Archive for September, 2007
Arch. Topy Vasquez was able to work out with Autodesk through their country manager a discount and flexible payment terms. The discount is P80,000 and the payment terms is 6 months zero interest.
- Date: Sept 27, 2007 6:30 PM
- Venue: Shanghai Bistro, 2nd Floor Paseo Center, Sedeno cor Paseo de Roxas, Makati City
- For Confirmations send an SMS to Arch. Pete Raralio 0917 7949446 or to Arch. Elwin Buenaventura 0918 5622501. If with a guest, please text also their names.
How can we ever be so interested in visiting the architecture of other countries and not our own? Is it just the lack of monumental architecture in our own turf – no great wall, no Borubudur, no pyramids? Despite this, there is a richness out there that we are only beginning to discover.
Arch. Maria Cristina Turalba, associate professor at the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines and head of the Sentro ng Arkitekturang Filipino of the UAP, and a team of UAP members combed the entire archipelago and documented 1,500 structures. The National Museum declared 26 Spanish colonial churches as national treasures. The San Beda Chapel, the FEU campus, the UST campus, private homes in Taal in Batangas, Malolos, Malabon, and San Miguel in Bulacan were recently opened to the public. Only now have we noticed the turn of the century fire stations in Manila. And only now have we started enjoying Luneta, Escolta and the Intramuros Walls.
What’s the deep value underneath the childlike joy that we have when we visit these places? According to our very own Arch. Toti Villalon, these structures are markers, reminding us of our national identity, despite the ravages of time, the natural calamities and the onslaught of globalization. Architecture forms part of the “heritage picture” reminding Filipinos in the present and most especially in the future.
Filipino Architects have a shared responsibility with the whole Filipino people in preserving these markers. We need to work with other interested parties to come up with workable and lasting solutions. This is through continuous public awareness, enactment of laws and finding a profitable result to preservation such as tourism and adaptive reuse. We need to work together to overtake the pace of destruction and to preserve what is left. There is an urgency to this matter, according to Arch. Turalba, around 35 percent of the structures they have documented have already been cannibalized, defaced or demolished.
Interested? Join us in our next GMM at the Shanghai Bistro at the Second Floor of the Paseo Center, Sedeno cor. Paseo de Roxas on Sept. 27, 2007 6:30 pm.
Architects Turalba and Villalon will be there to share their insights.
Last Thursday, August 30, the Chapter held another successful event. The event was again held at the Banquet Hall of the Milkyway Cafe. There were several members and guests present which filled the venue to the brim and even requiring to add tables.
Main feature of the night was the presentation by our sponsor, Shellsoft Technology, of the most recent version of Autodesk’s Building Information Modeling Software, Revit. Mr. Rey Lazaro explained the great difference between CAD and BIM on how the software allows you to work the same way you think – in 3D. This makes work easy and fun. The next 60 minutes or more was a live demo of how the software works.
Also during this night was the first ever Pecha Kucha (see previous post) at UAP Makati Chapter. Arch. Popi Laudico presented some of her projects and shared some of her experiences during the design and construction of these projects.
The night was concluded with the induction of several new members. Our past president, Arch. Eben Maducdoc did the charging, while the current president led them in the oath of membership.
