UAP 47th National Convention

by: Ar. Elda Shina P. Salazar-Samoza, UAP UAP NC47 Program Manager

The United Architects of the Philippines held its 47th National Convention on April 21-23, 2022. As a result of the pandemic and the safety measures implemented by the government, the NatCon47 was the first face-to-face resumption of this annual gathering after a couple of years. It was also the first time a hybrid set-up was attempted: registration was offered both for virtual and in-person delegates. The seminars mirrored this unique set-up, with speakers delivering their presentation either virtually or in-person.

Taking-off from NC47’s “SIBOL: Filipino Architects Reaching Up and Reaching Out Towards a FQuture-Ready Environment,” the seminars for all three days were divided into 3 sub-themes. Day 01: Relevance of Research to Our Architecture Practice, Day 02: Emerging Trends in the Global Front, and Day 03: Emphasizing the Role of Architects in Community Service. At the helm of each day was an illustrious Keynote Speaker followed by 3 speakers capably sharing their experience related to their sub-theme.

For Day 01, Keynote Speaker Ar. Prosperidad Luis (Philippines) talked about how research is ever-present in the conceptualization process of any planner and designer. In the afternoon, the 3 speakers under this sub-theme discussed their topics, starting off with Ar. Grace Ramos (Philippines), who emphasized that evolutions are made possible by constant knowledge seeking and processing, and how architects, through creative exploration and scientific methodologies contribute to the community and nation building. The next speaker, Ar. Aishani Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka) discussed how academic research is helpful and necessary to be able to make informed design decisions. The last speaker for the day, Ar. Rattapong Angkasith (Thailand) shared his presentation of his projects and case studies and the research processes that went into the planning and design of these endeavors. The fact that all speakers for Day 01 are from the academe made for an interesting discussion during the Open Forum that followed all the talks.

Day 02’s Keynote Speaker Ar. Pei Ing Tan (Malaysia) discussed Design for Health, after the International Union of Architects (UIA) designation of 2022 as the Year of Design for Health. Borne out of UIA’s partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), it aims to develop cities planned and built with a focus on human and environmental health. The next speaker, Ar. Henry Yap (Philippines) shared his insights and analysis of the pandemic’s impact on the property market, real estate business, and tourism. He also shared encouraging forecasts and statistics as well as resiliency traits to be able to move forward with confidence. Speaker Engr. Maximo Carvajal (Philippines) presented the different programs and projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways, and its impact on the development and progress of the country. The third speaker, PBGen. Manuel Gaerlan, (ret.) (Philippines) mentioned the important role of planners and architects in the development of this tourism, business, and industrial destination. He also shared the many planned investment projects for the Clark Smart City. Again, the diverse experience and expertise of Day 02’s group of speakers generated interesting questions and inputs from the delegates during the Open Forum.

Not to be outdone, Day 3’s Keynote Speaker Ar. Rita Soh (Singapore) shared her view on the challenges brought about by the impact of the pandemic and other current world problems, as well as her own philosophy on life and influences as an architect. Ar. Pawan Shrestha (Nepal) gave an eyeopening presentation of what transpired during the Gorkha 2015 earthquake and the rebuilding efforts afterwards. Ar. Danilo Fuentebella’s (Philippines) presentation consisted of his various projects as City Architect of Tacloban, as well as efforts made during and after typhoon Yolanda. Finally, speaker Ar. Dolly Anne Zoluaga shared her contribution as an architect in community service as part of the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office. These inspiring and thought-provoking talks produced a lot of questions during the Open Forum.

The idea of offering a hybrid set-up that enabled the participation of both virtual and in-person speakers and delegates for the NC47 seminars seemed daunting at first, what with the technical and logistical challenges ranging from different timezones, connectivity issues, audio/video glitches, among others --- but the desire to come together and participate in thoughtprovoking discussions and learn from each other more than made up for these perceived difficulties. Also for the first time, all these seminars were to be recorded and uploaded to the NC47 virtual platform and made accessible to all delegates for a duration of 1 month, allowing all delegates, including those in different time-zones to watch on-demand.

The success of these hybrid seminars calls to mind NC47’s theme SIBOL --- growth and adaptation to existing conditions, adjusting to the new normal, arming oneself to be ready for the future. It is this hope for growth that UAP and its members nurture in the months and years to come.