-meter
flatbed hooked onto the tractor will hold the
sanctuary, composed of the altar table, lectern, and
retablo. It can also be converted into a carriage for
an image procession.
The authors objectives are to provide a
holistic experience of the church cathedral,
and strengthen the faith of the parishioners in
preparation of establishing their faith in eternal life.
It is disappointing that the school did not demand
smart (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and
time-bound) goals, or at the very least, a number of
indicators to measure success. Putting a sanctuary
on a flatbed solves the problem of bringing the
church to the people, but the opportunity for a more
imaginative solution was squandered.
[This] could have developed into something
interesting if the whole idea was seen in a
more abstract way, says BluPrint consultant Floor Plan
Stephanie Tan-Branquinho. Indeed, the projects Scale 1:50M
design is simplistic and banal to the point The floor plan of Singzons
that Tan-Branquinho questions whether it is modular sanctuary provides
an architectural solution worthy of a final for all the necessary liturgical
thesis project. items to celebrate a Catholic
mass in an area of 4 x 2
Says fellow consultant Leandro Poco: The study metersthe altar table at
attempts to expand the definition of architecture by the center, the crucifix and
growing it beyond what we recognize as buildings, lectern flanking it, and the
retablo behind. A retractable
but the author does not expound on what he believes
canopy will cover the
would define the temporary and mobile structure sanctuary when it is being
as architecture. Can religious architecture be fleeting moved from place to place.
Kevin Singzons thesis project is a simple onea
movable place of worship for people in remote
areas of Bulacan who find it difficult to reach
the town church.
and temporary without creating a spiritual sense
anchored to the place where it is planted? Anyone
who was at Pope Francis mass in Tacloban and
Luneta or UST will no longer see the temporary
structures used, but they leave a ghost-like memory
of a place that is special for this reason.
The author said he wanted to apply the genius
loci theorythe spirit of a place created by
architecture and culture. That is precisely what is
missing. He could have abstracted what that is from
research into the people, culture and context of
the area, to produce a design that would embrace,
enhance or embody the spirit of the place, even as it
travels from site to site.
BluPrint 103
THESIS REVIEWED BY MIGUEL R. LLONA
Valence and Spaces
ANGELO BLAY PLANS THE DEFENSE OF THE CEBU COASTLINE
USING URBAN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE
DE LA SALLE CoLLEgE oF ST. BEniLDE, BEST ThESiS 2014
01
A
ngelo Blay is concerned about
the Philippine militarys inability
to defend our territory from
foreign invaders. The recent
territorial disputes in the
South China Sea lend a measure of urgency to his
thesis project, in which he proposes tactical and
physical defense lines through urban planning and
architecture. He argues that a countrys physical
defense is necessary not just for repelling invaders,
but also for projecting an image of strength,
something he feels the Aquino administration
hasnt prioritized. As a result, Blay avers, countries
like China bully us. The more urbanized a country
is, he says, the greater the need for superior defense
systems. Citing the 9/11 attacks on the US, he warns
that an attack on any one of our urban centers
would be catastrophic to our economy.
For his study, Blay chose the island of Cebu.
Focusing on the areas near the coastline, he created
separate zones for defensive armaments and
reinforced buildings, and evacuation areas for
civilians in the event of an attack. Inspired by the
military strategies of Mongolian warrior Genghis
Khan, and the Vietnamese in the Battle of Ap Bac,
he presents how defense lines could be mapped out
depending on the type of invasion.
It might have served his arguments better
if he had done case studies of similar defensible
settlements, and of more recent vintage. BluPrint
consultant Leandro Poco cites Singapores
Woodlands New Town as a possible example, as
it was planned/designed to become a massive
stumbling block to any Malaysian invasion over the
causeway. Poco further suggests: (Blay could have
expounded) on how the USA deliberately took to
suburbanization of critical industries and military
positions to minimize potential mass damage by
nuclear strikes on major urban concentrations. This
104 BluPrint
02
drove 1950s-1960s American defense strategy as
planners consciously tried to define radii around
urban cores which could be considered safe from
Soviet nuclear and ICBM strikes. Cities are difficult
places to fight in, and if the conflict goes nuclear,
are easy targets to destroy with tactical nuclear
weapons. This paranoid thinking justified sprawl.
But all of the above only add value if this were a
planning thesis and not an architectural thesis, so
these are largely moot.
Consultant Stephanie Tan-Branquinhos reaction
upon reading Blays book: The thesis appears like a
collection of data and planning guidelines, and could
have had a more specific architectural solution.
As improbable as Blays imaginings of China
or some other bully attacking Cebu are, even more
improbable is the suggestion that fortifying Cebus
coastline and projecting an image of strength
would stop China from launching an offensive
there if it wanted to. The thesis project also touches
on how the zoning of tactical and defensive lines
could be usefuleven crucialin cases of natural
disasters, in facilitating mobilization of the military
for rescue and evacuation operations. His time would
have been better spent on this instead of planning
for non-existent armies invading our cities, as Poco
puts it. Still, it wouldnt make for an architectural
thesis, and one wonders how this proposal with its
shaky theoretical grounding, incredible premises
and faulty logic wasnt shot down from the get-go.
03
be raised up if necessary, and small
The author wants to prove that
architecture is situational and adaptive:
I want to explore its potentiality to
adapt to certain imminent happenings
and still control them by designs
considerate of the changes in the
environment. He presents several
plans for defensive lines depending
on where the attack comes from
(the harbor, city/core, or a scattered
invasion), as symbolized by the red
or neutralized areas. His ideal
defensive line is one allocated along
the perimeter and harborside districts
with reinforcement defensive cores
in the middle part of the city, [with its]
business districts and mass-scaled
residential zones.
Core neutralization
Ideal reinforced zone
Legend
Preliminary Defense Zero
Prior to Neutralization
Neutralized Areas
01 & 02 The architectural
component of the thesis is limited
to the design of military-integrated
defensive canopy clamp modules,
to be installed in buildings to shield
soldiers and civilians during warfare.
Joint hinges allow these modules to
openings let soldiers to fire through.
Sounds more like an industrial
design proposal than an architectural
solution. 03 Military-integrated
defensive canopy clamp modules
CONCLUSION

Designing
Beyond Self
DIRECT STUDENTS AWAY FROM SELF-INDULGENT THESIS
PROJECTS, CONNECT THEM TO THE CONTExT THEY WILL
BE OPERATING IN By Leandro Nicholas Raoa Poco

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The projects pictured here
are by architect and professor
Samuel Mockbees Rural
Studio at Auburn University,
Alabama. Mockbee, who
formed Rural Studio in
1993, conceived of helping
impoverished residents of
rural Alabama while teaching
his students to care for their
community. Rural Studio has
constructed 80+ homes and
civic buildings, hailed as a
perfect storm of design-build
ingenuitysustainable,
cost-efficient and bold.
The American Institute of
Architects awarded him the
AIA Gold Medal posthumously
in 2004.
B
ecause of its ideal and
theoretical framework, the
final year architectural theses
of a cohort of graduates serve
as a canary in the coal mine
they indicate the health or deterioration of
the profession in this country. The rite-of-
passage is the apex of a students creative
and intellectual output, and reflects the
architecture schools method of instruction,
quality of faculty, its culture and values.
The thesis projects featured here cover a
broad range of work, with varying sites and
approaches; and some common themes,
motives, strengths and weaknesses can
be observed.
Images from Wikimedia Commons
Iconic object buildings
The best of the students are adroit in creating,
evolving or adopting forms, silhouettes and
profiles of iconic work. Artistic expression and
style (despite our less than stellar surroundings)
have always been hallmarks of Filipino creativity
compared to the rest of the world. Design-wise,
most of the students were not afraid to impose a
shape or masscurvilinear, jagged, meshed, etc.
Some try to tie together function, narrative and
form by conceptualizing an idea as a shape on the
floor plans, e.g.: a corporations logo as the shape
of the building.
This range of form is refreshing in contrast
to the Miesian boxes I encountered at National
University of Singapore studios.
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INTRODUCTION
(I attribute this as a byproduct of Singapores
rationality, and to the NUS School of Design
and Environments heavy emphasis on rational
legibility of forms, building technology and
buildability.)
Accompanying the ability to create attractive
forms, the thesis projects collectively exhibit
that our students are at par with the rest of
the world in terms of technique and mastery
of software required to produce the stunning
visuals. Some projects have moved away from the
typical orthographic (2D Plan, Section Elevation)
presentation, and have taken to using diagrams,
cut-aways, infographics and videos to help sell
their respective narratives.
Most projects aim to trigger a Bilbao Effect
on the areas surrounding their site. (Most
observers think that Bilbaos progress was driven
solely by the completion of Guggenheim Museum,
but it was actually part of a concerted urban
redevelopment of the whole city, rather than
the result of one famous building.) These thesis
authors say that by creating iconic landmarks, we
will be able to market a progressive Philippines
to the world, and attract visitors and investments.
This is anchored on a disproportionate value
ascribed to image and perception, rather than
substance. The Philippines is not alone in this
thinking. The wave of starchitecture and iconism
has swept the design and real estate industries
worldwide, as cities and countries jostle for
attention and mind share by building their own
versions of the Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower,
Burj Dubai, etc.
In most schools, glossy iconism is upheld as the
summit of design practice; and the iconic building,
the object of desire and fascination. The hero epic
is one of joining a prestigious design competition
(or completing a thesis project), and submitting
something so mind-blastingly great stakeholders
climb over each other to get the project built,
thereby triggering the shining career of its designer.
Even fabric building projects (building types
driven by program, or buildings that help form
the fabric of a city or campus) are styled in an
overtly iconic fashion. This says a lot about the
competitive culture within architecture schools,
and the values and motives the graduates and
their schools hold.
Lack of studio culture
The lack of a studio culture (where students
work in an open environment, and critiques
by professors and fellow students alike thresh
out ideas and improve the collective design
output) creates silos within classes and among
individuals. Instead of the cohort progressing
and moving the program forward, students see
each other as competition and keep their designs
and proposals to themselves. Of course, this
system allows for the cream of the crop to rise
(out of their own talent, work ethic and personal
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advantages, such as students with practicing
architects in their families), but it does not help
the rest of the group improve.
The lack of a studio culture may also be
indicative of the urban Filipinos desire for
self-expression. Instead of more pastoral and
collective values of sharing and helping each
other, young creatives growing up in our
crowded metro areas learn early in life the
need to stand apart from their peers. Ask an
architecture student what he or she wants to
be in the future, and the customary response
is to be a famous architectnot excellent. This
pabida and highly competitive context needs
to be replaced by a studio culture that values
continuous improvement and learning, not self-
expression and winning. Schools are not in the
business of creating the next Pinoy starchitect.
This is not The Voice or American Idol. Schools
are in the business of training learners to work
together and become excellent practitioners.
Tabula rasa
There is a prevalence of projects sited in tabula
rasa conditions devoid of context, without need
to work with surrounding urban fabric. This is
a natural extension of the fascination for iconic
object buildings, which are typically standalone
structures that dominate their surroundings.
Students favor sites without strong planning
jurisdictions and context, avoiding policed,
planned and highly contextual areas like Ayalas
Makati, Bonifacio Global City, Araneta Center,
Escolta, Luneta, etc.
Instead, most opt for vacant suburban plots and
ribbon developments with weak contextual linkages
between buildings, like the Pasay and Paraaque
reclamation areas, Quezon Citys many vacant
institutional parcels, or the rural countryside, which
allow students to plunk down whatever iconic
object they want. Such non-acknowledgement
of context in our cities creates conditions like
Commonwealth Avenues incongruent mix of iconic
buildings in non-iconic settings: soaring Neo-Gothic
Iglesia ni Kristo structures alongside boxy malls,
and churches in the mold of Saint Peters Basilica,
shoulder to shoulder with hardware stores along
the busy highway.
Thesis students usually identify their project,
create the program and visualize their iconic
form before they identify a site, so they naturally
will want a vacant space on which to plunk their
project. Then the schools, to ensure a level of
complexity, require a certain minimum land
area for site selection. Their bias for large land
cuts pushes students out to the open spaces
mentioned, which is a shame because there is a
higher level of difficulty in working with a limited
urban parcel with context. Furthermore, smaller
footprints would allow students to explore a
certain project type more deeply and in more
detail than a mega-project would.
 In fairness to the students, most of the plans
are clearly thought out and functional, albeit some
have a weak grasp of scale and proportion, no
doubt caused by the oodles of space available to
them during planning. A blank slate reduces the
variables to be considered, and allows students
to focus on creating plans that are functional
manifestations of their respective programs and
concepts. However, this waters down the thesis
in terms of real world application, because we
know that real projects occur in less than ideal
conditions, requiring compromise on what to
give up and what to keep. Real world projects are
rife with win-some, lose-some conditions, and
we arent doing our students a favor by insulating
them from these realities.
Build for iconic places instead
We have long abandoned slash-and-burn
farming, but we have not stopped our kaingin-
like abandonment of old cities. The unabated
preference for starting afresh has caused our
cities to sprawl into the countryside, and is
symptomatic of a 1950s disdain for our urban
core. Metro Manila is now knocking on the
doors of Bulacan, Cavite, and Lagunaeven as
far as Pampanga and Batangas. The rest of the
world has learned from Mumford and Jacobs; in
fact, there is a wave of re-urbanization of cities.
Realizing that city living is not the dark and
crime-ridden dystopia of yesterday, and
because of changing lifestyles, entire suburbs
in developed countries are emptying back
into cities.
Instead of creating iconic buildings in space,
why not create buildings for iconic and important
spaces? We are not running short of important
parcels of land within our cities. Certainly, these
can be redeveloped in the theoretical realm of
a thesis. Likewise, we are not short of decrepit
and unremarkable building stock, which could
be redeveloped in the academic ideal of a thesis
project. Iconic areas like downtown Manila
plazas, Escolta, Rizal Park (especially the vacant
parcel of land which was supposed to be our
Capitol buildingcurrently a 3D relief map of
the Philippines), and the surrounding Kalaw,
UN Avenue and Malate areas; Araneta Centers
Balai Roxas and surrounding greenery; and
Makatis Ayala Triangle are all opportunities to
create buildings for iconic and important places.
Schools (especially those in the University Belt)
can show their commitment to their respective
cities by theming thesis projects around urban
redevelopment, or grouping together thesis
projects around certain clustered locations of
important districts. There is more value to be
unlocked from sites in these areas than in sites
that are tabula rasa. We will be teaching students
to handle and process more layers of information
better, and imbue them with the value of cities
and our heritage as well.
Academic disconnection
Lastly, one theme I observed among the thesis
projects is a broader concern and, in a way,
intrinsic to the academe: it is the disconnect
between thesis projects and the reality they
are supposed to operate in. The theme of
disconnection is characterized by three patterns.
Grand government-driven
projects la Mitterrand
Several students proposed government-
driven projects for various relevant social and
environmental concerns, which are noble and
well-meaning, but unfortunately conceived in
the tradition of former French Prime Minister
and Paris Mayor Francois Mitterrands Grands
Projetsiconic government buildings with
bottomless budgets and imagined proponents like
the private sector (any of the big conglomerates in a
PPP setup) and foreign governments. Mitterrands
Napoleonic proclivity for monument building and
urban self-actualization are deeply at odds with
the survivalist level at which our country still
operates. While both proponents are instrumental
Real world projects are rife with win-
some, lose-some conditions, and we
arent doing our students a favor by
insulating them from these realities.
in delivering important government infrastructure,
these proponents do not give carte blanche to the
Philippine government to build whatever it sees fit.
Because of the corruption of past administrations,
the proponents themselves design, plan and/or
contract the work for these projects. This means
that the work itself is not of Napoleonic whim, but of
technocratic deliverables and measurables.
What we see therefore is a marked disconnect
between what the academe envisions as a
government project, and how these projects
are delivered. The fallacy of iconic architecture
as a cure-all permeates these theoretical white
elephants designed for a populace that has yet
to evolve. I understand some schools push this
because they believe that they are educating
students for the future, but the thesis project as a
future thought or theoretical experiment falls
apart because there is a gulf to be bridged in terms
of values and skills to be learned.
Our students are being taught to design in
a creative, sociological and political vacuum.
They are expected to design for governments,
without knowing how they work and what role
architects and designers play in the delivery of
infrastructure and services.
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INTRODUCTION
Why cant schools or the Board of Architecture
encourage apprenticeship in the government
itself? Being in the entry level of government will
help students understand the process of moving
projects, and will hopefully also trigger a national
development mindset amongst architects
maybe even channel some to become better-
equipped public servants?
Private sector projects without grounding
in market realities
The second pattern is a disconnect with market
realities. As a practitioner working for developers
of various shapes and sizes, I appreciate thesis
projects geared towards the private sector. These
projects are not sellouts, but opportunities for
students to gain a head start in the context they
will probably operate in.
Some of the private sector driven projects
are interesting because the students tried to
push local typologies further. One of the projects
investigated how to integrate community spaces
into a condominium block with the aim
of fostering neighborliness amongst condo-
dwellers. This is a marked contrast to how most
local condominiums can be dull, impersonal
and transient.
Some have taken liberties in their
investigations of these profit-driven typologies
and have forgotten that valuereal or
perceivedis what drives the exchange of
property and currency in markets. As designers,
we are agents of adding real or perceived value.
However, the students seem to see the designers
value as a function of how many bells, whistles,
attachments and articulations he can add to a
projects design. I see no recognition of the layers
of information that drive intrinsic real estate
value: location, scarcity of land, construction
costs versus acquisition costs of land,
marketability and livability of spaces, circulation
efficiency, etc.
Ive sat through numerous thesis discussions
on vertical farming, communal green spaces for
skyscrapers and collective living spaces, without
regard for the weighty demands of land value,
private ownership, security and access controls,
etc. Where is the value in designing socialist
utopias that will wither and die in capital-
driven soil? I couldnt fathom thesis projects for
developer typologies like malls, subdivisions,
condominiums, office towers, hotels and the like
without market-driven measurables such as
efficiency, cost, return and time/phasing. True
creativity and innovation should not happen in
a vacuum, disconnected from market realities.
Unchecked, this state of affairs only downgrades
the academe as a purveyor of ideas inapplicable in
the real world.
For the academe to be relevant, we need
to educate architecture students holistically.
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We need courses in real estate development,
in land economics, in project and construction
management to remind them of the numerous
layers driving a developer project. Instead
of teaching students that developers and
businessmen are evil, why not encourage summer
internships with contractors and developers to
help students form a broad-based understanding
of the rigors of the free market.
Social action for non-profit
The third pattern is that of progressive social
action for the non-profit sectorthesis projects
centered on disaster resiliency, temporary and
relocation housing, and arts and crafts livelihood
centers. These projects are important because
they signify that our graduates believe in the
mission of architecture and design to change
our world, and uplift the living conditions of
our fellow men. One of the notably well-crafted
projects, a center for retraining our domestic
helpers, was driven by the students deep,
meaningful relationship with his familys
long-time house-help. The other projects show
a similarly genuine concern and desire to help
others, but are otherwise disconnected from
True creativity and innovation should not
happen in a vacuum, disconnected from market
realities. Unchecked, this state of affairs only
downgrades the academe as a purveyor of
ideas inapplicable in the real world.
realities on the ground that they wish to
operate in.
The disconnect here is no different from the
top-down prescriptive projects that the non-
profit development sector has long had trouble
implementing at the grassroots. As someone
who keeps tabs on the non-profit development
sector through my wifes previous work with
the Ateneo Human Rights Center, Ive heard of
amusing but troubling stories of how top-down
projects that sound brilliant in the confines of our
air-conditioned ivory towers fail gloriously when
implemented on the ground.
One example of how top-down initiatives
fail happened in the 1980s when Italy sent NGOs
to Africa to explore vegetable crop farming as a
means of livelihood and food security. The Italians
surveyed the land and agriculture of the locals,
and concluded the locals were underfarming
the land; were lazy and uncivilized; their diet
unsophisticated and in need of refinement. One of
the first crops the NGOs brought to Africa with the
funding of the EU were tomatoes. They taught the
locals how to till the land and grow tomatoes.
The first few weeks, the locals were happily
following their foreign teachers. But when the
first batch of crops started bearing fruit, the
locals suddenly refused to go to the farms. This
befuddled and frustrated the Italians until they
found out that the local hippopotami had acquired
a taste for the fruit, and were making trips from
their watering holes to snack on the ripe, red
tomatoes. Moral of the story? Farming is good
if you can keep the herbivores away from your
crop before the harvest.
Good intentions cannot change the fact
that the various iterations of floating houses,
bamboo houses, and mobile architectural
typologies seen here are good on paper, but
likely unfeasible if brought out to the field. Its
downright embarrassing to think that a student
can proceed in such a direction without first
undertaking a significant period of immersion
in the communities that they are supposed to
be serving; and without knowing the cost
material and otherwiseof building in these
underdeveloped communities. This applies to
any kind of construction. If architects do not
experience for themselves or appreciate how
buildings are put together, and how their spaces
are actually used, we will be ill-equipped to serve
our clients properly.
My favorite counter-case for this is how the
Ateneo Human Rights Center takes its interns
out to live with the communities that they
serve. They climb through deforested hills,
cross rivers, get on a carabao, collect water,
dig latrines, interview and commune with the
locals. They do this a week at a time, without
creature comforts, with the intent to walk in the
shoes (or bare feet) of their client base, and not
just be tourists. The interns emerge from this
experience as changed persons, imbued with
a more acute sense of purpose, and a profound
respect for what their client base go through on
a daily basis.
There are many avenues to get students
to experience the development sector and its
clients firsthand. Habitat for Humanity and
Gawad Kalinga participation are the low-
hanging fruit as both are purely for social
outreach, without a design education agenda.
But should the schools look further, Samuel
Mockbees Rural Studio in Auburn University
in Alabama is an outstanding precedent. In the
Rural Studio, students spend a semester or a
year out in the field, designing and building
for the poor communities in South Bend,
Alabama. They learn to live with the locals
and to understand their needs. In some cases,
the communities themselves join in building
their projects. As such, their designs are
unique hybrids of design theory, executed and
customized for the local clients quirks and the
communitys requirements.
We can fuse the GK and Habitat social
development model with the Rural Studios
design education agenda. This will create
architects and designers imbued with a true
sense of service and design for those who have
less in life.
Conclusions
This thesis review has been a very insightful
mirror. It reflects my own experience in
university and the succeeding layers of insights
I have gained in my journey as an architect.
How fortunate are these graduating students
to be entering the profession at this time in our
nations development. The ongoing building tide
is floating everyones boats, and unlike past
years of doubt and uncertainty, there is an
exciting promise to their stepping out into the
working world.
The profession is known for its values of
creativity and self-expression, both of which, if
carried out without regard for the larger world
outside us and for the networks of people we
affect, can lead us into a pit of paper hubris, and
worse, screaming megalomania, when built.
The extent of our hubris in self-expression
as proven by the scores of ideal thesis projects
and built white elephantshas no limits. As
educators, students and as practitioners, there
is a clear need to scrutinize our values and
motives to be of true service to others:
By heightening our attentiveness to our
evolving urban context, and the various influences
Leandro Nicholas R.
that drive value in real estate and design; Poco is partner at L.A. Poco
By improving and deepening our connections Architects, a boutique firm
with our peers and mentors, our government and with projects small to large,
such as: the De La Salle Zobel
our private and non-profit development sectors; Our Lady of the Star Chapel
And by adopting a service-oriented mindset, in Ayala Alabang; the Net
seeking what is true and of value to our clients, Lima and Net Park Buildings
ourselves and our public. in BGC (with Oppenheim
Architecture+Design as Design
I want to close with a quote from Moshe Consultant); and several
Safdie, which encapsulates this so eloquently: mid-rise condominiums and
retail centers. He previously
worked at Palmer & Turner
He who seeks Truth
Consultants on high-end high-
Shall find Beauty rises in Singapore and Vietnam;
He who seeks Beauty and at Surbana International
Shall find Vanity Consultants, on such townships
as the resort-city of Sikkim
He who seeks Order in Indias Himalayan region; a
Shall find Gratification commercial and institutional
He who seeks Gratification core planned around a man-
Shall be Disappointed made lake in North Vietnam;
and the Pulau Muara Besar
He who considers himself the servant in Brunei Darussalam. As an
of his fellow being ASEAN scholar, Poco acquired
Shall find the joy of Self-Expression his Masters degree in Urban
Design with focus on Urban
He who seeks Self-Expression
Typomorphology and City Form
Shall fall into the pit of Arrogance from the National University
Arrogance is incompatible with Nature. of Singapore. His dissertation,
Through the nature of the universe EDSA: From Urban Fringe to
Urban Spine allowed him to
And the nature of man
graduate with distinction and
We shall seek Truth receive the Singapore Institute
If we seek truth, we shall find Beauty. of Architects Book Prize.
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EXHIBITION EDITED BY JUDITH TORRES

PO.RE Opens
THE ARCHITECTURE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE OF ST. BENILDE
SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND ARTS GIVE THE STUDENT BODYAND
THEMSELVESA SHOT IN THE ARM By Jim Caumeron

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Manila grand International airport by katherine Igonigon
(Industry Award and Students Choice Award) Mentor: Michael Stephen Diaz, Arcdes 5
The junior students design proposal aims to replace terminals 1, 2 and 4 with one international
airport and intermodal hub that will then be connected to the proposed LRT extension projects. This
will provide ease of access for all passengers who use public transport. Terminal 3 will be retained
as a domestic airport and linked with the international airport and proposed LRT station. The project
aims to create an efficient, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable airport design.

T
he School of Design and Arts (SDA)
Architecture Program has been
running for six years, and last March
21, we launched PO.RE or Portfolio
Review, meant to celebrate the school
agenda and students works, and to inspire and
renew the motivations of our mentors. Our goal is to
become a school that fosters progressive thinking in
architectural design. This is the big picture.
Bjarke Ingels believes that Architecture is the
art and science of making sure that our cities and
buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives.
Managing design classes is similar to a city and
its architecture in the sense that while each class
is taught uniquely based on the sensibilities of its
mentor, each still represents the schools big or
overarching school of thought. Each class is treated
as an important element that is part of a rich and
bigger collage of a vision.
If the Architecture program is faithfully
carrying out its mission, the student projects
generated by our design classes should be clear
expressions of itthe portfolio of the program is
the best manifestation of the school culture. The
PO.RE, therefore, will serve as our lens to determine
whether the mission of the program is being
successfully cascaded.
Who gets exhibited? For this first PO.RE, the 23
exhibits are the best of their class from Architecture
Design (Arcdes) 2, 5 and 8, mentored by 10
practitioners. Each entry was chosen by the tutor.
Since this is a pilot event, it covers only the design
classes of the last term. Next year, the exhibition will
be a comprehensive review of Arcdes 1 to Arcdes 10.
This event took us a month to prepare, and we might
need three months to organize the second PO.RE.
Through this representation, we not only are
able to audit the performance of a class through its
collaterals, content and mentors tutoring style, but
we are also able to examine whether our objectives
are collectively aligned.

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EXHIBIT

port terminal by
Mariah concepcion,
Mentor: Ven Quizon,
Arcdes 5. The project aims
to address Manilas port
congestion by proposing a
structure that uses container
vans as building envelope.
Hydraulic machines were
integrated into the envelope
to convey container vans,
resulting into the buildings
dynamic and shifting faade.

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 The PO.RE exhibition is also meant to
benchmark the quality of content and
work of SDAARs project collaterals.

stealth airport rendering
by zacc Renia (Merit),
Mentor: Ven Quizon,
Arcdes 5. One of the best
visualization techniques in
the exhibition. The project
is an airport using stealth
technology during a terrorist
or armed conflict involving
territorial disputes
Ermita sexy urban Renewal by lorenzo ferrer and lorenzo Esteban (Mentors Award),
Mentor: Kris Aquino, Arcdes 2. The site assigned to the sophomores was in Barangay 664 and 666 in
Ermita. And among the words given for design concept, the team chose dayuhan. After they explored,
immersed in, and catalogued the areas political, social, historical and cultural aspects, they chose to design
a community museum. It has three components: the Dystopia Museum, Utopia Museum and Ermitopia
Museum, which show the reality of Ermita as well as a glimpse of what it can be in the future. Their
interpretation of dayuhan as an architectural design concept was deliberately made anti-contextual with the
immediate surroundings.
Rationale
Back when this school started in 2009, its small
group of faculty members knew each other and
the passion to teach was very contagious. Even
non-design classes were treated like a rigorous
design studio. Five years later, the program
has fully grown and so have its challenges.
One of these challenges is ensuring that the
design classes produce works that not only
are communicated effectively visually, but
that have also undergone a design process and
argumentation of dialectics.
We want to maintain a strong studio
culture, which, unfortunately, is not yet widely
practiced among local schools. Alarmingly,
teachers new to SDA, who do not share
or come from the same culture, brought
in outdated practices of design classes.
Institutionalization seemed to be an inevitable
measure to prevent this trend, but since most
of our design professors are practitioners
themselves, scheduling for evaluation is a
dilemma. Therefore, we proposed an annual
gathering wherein all the members of the
SDAAR community (not limited to faculty
and students, but including architects, design
editors, and parents) come together to review
the achievements of our department.
This endeavor obliges our architecture
teachers to participate and, more importantly,
to assess their own performance as a
teacher, as the projects will surely reflect our
motivations, sensibilities and our breadth of
knowledge as a designer and role model for
tomorrows architects.

Benchmark
The PO.RE exhibition is also meant to
benchmark the quality of content and work
of our project collaterals. During the opening,
students of the lower class were intimidated
by the magnitude of research and the amount
of workload that the projects of the upper
design classes obviously demand of their
seniors. We believe this is a good thing. It
mentally prepares and immerses freshmen and
sophomores in this kind of work culture.

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EXHIBIT

slumtropolis by
This event will be used as a vehicle for a kyle Nuestro (Deans Award)
common design agenda and branding. The second Mentor: Jim Caumeron,
PO.RE will be thematicvery different from this Arcdes 5. The studio assumes
that informal settlements
years varied project directions. However, we are are almost non-existent in
pleased to see that many of the PO.RE exhibits Manila and this served as
this year were coincidentally anchored on themes take-off points for exploration.
on intervention over issues of human settlement, The project romanticizes the
smallness of slums urban
mobility and city expansiona reflection indeed morphology and architectural
of the schools vision to be a design and urban typologies, transformed into
laboratory for our cities. Many of the projects are accommodation and recreational
facilities. The entire development
still in embryonic stage, but not bad considering
is almost like a small town that
that they were produced within a 12-week period. guests can immerse themselves
We believe that issues will be addressed more in, not just in the architecture, but
holistically if students are given more time for also in its sense of community
and place. Visitors can also
project development. These observations are one pay using sweat equity, that is,
of the results of our review. they can provide community
work and services in exchange
Recognition for accommodation. View of
the rooftop used as one of the
The event awards five distinctions. The recreational spaces available for
Benildean award is a work that best represents hotel guests (pictured)
the schools core values and mission of innovation
and inclusivity. The project is chosen by a La
Salle brother. The Deans Award recognizes a
visionary proposal of excellence. The Industrys
Choice Award is chosen by members of
professional organizations. The Students Choice
Award speaks of a projects level of excellence
that they wish to emulate, while the Mentors
Award is envisioned to convey the facultys
common teaching goals.
The involvement of the different sectors
makes the review more democratic and allows
us to check whether our objectives are still
aligned with our aspirations. In addition, it
allows us to see, for example, that when the
academe has a clear ambition, the students can
have loftier goals.
The choices are made through collective
assessment, using a rubric of requirements
and expectations. Like our plans to suggest a
common agenda for the next PO.RE, our tools for
auditing are still in the developmental process.

Moving forward
This years Portfolio Review has allowed us to
map where we are as a school, and charter our
heading. As a review open to scholarly scrutiny,
we can confidently define our strengths and
weaknesses, which will clearly guide us to
improve as we advance further.
Many of the students see that SDAAR faculty
is predominantly comprised of practitioners
who teach because of our strong positions
on design, our city and professional issues.
I attribute the successful mounting of this
event to the student leaders and volunteers
of SDAAR, who passionately believe in the
PO.REs mission.

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 work by camille detera
(The Benildean Architect Award)
Mentor: Harry Serrano

This years Portfolio Review has allowed us to map where we are

as a school, and charter our heading. As a review open to scholarly
scrutiny, we can confidently define our strengths and weaknesses.

Jim Caumeron is the design

track head of the De La
Salle-College of Saint Benilde
Architecture Program. He
is also a practicing architect
who has won several design
competitions here and abroad.
His portfolio of work can be
viewed at jimcaumeron.com.

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SOMETHING LIGHT

Professorial The Somnambulist

There are professors whose very light appears
to have reached its end, and for whom the act

Typologies
of inspiring has been replaced by the act of
perspiring. Staying alert is a chore, and class
time a good excuse for a much-needed doze.
Unfortunately for students, whose hard work
deserves astute assessment, the Dozers will nod at
THINGS TO LEARN FROM THE WILD AND WACKY anything and everything presented to them. It is
CHARACTERS WALKING THE HALLS OF ACADEMIA one of the few ways they show signs of life. You see
a good number of these sleepwalkers roaming the
By Manuel Maximo Lopez del Castillo Noche campus corridors. One benefit of being in
Illustrations by Meneer Marcelo a Somnambulists class is the realization that
success depends heavily on oneself.

T
eaching is one of the most honorable professions. Despite the miserable
salary and the constant slurs from ignorant and impertinent minds, the joy
of seeing ones hard work embedded in the idealistic minds of the young is
always a refreshing and affirming experience. There is no school out there
that trains Architecture teachers. The skills needed to teach Architecture
are acquired through personal experience, learning from the examples of others, and
sometimes, sheer bravado.
Movies like Goodbye Mr. Chips, Dead Poets Society and even School of Rock illustrate
what a great teacher issomeone who inspires students to be better, who guides and
leads the way, and who embraces the learner to become the learned.
There are numerous types of Architecture teachers, some more capable than
others, a good number who grumbles about the profession, some who love to instill
fear in their wards, and a few who go out of their way to make things work for
their students. Let us identify some of these types strutting, sauntering, stomping,
shambling and slithering along the hallowed hallways of academia.

The Monument
This is the self-professed expert who, through
seniority and tenure, proclaims himself the doyen
of the curriculum. He employs archaic methods of
teaching. Dissent is not allowed in the classroom.
His words are dogma, his wisdom, infallible.
Seniority and failed ambitions leave this type
vulnerable to upstarts who, clothed with zest and
an open mind, are adored by the students. It is
only a matter of time before someone topples the
crumbling monument from his perch.

The Grouch
There are always professors who come to class
with the weight of the world on their shoulders.
These are professors who harbor much anger and
frustration that their lectures are tirades against the
inequities of the world. They have all the answers,
they are never wrong, but no one seems to recognize
their brilliance except themselves. Students who
take these professors words to heart learn that life
is not a bed of roses; that life is unfair; that there
are more disappointments than triumphs; and that
architecture is a most difficult profession to practice.

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 The Terror
The most dreaded professor in any college. Some
terrorize for sheer sadistic pleasure, some use terror
as a front for incompetence, and others terrorize to
push students to live up to their potential. Many things
can be learned from Terrors. First, students learn to be
prepared at all times to avoid the brunt of the Terrors
rage. They learn to deal with intimidating and difficult
personalities. And, they develop thick skin which all
designers need.

The Book Reader

No, these are not people who love to devour everything
about a topic, whose lives revolve around libraries and
bookstores, whose discoveries they eagerly share with
others. These are professors so bereft of ideas they rely
on prescribed textbooks for instruction, reading and
regurgitating the text of the day. One learns nothing
from the Book Reader that isnt already in the book. The
upside to the Book Reader is that learners are forced to
rely on their critical capacities to understand each topic.

The Barkada
You always see them with an entourage. They allow
their personal space to be penetrated by anyone
and everyone. Barkada professors are a blessing but
may also be a curse, as they allow the boundaries of
professionalism to be breached by friendship and
familiarity. They help make college life fun, but the
absence of boundaries impairs a teachers impartiality.
If a professor truly values his friendship with students,
then as a friend, he or she should know how to deliver
hurtful truths. Manuel Maximo Lopez
del Castillo Noche
is the President and CEO of
There are undeniably many more professor types ARCONiC, Inc.; Architectural
out there; some are good, others not so. But school Design and Creative Services
Consultant of Primehomes
The Hypocrite is just a microcosm of the real world, which is not
Real Estate Development Inc.;
They abound! They preach one thing and do another. sugarcoated for the weak and mild-mannered. and Assistant Professor of
The most confounding and confusing of all professors School is just the beginning of the wild and wacky the College of Architecture,
are those who contradict the very things they profess. world of Architecture. University of Santo Tomas. He
is also a Senior Researcher
Though nothing can be more exasperating than the
of the Center for Intercultural
Hypocrite, their hypocrisy just might teach students to Studies in the same university.
be more skeptical and discerning, and to resolve to be As a historian, he has written
forthright. The world outside academia is full of their two books on Colonial
Architecture in the Philippines
kind. The earlier the students learn how to deal with and regularly contributes to a
them, the better chance they have at making it in life. number of design magazines
and newspapers. Prof. Noche
The Cheerleader acquired his Masters degree
in Architecture majoring in
Great motivators, cheerleaders push students to greater Environmental Design and
heights. But be wary for there are two kindsthose who Engineering from the Bartlett
embolden their students to push past barriers to reach School of Architecture
and Planning in London,
for excellence, and those like the quintessential pompom
and his Bachelors degree
cheerleader whose contribution does not go beyond in Architecture from the
delivering pep and sprite. University of Santo Tomas.

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