Heritage conservation

Heritage conservation – at first I thought it was only for those old and significant buildings. But as we studied all about heritage conservation, I learned that it envelops a larger scale than that of just old buildings, in fact, anything that could be improve, preserve or develop in our country is part of the heritage conservation. Even a whole city or community can be part of heritage conservation.

                There are many processes on heritage conservation. One is the restoration, the process wherein we bring back the original state or form of a structure. Another one is the renovation, it is remodeling, or improving a structure in terms of its plan, structural, finishes, etc. we also have the facadism wherein the façade is the only one left from the original structure then changing or improving the rest of the structure. Another process is retrofitting wherein you put modern technologies to old structure. The next one is adaptive reuse; this conservation process gives the building a new function, changing its building type. What I like in this process is that when a building or any structure is not working for its function anymore, it could be changed, it’s like reincarnation, the same spirit but a different life, same structure but a different use. Another process is expansion wherein there would be an addition space to the original structure. In this process, one has the option to use either modern or revival approach and for me, that was my favorite among all the processes of conservation.

                In expansion of a building, we get to design a new structure without changing or altering the original one. We could design something that could enhance or contrast the original structure and most of all we could design something that compliments the original structure and vice versa. One very good example of expansion is the Louvre museum in Paris. It is my favorite structure of I.M. Pei. Though it was controversial, I think, because of that structure, the Louvre museum became famous again. The very modern structure compliments the medieval style of the old structure. In this expansion, I.M Pei went for the modern approach and it was very successful, it didn’t over power the old structure but compliments it. It was the same with Daniel libeskind’s museum in Toronto Canada. Those are structures that uses modern approach and complimenting the old structure and that was my favorite part, old structure gets to be known again or be famous again because of these modern designs that brings out the beauty of the old structures that seems to be forgotten because of the phase of these modern structures that keeps on evolving, but if combined together, it actually gives more character to each other. We should just be careful and sensitive enough when designing this kinds of buildings. 

an experience towards maturity

The story that made me think more mature is a relationship with a guy. He was my first and last - at the present time. it made me think that it's true that "first cut is the deepest"

MODERNIST

The Beginning - the part where you're getting to know each other, the part where the guy will do anything for a girl, almost as if he's putting the girl on a pedestal.

 HIGH-TECH

You already know almost everything about each other. even the not-so-good attitude.

BRUTALIST

 The bitter stage - the stage where you feel like there's nothing more going on between your relationship and there would only be two plausible endings - either you break-up, or you get married, in my story, we ended breaking-up.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines

The Cultural Center of the Philippines or the CCP is one of the most prominent structures here in the Philippines. Every time we would be passing by that building, I would always look at it and even turn my head until I lost sight of it. Many people turn their heads once they saw this structure; it’s literally a head turner. There was this one time when I was from the Mall of Asia and on the way back in Taft Avenue, I was hitching a ride from my friend, and when we passed by the building, they immediately recognized it and became the topic of the discussion, they said it looked like a toilet bowl, especially with the big fountain in front; with that huge fountain in front, I would have also thought so. But structure wise, for me, I think it is very elegant. The way Leandro Locsin, its architect, designed that building is really impressive. He’s really a master of Brutalist Architecture, having designed most of the recognizable brutalist buildings here in the Philippines; one of them is the Philippine International Convention Center and CCP.

Last Wednesday, my friends and I visited the Cultural Center of the Philippines and I was immediately awed by its exterior. Looking at it from a nearer perspective just made me like it more. When I would just be passing by the CCP, it would just be a quick look unless there is a heavy traffic, and it wouldn’t be close enough to see and appreciate the elegant curved lines holding the big rectangular form. 

Looking closely at it, I admire the sleek lines he used for the curved part of the building, aside from the fact that the curved lines contrasts the rectangular form - the rectangular form is very rigid but the curved language he used balanced the whole structure - I think it is also structural and I was always amazed at structures that function and form goes together such as the Guggenheim Museum in New York by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s like being in two places at once or multi-tasking.

After taking some pictures from the exterior, we tried entering the CCP from the side entrance but it was very difficult because we have cameras and we wanted to bring them inside but it was prohibited, so we left them at security desk but it didn’t stop us from taking pictures. We thought, so what if our SLR is with you guys, someone brought a digital camera and we have cameras in our cell phones. So we went inside, and as we enter, the aura changed, even the smell changed – it was a funny odor especially inside the theater. When you enter the building, there would be an immediate change of atmosphere, for me, I felt heavy the moment I enter the CCP, It may be because of the dim lights or the feeling that I was standing in lower ceiling than what is standard but I think it is really designed to be heavy, it’s a brutalist architecture after all. Also, it is the cultural center of our country so it has to have a certain effect to whoever will enter and roam around the structure and while we were having our own tour in the CCP, my classmates are saying that they didn’t like the building because of its heaviness but I personally think that it is designed that way and the fact that they felt heavy in the structure makes the design effective and successful.

First thing that would greet you as you enter is the stairs. The stairs on the picture is the stairs on the second level because there are securities on the first floor so we were not able to take its picture. The stairs was just, for me, breath taking. I know brutalism uses concrete but I hadn’t thought that even how hard concrete looked like, it could be soften. The stairs, even with the use of a very hard material, is really elegant looking with its fluidity. 

When you look from the bottom of the staircase upwards, the form of the stairs is somewhat spiraling but it’s not really circle, it’s just that the design doesn’t use corners, like I said, very fluid, it reminded me somehow of Zaha Hadid. Thinking of the exterior design, it never occurred to me that the interior would have a fluid feature. At first, thinking of having a fluid design in its interior would make it somehow out of place, but seeing the stairs, it didn’t looked out of place, it belongs with the design, maybe because of the material or the fact that Leandro Locsin also uses curved lines outside but there is definitely a harmony between the exterior and interior.

On the second floor, there is the Lobby. Why on the second floor? It is because it is really the first landing when you enter from the façade, getting down from a car – it is the main entrance of the building. The lobby, as what it supposed to bring to the people, has the wow effect for me. When we went there, there was no special event so the lobby is very quiet. I was intimidated by the large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of the third floor – the lobby, same with other building’s lobby, is a high ceiling. The ceiling is also nice, I tried touching the ceiling when I was in the third floor, I thought it was some kind of marble or metal, but as I touched it, I felt some crumbs like there is something wrapped all over the ceiling. The material is kind of metallic and I imagined that when the chandeliers were lit up, it would have a dramatic effect with the reflection of the lights in the ceiling.

At the second floor, you would also find the theater, we weren’t able to get in the theater but there was a hallway before the theater itself, we were able to get until there. Once you enter the theater, the smell even got weirder. Honestly, it smelled like feet that got wet while wearing shoes – disgusting (the smell, not the building).

On the third and fourth floor, we didn’t see much except for the museums and such, and the only thing that captured our attention is the thing in the museum which I think they call art. It’s a collage of pictures of Christ, Mary and other Holy persons but it was not respected in a way that they put different things in it, the crucifix was really disrespected, and it really scared us so we moved on to other things and tried to erase the sight in our minds. 

After having a tour for a good amount of time, we went back down using the not-working-escalator then when we got to the lobby again, we noticed the sitting areas we hadn’t the first time we were there. It was hidden by some kind of tarpaulin. In spite of its hard-looking image, when I sat down, it felt very comfortable. The design is also fluid but still uses concrete. There was a cushion, of course, which made it very much comfortable. I guess we were just very tired walking around the whole structure that even that sitting area without a backrest felt very comfortable. After sitting for a while, we decided it was already time that we go, everybody is tired and hungry and it was funny because while we were walking I was watching them walk a very lazy, slow walk, the feeling that you can’t carry yourself anymore, I think the Cultural Center of the Philippines really have worn them out.

Space

image from: http://mikarchitect.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/the-school-of-design-and-arts-building/

 A lazy walk while listening to a music entering the SDA building

A mind boggling shape representing the mind boggling physics class and a random shape representing the random topics we discussed in Worlite.

top view of the space i feel inside the SDA. kind of flat and compressed because i feel so small in that great structure. :)

Spanish Colonial Era

The Spanish Era has a large role in the Philippine history. They have affected the Philippines very much in terms of culture, architecture, beliefs, and most especially, our religion.

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Paoay_Church

They have built the early churches here in the Philippines and have spread the Catholicism throughout the whole country using their power, therefore, I think that the churches is their greatest structures that they contributed in the Philippines, especially the four UNESCO world heritage site which are the Paoay church in Ilocos, the San Agustin church in Manila, the Miag-ao church in Bicol, and the Sta. Maria church also in Ilocos. I have been in those four churches and my favorite is the Paoay church – its buttresses, the moment I went down the vehicle, my eyes were immediately drawn to its buttresses even though at that time I didn’t know what it was called – I only had hstarc1 at the time. The least is the Miag-ao Church, it’s probably just because it was already painted white and I liked the old picture that I saw somewhere in the internet.

The materials they used in building the structures are much more advanced than before, and i just realized that while other countries especially in Europe are already having structures near the modern period, it was just the beginning of having structures at all in the Philippines.

                                  http://www.librarylink.org.ph/featarticle.asp?articleid=110

Another structure that I liked in the Spanish era is the bahay na bato. Only families with a high status could have a bahay na bato, of course it was because they are the one who can afford it, but there’s one thing in the bahay na bato that could indicate the social status of the family and it was the newel post. Their planning is very logical and is still applied in the present day, only called differently. They had the Caida, equivalent to today’s Foyer, the Cuarto, today’s Bedroom, the Cusina, today, kitchen, and many more but what intrigued me was their Banyo, now called the Comfort Room. They have to build it outside the house for sanitary, they didn’t have yet the plumbing system so they have to make the most out of what they got. I also liked how they keep their houses cool without the help of air-conditioning unlike today. They were already smart enough at that time to know about the passive cooling effect. At the houses we visited last year in Vigan, they have this huge fan on the ceiling and it function like the present day’s electric fan, I’ve seen one exactly like that in a restaurant in Subic, it was a Spanish inspired restaurant, the name is Magellan’s, it was also somewhat like a museum, and they uses the large fan to cool the place though it was open area, I was amazed at those fan and was always looking at them whenever we were there. Amazing how they used those simple technologies and making it very much effective. Everything back then was just so simple and environmentally friendly, but, everything back then was also very much controlled by the Spanish.

Treehouse

I chose bird as my concept for my treehouse. I think they practically belong with the trees. They basically lived there; they build their nest to take care of their eggs there until they hatch. Another reason is that for me, birds have freedom that only they could have; they had the ability to go anywhere they like as long as they have their wings to fly. I wanted my treehouse to be a place where people could just hang out, bond, to get away with everything that’s worrying them, their problems, and just do what is relaxing for them like listening to their ipods, reading books, sleeping, talking and many more. In short, I want them to have their freedom and to be just themselves in that place.

Like I said, it would be a place where they hang out, so I planned on putting a sitting area, a place where they could lie, of course, those place should be comfortable, soft to touch like the bird’s feathers. The form of the treehouse may not literary look like a bird. It would not be a literal translation of a bird. I just wanted to interpret the meaning of a bird for me and hopefully it would translate to the people who would step into my treehouse.

Another characteristic of birds is that they are graceful. The way they fly is very fluid most especially that of an eagle and a phoenix so I planned on using slightly curved fluid lines in designing the structure of my treehouse, it would also form the seats and space where they could lie. I think I’m going to use the bird’s wings as the form of the treehouse because that’s what makes them unique. Their wings give them their freedom.

My treehouse would probably have different levels. The first level would be the busiest or noisiest area; that would be the place where people could talk, laugh, a place where friends could chat and laugh about something. The second level would be for the people who like it more serene, who like to be just sitting there, listening to music, to be thoughtful or just to be there. The third level is the most peaceful part. It should be the quietest because here is where people could sleep.

That’s basically my idea of my treehouse. Hopefully this idea of mine would work. 

An Insight About Philippines and its Architecture. :)

In more than one year of studying architecture, I often hear that Philippine architecture, some say that it does not exist, but for me, it’s otherwise. I think, Philippine architecture reflects the culture of our country. I think, even other county’s architecture reflects their culture and environment. Filipinos definitely have culture; we have a personality that is ours. Some of us eat with their hands, even today that we already have spoon and forks; some say that it’s even more enjoyable and food gets more delicious when we eat with our bare hands. We are very hospitable and open as foreigners say. We have different cuisines compared to other countries, the adobo as our specialty, also sweet mangoes could be found here. Architecture is influenced by many factors such as topography, climate, culture, beliefs, and many more. I wouldn’t say that our topography is from other countries, even climate nor our culture and belief.

The different historical structures here in the Philippines basically show our culture. Preserving these important structures is like preserving our culture. History is what makes the present. Everything wouldn’t be completely like today if any of the past, the history didn’t occur, that’s why I think that historical structures are important and should be preserved.

The best and most famous example of Philippine architecture is the “Bahay Kubo”. I think, from bahay kubo, it just evolved. As they say, there is no permanent in life except changes, people change, things change. We just became adaptive of what is in nowadays, what is modern. It is the same with fashion; we dress whatever is fashionable in modern world. You wouldn’t want to walk or have a date with someone wearing the Filipiniana or what Maria Clara wears a long time ago right? But I think, as time comes, what’s modern now doesn’t mean it would still be fresh in the future. It would sag in time, maybe not immediately, but there would come a time. I think what’s more important is the significance of a structure or what it means to us and the bahay kubo for me is still the best description of a Philippine architecture. It uses local materias, built and designed by the locals and with the consideration of the climate and topography of our country. Just like the Coconut Palace, among all the brutalist architecture around the CCP or Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Coconut Palace is the most unique structure and the only structure in CCP complex that I think is very Filipino. I have read in an article that the materials used in this structure is locally made, plus the fact that the design is very tropical, the coconut trees outside the palace gave an even more tropical feeling. The feeling that it gave me when I first saw this is that I’m in some province in the Philippines. Since everything in the CCP complex is brutalist, when I saw this, I can’t help notice how it stands out, the way it feels so cool and comfortable. I grew up in a province so the view just reminds me of home.

Studying the critical regionalism, I realized that everywhere, they could have their own architecture. Even if nowadays modern structures are very much trending in different places, it could be translated and make it unique with the features of local materials and to cope up with its environment and making it their own. I think that critical regionalism contradicts what international style is. Critical regionalism, though it is modern, it still considers where the structure would be built, while international style, whether built here in the Philippines or some other countries, it would still have the same feature.

I like critical regionalism more than international style because the former brings out what is ideal or the highlight of a certain place. It gives a person the feeling that he/she is in that certain place, meaning, giving the people the feeling of the architecture in that certain place like for example, here in Philippines, using bamboo, or other local materials, though it is not a “bahay kubo” or that it may be very modern, it still gives the person the feeling that he/she is in the Philippines. It is like modernizing Philippines, like being a modern Filipina – strong, has a voice, has her own personality, but still having Filipino traits such as being conservative, very respectful, and also hospitable. Unlike international style buildings, when you enter one international building in America and an international style here in the Philippines, it would have the same formal feeling.

In studying history of architecture, there was once a question that what if I was given a project to build a modern structure in place of a historical structure, would I do it? Would I have demolished a historical structure in place for my own modern, and much more complex design? I hesitated, maybe because, I don’t know how historical or significant the building was, but it was also because it would be an opportunity for me. So if given that choice, I would probably study more about the structure, its function, what had happened there and decide whether it would be worth saving or maybe it would be better off without and probably make my own history, but still, like the coconut palace, I would’ve design a structure, though modern, is very Filipino.

In the past meetings of our history of architecture class, I have already learned a lot of trivia about Philippines. I’ve learned about the oldest and great structures or even places here in the Philippines. Before, I wouldn’t even think of visiting the different places here in the Philippines. If given a choice whether to have a tour outside the country or around the country, I would definitely, with no hesitation, grab the chance to go out of the country, but now, after discussing the historical places here in the Philippines, I would like to go and visit those places first, appreciate what we have, then, just then that I would go visit and appreciate what other countries have.