DECONSTRUCTION OF MY LIFE CHANGING EVENT

          In one of my blogs entitled "LIFE CHANING EVENT - HOW I TRANSLATE IT TO ABSTRACT ART", I talked about the most significant event in my life that has changed me into what I am today, more importantly, how I look today. For this blog, I have made a deconstructed art model of the most important thing to me today because of that event. Can you guess what it is?

Deconstruction of a comb combing through my hair and leaving bits and pieces of the teeth of the comb stuck on my scalp. This is what I feel.

Combing my hair also gives me stress, and thus, the scratches and wrinkles on the artwork.

Using a comb gives me terrible pain.

          It is a deconstructed structure of a comb. The comb symbolizes the pain that I go through everyday to take care of my hair. The hair that I will donated to cancer survivors. Having curly hair also adds to the pain because it is hard to comb my hair when it's all in tangles. But going through all this pain is 1000 times less than the pain cancer patients go through everyday. This is just a small sacrifice that I hope will lead to greater things for the survivors.

Philippine Skyline - How I View Them

          What is a skyline? A skyline is the view of a city’s tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates.[1] It gives the identity of a city and the most unique thing about it is that no two buildings in a skyline are alike. Most skyscrapers in a skyline are used as office buildings and because of this skylines are seen as the symbolism of the power of the city’s economy. The more tall skyscrapers you have, the more power you have in the economy. Our skyline is a representation of our modernity through the modern designs of our buildings.



           What is our Philippine skyline? How do we define our skyline? What impact does it give the Filipino people whenever they see the skyline of Makati or Ortigas, or the many buildings grouped together in Malate? Do we like the way our skyline shows our country’s modernity? Do we have iconic buildings in our skyline that we could say it would represent the Philippines? These are the questions I ask myself every time I pass by the streets of Makati and Ortigas. I live in Pasig and also in a condominium in EGI Taft Tower, Taft Avenue because of the distance of the site from my school. Every time I travel going back to Taft from Pasig during the weekends, I would alternately take the route to EDSA or the route to Makati. I would pass by the busy streets of Makati and or Ortigas and I would notice how busy the people walking in the sidewalk are. They wore these business attires with ties and carrying their brief cases while talking on their phones altogether while walking very fast. Some were even running. I would notice and observe them weave through some of the not so busy people and race to the entrance of their buildings. They were business men. They were racing against time because maybe their offices were located in the upper half of the building and maybe they were already late and the elevators had a full queue of other business men who were also in a hurry. This is what a business man would see his building, a tall, “makes me late for my work and now I’m all sweaty” building. But what would a bystander, normal citizens who are not into business and architecture, think of a skyscraper? How do they see a skyscraper? Before I took up architecture in college, and not knowing a lot of how structures in our society work, I would see a skyscraper as just an ordinary building. Growing up in Davao, we don’t have any skyscrapers in the city because of the soft soil Davao has. So whenever I would come home to my birthplace, and whenever I see the skyline of Makati and Ortigas, I would be amazed to see the magnificent towers cover the streets we were passing through on a sunny day. But I just saw them as tall buildings occupied by a lot of people. I knew back then that they were for offices for famous business companies because I knew relatives who used to work in them. I didn’t have the time and knowledge to appreciate the aesthetics of the buildings and wonder how they were made to stand tall in an earthquake prone country. I was unmindful of what they meant to our society, being a colony of America, the most powerful economy in our world. I wasn’t that interested in the buildings, I was just amazed to see such marvellous structures. Now that I am in my second year of Architecture in the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde, I have found interest in observing our skyline with knowledge of how their designs came from the influence of other styles. As an architecture student, I now question myself how the builders of each of the skyscrapers in Makati and Ortigas design the aesthetics of the buildings and how they would look when grouped together with other buildings. I would ask myself how they were able to make these tall buildings stand for over 40 years now, how they were structurally made and what makes them stable when earthquakes happen. I would imagine what the functions of the many spaces inside this tall building would have and how they would affect the people using the building. I would ask myself if the buildings were successful in their designs and their functions as well. These questions come to mind whenever I pass by Makati and or Ortigas when going back and forth from Pasig and Taft.



           What does our skyline tell us? Whenever I see the skyline of Makati from my school building, I would see the skyline of Makati telling me a story. A story of how our country was ravaged by the powerful countries that tried to control our country. Being colonized by Spain and America, and also being controlled by Japan for a few years, we have so many buildings that were influenced by their styles and culture. We had so many colonial houses in the Philippines like Bahay na Bato because of the Spanish influence, then when we were colonized by America, after 333 years with Spain, we were faced with another style, and these style were different with the ones we were used to before. But when America left and Japan saw their chances, and later they had a war with America set in the Philippines, most of our structures were destroyed and burnt into ashes. We lost most of the buildings we got from the influence of Spain. We also lost some of the modern buildings America gave us. The American-Japanese War destroyed our society. But in the end, the Americans still stayed with us and even became allies with them. They helped us and influenced us in making modern designs and structures and skyscrapers that would later define the power of our economy. The skyline of Makati tells the story of the things our society lost in the war, and through the many years of rebuilding, we were able to stand tall and became and independent country. The skyline of Makati symbolizes the Filipino people, standing tall against the many small buildings (Filipinos before the war) and showing the change the colonizers brought here. This is a way of how our skyline symbolizes Filipinos because you can see that many other countries still don’t have what we have right now. We still see many countries who are dependent to other countries.



           I have been to many Asian countries outside the Philippines like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and when I would compare the skyline of the Philippines to the skyline of the other countries, I would say that we have no iconic skyscraper in the Philippines. Countries like Malaysia that has the Petronas Twin Towers and Hong Kong that has the HSBC Tower have iconic skyscrapers because these buildings were designed by either famous architects or they were design to break a world record. The skyscrapers in the Philippines were built for business purposes and are not used as tourist attractions and thus, we do not have iconic skyscrapers we can call a true Filipino design. Our iconic structures are the small but aesthetically designed buildings that were built from the influence of the Spaniards and Americans in our society. In order for us to have an iconic skyscraper, we must first find out the true identity of a Filipino. What is Filipino Architecture? Have architects shown true Filipino Architecture. Do we really have a unique Filipino style that we can call our own? If we have found this unique Filipino Architecture identity, then we can easily build a skyscraper that shows Filipino architecture and would then be an icon Filipinos and foreigners would look at as part of Philippine culture. One city that I know that has their own identity when we see their skyscrapers is the city of New York in the United States of America. It is truly a concrete jungle. The skyline of New York can be easily identified before because of the World Trade Center, also known as the Twin Towers, but because of the terrorist bombing that crumbled the economic power and structure of America, the skyline of New York has changed. Sure they still have the same buildings, and maybe even more buildings to be built, but the twin towers gave them their image. In my opinion, the skyline of New York looks a little bit like the skyline of Chicago, unless you would see the Statue of Liberty in the picture. This is what I mean when I say that iconic structures define the cityscape. Since then New York has never been the same without the Twin Towers. The bombing was a symbolism of the momentary damage to the economy of the United States of America, the most powerful economy today. Because of these happenings, in time, another country will have the power of the economy.



           A country that I think that has an unsuccessful skyline is the country of Dubai. I mean come on, think about it. You have many small structures grouped with a few skyscrapers. And the skyscrapers have even been grouped far from each other. Then suddenly a gigantic tower appears out of nowhere. It was like a tall three that grew in the middle of shrubs. It was different from the other buildings. In my opinion, it doesn’t blend well with the surroundings because the country of Dubai is a country of desert. It seems weird that a tall building like this would rise up from a country like Dubai but don’t get me wrong, Dubai had a good economy before, but now that they had gone bankrupt because of this structure seems pretty likely that it would happen, and for what reason did they build this structure? To increase tourist visits? Make Dubai a famous country? Or just to break a world record? Whatever their reasons are, I still find that the building of Burj Khalifa a failure and a waste of time in building, a waste of man power, a waste of money. I also read in an article that not many people would want to live in that building because of the air pollution Dubai has. But now that the ownership of the building has changed hands, I hope that they will try to show us that the Burj Khalifa can be a successful structure in many ways. And they have already started this advertising, particularly in the upcoming film of Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible 5, which shows him dangling from a rope on the Burj Khalifa tower.



           Our skyline does not really show our image us a Filipino country, but it shows the influence of other countries to us and how we take into our designs these influences. I know that in the future, our skyline will change and show the true modern side of the Filipinos, but also keeping our historical buildings in place. In time, future Filipino architects will change the face of Filipino architecture, and I hope that I will be one of those architects to do so. The skyline of Makati and Ortigas shows that we can become a modern country and still keep our ancestral structures intact. I would say that our country is still a young country. We are still a country in our teenage years while the countries of Malaysia and Singpore are young adults, and the country of America are full grown adults while the European countries that started all of this are elders. This means that we can still improve our society and how our country would look like. We can still catch up to our older brother and sister countries and join their ranks one day. But for now, we can only look at our skyline and imagine those things.

IS THERE REALLY A FILIPINO ARCHITECTURE?

What is Filipino Architecture? Is there really a true Filipino Architecture style? If there is, what are the qualities of a Filipino Architecture? How do we know that it is our own architectural style and not the style of other countries that have influenced much of our architects here in the Philippines? These are the questions a Filipino architecture student must ask himself/herself when learning about other styles that have already paved the way to more up and coming styles in the future. These questions, if answered, would give light to what our own unique style of designing is. Other Asian countries like China, Japan, India, and Thailand, have unique styles of designing that they could truly call their own. It is as if we just copied what other Asian countries have already accomplished to build. It gives our country the image that it is just a country that has been mixed with other cultures. From the influences of Asian countries, to the influences of Spain and America, we just look like a country that is mixed and blended like a ‘halo-halo’. But the ‘halo-halo´is special, so what makes our country special? Again, do we really have our own Filipino Architecture style?

Before I even became an architecture student, I was already fond of architecture and how architects work. I have studied about the history of the Philippines and other countries in our history classes in high school and I saw different pictures of the unique houses and buildings of the various places we studied about. We also went to museums and field trips that displayed the many designs of a ‘bahay kubo’, but I never really concentrated on studying the architectural side the buildings I learned about. Anyway, before I became an architecture student in Benilde, I have always thought that are ‘bahay kubo’ was truly Filipino. I always thought that we had this one of a kind design of a house that had a square plan, four square walls on each side, a triangular roof made with dried leaves, and bamboos that make up the entire materials of the rest of the house. I have always thought that we were the first ones to create this and I was proud for our country. I also went on a vacation to Iloilo and Vigan City before and after I became an architecture student and I was proud to see the structures our ancestors built. I had an intense sublime moment when I walked the streets of Iloilo and the famous street of Vigan City. I was amazed and thankful to see that some of the ancestral houses were preserved as a heritage site not only for the public to see but also for the architecture students to learn from. But then I entered college and my perception on buildings and their designs have changed. Taking up architecture and going through four Architectural History subjects and after studying the various designs of the buildings of the many countries that were historical famous in the world, I find it hard to pinpoint the true definition of the Filipino Architecture. In my first three Architectural History subjects, I learned how structures, that started from caves and boulders that were placed on top of each other, evolved from time to time because of the way humans adapt to their environment. After the third Architectural History subject, which was Asian architecture, I was surprised to learn that other countries like Thailand, Malaysia, and even Indonesia had indigenous houses like our houses in the Philippines. Their houses were even more different than the design of our houses. For example, the indigenous houses of Thailand had tall roofs, even as tall as a three story building, and that’s just their roofs. Other houses were already built with thought out plans that made the design of the house efficient. Then I thought about our indigenous houses here in the Philippines. They were just cube houses built for the use as a sleeping room. Yes, the aesthetics of the house were designed well, especially since we had only used materials we got from nature. Materials like bamboo, rattan, and dried leaves were used perfectly to not only make the house stand, but also to compliment the aesthetics of the house. I used to think we were a special country that had a special Filipino architecture, but having learned about how China and India started to explore the world and therefore influence other Asian countries around them, I learned that our houses were the results of the many influences of other countries because of the trades that happened. We were just another country that copied the style of other countries, and then changed it a little bit. In our final exam for the third History subject, we were asked a question. The question was “Is there truly a Filipino Architecture?” I wasn’t able to really answer the question correctly as I was pondering on whether we truly have a Filipino Architecture. Justifying my answer was even hard because I wasn’t sure of what I was writing as I was just writing all the thoughts that came to mind. But thankfully I passed with flying colors.

Then the fourth and last Architectural History subject came and it was about ‘Philippine Architecture’. The first thing my professor asked on the first day of class is “Is there truly a Filipino Architecture?” The students in my class were busy thinking of justifiable answers they could give the professor. Students started to raise their answers to the professor, but our professor, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, one of the Centres of Excellence in Architecture in the Philippines, countered my classmates’ answers. So the only thing the students were left to do was to raise questions. The class ended with us learning how the ‘bahay kubo’, a structure I once thought of as a unique Filipino Architecture, came to be. The ‘bahay kubo’ came from the influence of other Asian countries. The idea of building a house made up of indigenous materials was brought to us because of the trades we had with the countries close to us. The term ‘bahay kubo’ came from the Spanish term “Cubo” (I don’t know if this is the right spelling) which means “cube”. Our ‘bahay kubo’, if you look at it closely, is just a cube house with a triangular roof. After all of the discussions, our professor left us again with the same question he started with the class. “Is there truly a Filipino Architecture?” I was left to wonder that maybe it is truly a Filipino Architecture because Filipinos built it. The materials came from our country and the design of the house was designed to adapt to our environment. But again, who came up with the idea of this?

After not having any other answers to justify my answer, I explored the ‘bahay na bato’ to see if it is truly Filipino Architecture. The ‘bahay na bato’, one of the first architectures in the Philippines, were made out of stone. The ground floor was built entirely out of stone. The upper floor/s was built with our indigenous materials. Is it truly Filipino Architecture? In my opinion, it is a big NO. The ‘bahay na bato’ was built by Filipinos and the materials used came from our country as well, but who had this idea planned out? It was the Philippines’ colonizers, the Spaniards, who thought of this idea. The Filipinos weren’t the ones who planned and the designed the ‘bahay na bato’, they were just the builders of it. So another “Filipino Heritage Structure” comes off the list as a possible structure with a true Filipino Architecture.

In my opinion, I think that we do have our own Filipino Architectural style. We just haven’t found the right definition for it though. We haven’t yet pinpointed the unique style that can only be found in the Philippines, and if we do find it, it would help define what Filipino Architecture is. The current mission of the Filipino architects and architecture students is to find the right definition of Filipino Architecture. As Filipino architects, we must show the architectural world that we have a true style that we can call our own. And if we find these structures that fit the definition, we can have it as a true heritage Filipino structure. Before I retire from architecture when I do become an architect, I hope to see that the future generation would come up with a definition of what a true Filipino Architecture is. As for now, I will stick with my own answer to the question and that is “We do have a Filipino Architecture, but we really don’t have the exact definition for it just yet.” I asked some of my classmates what their answers are. Some said that “If it is built by Filipinos, then it must be a Filipino Architecture.” Others answered “Yes we do have Filipino Architecture, but it has been mixed with the other styles we learned from other countries.” So I leave you with a thought I have yet to find the correct answer to. Do we really have a Filipino Architecture? Justify it.

LIFE CHANGING EVENT - HOW I TRANSLATE IT TO ABSTRACT ART

                    For the people who know me or would see me, the first thing they would notice about me is my hair. Yes, my long, curly, soft hair. They would ask me if I had gotten my hair done or if it is a perm. I would tell them “It’s just natural. I got it from my mother.” I would always smile at their envious reactions. After that they would ask me why I was growing my hair. I would just say that “It’s just nothing. I don’t know why I’m even doing it.” But they don’t know the real reason why I’m doing it.

Have you ever lost a loved one because of cancer? How old were you? How do you feel about that experience? Have you done something to help that person go through life normally? I’ve lost a few loved ones because of cancer. I was still a kid back then. I wasn’t even in my teenage years back then. And the worst thing about it is that I wasn’t able to do anything to help that person.

                In the summer of 2001, I lost my grandfather (mother’s side), Lolo Peryong, to lung cancer. I was just 9 years old back then. I didn’t really know who my Lolo was because we only get to see them every 2-3 years. I’ve had 2 or maybe 3 memories of him that I could remember. It was so sudden. He had been taken away from us. I couldn’t do anything to help him because they lived in Tacloban, Leyte and we lived in Davao. I didn’t even cry at his funeral because I wasn’t able to spend that much time with him when he was still alive. The emotion of grieving wasn’t there. I felt sad because I saw all of my relatives, especially my grandmother and mother, cry their eyes out. But now that I think about it, it brings me to tears that I wasn’t even able to tell my lolo that I love him. This was my first memorable experience.

                   Then next experience came in August of 2003. My grandfather (father’s side), Daddy, also gave in to cancer and heart disease. I was 11 years old. This relationship was very different. We were able to spend every summer, holidays, and even special occasions together. They lived in Marbel, Koronadal, South Cotabato which was just a 3-hour drive away from Davao. We were in Davao when we heard the news. The moment I heard my crying dad’s trembling voice, I cried my tears out. The last time I saw my grandfather, he was so healthy that he even went to swim with us. We were devastated that he was taken away from us. I also couldn’t do anything to help my grandfather. The feeling of losing someone you love very much is so heavy. This was another memorable experience for me.

My Brutalism translation for sorrow, anger, and uselessness.

The structure is small because it represents the lowest point in my life.

                        Another experience came 2 years ago when we received news that my Ninang Cherry had a stage 2 cancer. Thankfully she had surgery right away before anymore damage could be done. But the problem didn’t stop there. The doctors were considering chemotherapy for her if the results didn’t come out good. She was so scared that when she was talking on the phone with my father, I could hear her scared and sad crying voice. I knew at that moment that I had to do something for a loved one. I told her right away that I was going to do something for her, to help her. In the end, the results came out good and she didn’t have to go through chemotherapy anymore. But I knew that I still had to do something.

My Modernistic approach in showing feelings of change in myself. The left side of the abstract art is somewhat less arrange than the form on the right because I meant to show my transition from being useless to somebody who could do some good.

                        So when I graduated from high school and there were no haircut rules to be followed, I started growing my hair. My cousin from the United States knew this organization, the “Locks for Loves” organization in Florida, an organization that makes wigs for cancer survivors. They accept any hair donations from across the world. So when I grew my hair for a year, I was able to cut it and send it to my cousin, who then gave it to the organization. At that moment when I knew that I was finally going to be able to help somebody, I was so happy that all the bad memories of me not being able to help my loved ones out were gone. I knew that somewhere in the world, I was able to help somebody out. I know that wigs doesn’t help heal cancer, but it gives the survivors hope that it will be alright for them and that people would do anything to help them and make them feel alright. It gives them hope that no matter how cancer gives them a hard life, there will always be somebody there to help them get through it. I am proud of what I have done and I hope that this current hair that I am growing would be able to help out more people. Losing someone is hard, but losing someone and knowing that you couldn’t do anything to help him/her out is even harder.

My Robotic/Hi-Tech approach in showing feelings of happiness and excitement. It is like a spiral staircase because it means that I'm climbing to greater heights because of what I am doing (refer to story). It was also based on a comb (also connected to the story).

CCP: CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES

                      The Cultural Center of the Philippines is one of the most famous building structures of the Philippines. It not only houses the most famous art works of artists in the Philippines but it also houses our culture and heritage. It is one of those buildings known to the international audience. The Cultural Center of the Philippines also houses a theatre where performers, local or international, can perform. I always thought that the Cultural Center of the Philippines was only for local shows but because of the past shows that performed at the CCP like Cats, Andrew Llyod Webber’s Broadway Music, and Peter Pan a few years ago, I see that the Cultural Center of the Philippines will continue to hold local and international performances for the people of the Philippines to witness. Lucky for me, I live in a condo a few blocks away from the CCP which is located in Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City and Manila City.

                        A few days ago, I visited this magnificent building with just a camera and a head full of amazement. Looking at the exterior of the building, the CCP is very clean and spacious. Thanks to the janitors and guards who look after it, the outside of the CCP was very clean (and was even being cleaned when we went there on a Monday) even though the building was closed for the day. The big spaces outside also add to the definition of the massiveness of the building. When I went inside the building, the interior was more magnificent. The stairs look as though they were alive. The walls were old and gave me that feeling of being in the 1970’s. The ambience inside was soothing for my mood at that time. The lights gave effects to the artworks found inside the building. The inside was also clean and spacious. There were a lot of space inside and I couldn’t go through every space and corner of the building. I felt as though I was in an international building because of how the entire design of the building complimented the spaces and the rooms inside.

                        When I was also inside the CCP, it gave me weird feelings because of the artworks and the weird paintings displayed in the building. I felt as though I was in a dream where I was walking through wide and long hallways with these weird paintings on the wall. It kind of scared me for a moment because I was left alone by my companion in a dark hallway with scary paintings. Some of the paintings and artworks were cool like the ones on the 3^rd floor where the artist portrayed Jose Rizal as a “Jejemon” or having a cool haircut (Mohawk).

                        Since the building was made like 40 years ago, the building had old materials. The building was made mostly out of concrete. I touched the concrete walls of the building and was amazed to find out that they were smooth and very clean. The red carpets complimented the colour-less walls. They were soft and warm to even sleep on. The texture of the white ceiling in some floors gave a beautiful effect to the dark hallways and corridors, with the light of the sun coming from the small atriums in the middle of the building. The walls separating the many rooms in the building were made from wood. I remember the first thing I did when I got inside the building was to touch the wooden walls of the building. I even thought they were part of a very large artwork.

                        The lighting inside the building was sufficient enough to light the main parts of the buildings. I very much like the way they shine light on the artworks, particularly on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors of the CCP. The lights they use also add effects to the artwork. They also set the mood of the artwork on how they use the intensity of the light. It adds to the calm ambience of the building. I had a problem with one part of the building that they should have put lights on. I was on the stairs coming in from the basement and I couldn’t really see the steps of the stairs I was stepping on. I almost tripped on one of the steps before reaching the main floor.

                        The whole structure of the building is magnificent because if gives you a feeling of being in a different place when you are inside the building. It gives you this feeling because of how the building was constructed and designed. I mean you don’t see those kinds building nowadays that have that have snake-like stairwells, or those curvy almost elliptical concrete that form the walls. You don’t see high ceilings and massive concrete posts nowadays. This can be also seen in the contextualization of the building because it fits in where it stands. Roxas Boulevard houses many of our government buildings built with the same style and materials as of the CCP Complex. The Roxas Boulevard separates the magnificent buildings such as the CCP from the modern-type buildings found in Taft Avenue.

                        Each elements of the building plays an important part in the form of the building. The rectangular shape that forms the head shows its massiveness and masculine side while the curves formed by the walls and the ramps give it its feminine side. The structure then looks gay inside and outside when you look at it in another way. They say that the architect of the building, Leandro Locsin, got the concept of the CCP building from a toilet. If you look at it from above, you would notice that it does look like a toilet bowl with the water and everything. But when I look at it from a man’s eye view, I see it as a robot with muscular arms trying to pose like Arnold Schwarzenegger in a body building contest. I just thought I might share it.

                        When we finally left the building, I felt as though I had a short time exploring it (even though we spent like 4-5 hours inside the building). We did get to see the inside of the theatre because we snuck in. We were able to take a few pictures inside and I must say that I had a sublime moment inside the theatre because I have never been to this type of theatre (because the theatre in Pagcor is very different) before and the only time I could see this type of theatre were in the movies. I was in awe when I saw the high ceiling of the theatre, and also the beautifully aligned seats. The stage was even magnificent. The stage was gigantic and wide and was elevated so high that it was hard to find a way up. Sad thing that we weren’t able to go up the stage because we thought we heard footsteps coming from behind us.

                        The magnificence of the building called the Cultural Center of the Philippines cannot just be ignored. It is a majestic building that houses our culture, the culture of the “Filipino”. It is a must-see place in your list of “things to see before I die” list. It will give you a sublime moment when you are outside and inside the building. You can’t fully appreciate the beauty of the building when you just pass by it inside a car driving down Roxas Boulevard. You have to experience going inside the dark basement and climbing up the weird staircases to experience ultimate sublime. You have to walk the well-lit hallways and experience the beauty of the paintings that pave the way for our national artists. You have to touch, smell, see, and hear what is inside the building to say that you fully experienced the CCP tour. I have done these things and I must say that I enjoyed my time inside this wonderful building. I love the experience and I’ll be coming back soon with more companions to experience the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

ARCHITECTURAL MANIFESTO (REBLOGGED - August 10, 2010)

          What is Architecture for me? Architecture or the study of architecture is defined as the art and science of designing and erecting buildings. This definition is simple to understand. Each architecture student has their own definition to the course they are taking up. Some may define architecture in a broad way, while others give deeper meanings to the word architecture. My definition of Architecture as of this moment has greatly changed. I first thought of an architect as just a designer of a structure. I only thought of the architect as the one who decorates the exterior and interior faces of the building. In my previous school, we weren’t taught about the principles of design, instead, we were just told to copy and redraw everything the teacher has already made for us. We also didn’t have a proper start on the basics of the principles of design. We weren’t taught how to extract the designs and ideas we visualize from our heads, and put all the output on paper. We were just given a finished plate, and then we just had to copy it. It was a bad start for me in that school because I did not know the basic principles of design, and also, it wasn’t up to us to make our own designs yet. Transferring to this school, I learned a lot about the basics of design, how to create and visualize, and how to get an output of it. But through the many subjects that I have taken this term here in De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde, I now define an architect as the shadow of an engineer. I do not mean to say that we aren’t that important in the planning and constructing of a structure. We are the opposite of insignificant. WE ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM. It’s like you can’t say you’re human if you don’t cast a shadow. For this reason, you can’t say that an engineer is always right with his plan. An engineer still needs an architect to review the plan before having it constructed. An engineer always needs an architect to decide how a building should be made. We are really important to every design that is made by an engineer. I remember in my old school, my teacher would always say that we can’t recruit engineers for our firms, we can only wait until an engineer recruits us then we can all join in one firm. But with this definition, an architect should be able to choose his/her team of interior designers and engineers to create a firm. Another definition I give to architecture is that architecture is the most important part of a construction. The architecture would define how the structure would look like, and how it should be built. Architecture is one of the most important fundamentals of design and construction. Without architecture, a building wouldn’t be complete. Architecture starts with complete planning, and creates impressive designs. These are my definitions of architecture, and being part of it.

          What do I like about architecture? What I like about architecture has stayed the same since I started with this course. I still like the thought of having one of my designs, one that I planned from my ideas, be constructed for people to use. I also like the thought of visualizing what I want to create, and later on, see the product of what I have visualized. I also want to share and give to my future clients all the plans and designs that I could think of for them. Having clients to help would also mean that I could help a lot of people during this lifetime, and this is the biggest way of doing it. I also want the challenge of reconstructing the structures our ancestors made in their time that are still standing tall today. I also want to draw structures that are one of a kind. I want to prove to myself and to everybody that I can draw any type of structure that I could think of, and that it will still stand tall even when I’m long gone. But being an architect, or taking up an architecture course wasn’t my dream to start along. I’ve always wanted to become a pilot. I have had this passion of flying since I could remember. My father kept telling me that I should just take up architecture because I also had the talent for drawing. I only got the influence of taking up this course because of my Ninong. My greatest influence in becoming an architecture student is my Ninong, who studied architecture but is not licensed to practice it because he did not take the board exam. The reason why I chose the course of architecture is because I want to finish what he couldn’t finish. If ever I finish architecture and get my license, I would be the first architect in our family (Gutierrez Family), and that would be a great honour. Because I didn’t get any honour awards in High School, I want this to be a way to make my family, especially my dad, proud. My dad was also the one who paid for my Ninong to go to college and take up this course, but he only got a big disappointment when my Ninong wasn’t able to finish. So finishing this course would make this is the biggest way of making my dad proud of me. But when I do finish my course, I would still want to go to aviation school. I still have passion for both drawing and flying. But before going to aviation school, I would earn money from my other future profession, architecture. All of these things that I want to happen in my life, I just want my parents to tell me how proud they are of me. I want to be the best that I can be, to prove to people that I could be a successful person. Architecture could help me accomplish my dreams.

         What do I not like about architecture? What I do not like about architecture based on my current situation and what I am experiencing right now is that it is still hard for me to create and put to paper what I visualize in my mind. I know that what I like about architecture is also the reason what I hate about architecture. I still don’t know how to extract this visualization of ideas from my mind. I would always visualize and think of a lot of designs for a building, but I still don’t know how to start drawing it or constructing it. But even though I have this hard time of putting into output when designing, I still have fun planning it. And I know that through out this course, I will be able to develop my skills and be the best that I can be in this course. Another reason that contributes to what I do not like about architecture is the many assignments that are given every week. In my previous school, we were given only two to three (2-3) assignments per week, all of which are easy to do. But here in Benilde, the many assignments given every week would require very deep thinking and analyzing. I admit that I do not know how to manage my time, and this contributes to why I cram for my assignments. Another reason that satisfies the question is the pressure from making designs to present to an architect. I get pressured because I would always think that the architects might not like my design, or they might try to find flaws that would ultimately lead to my downfall. The criticism also contributes to this pressure. I know that the criticisms would help me in my designs in the future, but the thought of being a rookie in this course and not knowing much, and the architects expecting big, doesn’t seem right. Also, what I do not like about architecture is the thought of not having many clients to sell to, or not having any clients who like my style of designing. The biggest fear that I have had since High School is the fear of being rejected. I have been rejected by a lot of people in the past like girls rejecting my courting, people rejecting the personality that I have, and even the answers that I give to questions are being rejected. But all these things are part of High School life. In the future, being rejected by a client because he/she does not want my design is going to be a big hit. The feeling would be like being rejected in life. The thoughts of rejection to make a living, rejection to help people, and even rejection to the future you have been planning all your life clouds my head. Even though I’m still studying architecture, I would think of these things, and it would erase any inspiration that I had before I started this course. Rejection is one reason to what I do not like about architecture. All these reasons would explain what I do not like about architecture.

-Future Architect JAG

SPACE MAP

We were tasked to create a "space map/mind map" of what we feel and experience when we do our daily routines in school. I chose to space map a normal busy day for me. Using foam board, wires, and glue, I represented how I feel when doing my routine in school (i.e. walking to class, riding the elevator, going down the stairs). We were to present this in class this June 14, 2011 but as I have contracted some kind of flu (adding to that the stress from design classes, lack of sleep, bad weather, and my body resistance (ehem, fat boy here)), I might as well post my work in blog form as to not waste my hours of labor and the life of my glue gun (which exploded because apparently I don't know how to use a glue gun properly).

This long wire represents the long wait I do when falling in line for the elevator.

The cube represents my feeling when I am inside the elevator full of students. I feel constraint. I feel as though I am confined in just a small place. Thankfully, it is just a short ride.

The wavy wire represents running. I am always late when I go to class.

The egg-shaped like wire was intended to be a cocoon, representing me stuck in a class but at the same time, I want to be inside that class.

The long wire connecting from the cocoon to the platform represents me taking my time going to the restroom.

Then from the platform (restroom) connecting a long wire to a spring-like connection represents another long walk (still taking my time) going to the library (LRC).

The spring design represents me circling around the library, trying to find books that would help me in my design.

Then from the spring wire, it connects to a short wire with skewered foam board representing me falling in the elevator line with a lot of students in my way.

So in the end, I take the stairs going down to the other exit (side exit) of the school.

My model in 60x60cm foam board

This is just a typical "busy day" for me.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

DECONSTRUCTIVISM:

The Deconstructivist style designs buildings in parts. It is as if it is done in bits and parts, in a haphazard manner. It reflects discordant pieces joined together to form unrelated abstract forms. [1]

Imperial War Museum by Daniel Libeskind

Vitra Design Museum by Frank Ghery

BLOB ARCHITECTURE/ BLOBITECTURE:

 In Blobitecture style, the buildings have an organic, amoeba-shaped bulging form. [2]

The Sage Gateshead by Norman Foster

Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame by Frank Ghery

MINIMALISM:

The design of the building is very basic where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. [3]

Church of Light by Tadao Ando

Barcelona Pavilion by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

HIGH-TECH ARCHITECTURE:

High-tech architecture style incorporates elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design. [4]

HSBC Main Building by Norman Foster

Lloyd's Building by Richard Rogers

BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE:

Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries, and, where concrete is used, often revealing the texture of the wooden forms used for the in-situ casting. [5]

Birmingham Central Library by John Madin

Trellick Tower by Erno Goldfinger

GREEN ARCHITECTURE/ SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE:

Green architecture, or green design, is an approach to building that minimizes harmful effects on human health and the environment. [6]

Fallingwater by Frank Llyod Wright

SKYSCRAPER:

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. It protrudes above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. [7]

Burj Khalifa by Adrian Smith

Taipei 101 by C.Y. Lee

MODERN ARCHITECTURE:

The characteristics of this style are:
          -simplicity and clarity of forms and elimination of "unnecessary detail"
          -visual expression of structure (as opposed to the hiding of structural elements)
          -use of industrially-produced materials; adoption of the machine aesthetic
          -particularly in International Style modernism, a visual emphasis on horizontal and vertical lines [8]

Salk Institute by Louis Kahn

Robie House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE:

Characteristics include the use of sculptural forms, ornaments, anthropomorphism and materials which perform trompe l'oeil. These physical characteristics are combined with conceptual characteristics of meaning. These characteristics of meaning include pluralism, double coding, flying buttresses and high ceilings, irony and paradox, and contextualism. [9]

Bank of America Center by John Burgee

Gare do Oriente by Calatrava

ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE:

Aphilosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. [10]

Sagrada Familia by Antonio Gaudi

CRITICAL REGIONALISM:

An approach to architecture that strives to counter placelessness and lack of identity in Modern Architecture by utilizing the building's geographical context. [11]

Bagsvaerd Church by Jørn Utzon

Saynatsalo Town Hall by Alvar Aalto

BIOMORPHIC ARCHITECTURE:

Biomorphic architecture attempts to morph artistic design elements into naturally occurring shapes, or patterns reminisent of nature. [12]



Foot notes:
[1] http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/civil/articles/66988.aspx
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_architecture
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalist_architecture#Minimalist_design
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-tech_architecture
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture
[6] http://architecture.about.com/od/greenconcepts/g/green.htm
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscraper
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_architecture#Characteristics
[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodern_architecture#Aims_and_characteristics
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_architecture
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Regionalism
[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomorphic_Art