Bagong Bagoong Booklet

BAGONG BAGOONG

Empowering the Coastal Community in Tangos, Navotas A Comprehensive Design Project by

JOEL BIENNE MAGBANUA VALDERRAMA

PROJECT OVERVIEW The Bagong Bagoong is a new urban center which is envisioned to enable a high-density coastal community in Navotas. It is located in Barangay Tangos which is the most dense barangay in the city. The high-density community at the end of the M. Naval Street is the main area of intervention for this project.

Generally, it is a mixed-use residential area known for its major industry — bagoong alamang. Despite this, the community is still experiencing poverty.

This project is envisioned to help the community in alleviating poverty and be enabled to have a more productive and sustainable living. This will be achieved through the design strategies that will create a framework for development. These design strategies are: urban linkages, livelihood development, educational support, and community empowerment.

With these strategies, the general spaces of the development are identified.

The project is livelihood-centric, multi functional community development with manufacturing and processing facilities, a market, a community library, training and worshop faciities, and civic spaces.

SITE PROFILE The City of Navotas is a young highly urbanized city which was established in 2007. Once part of the City of Malabon, Navotas has been trying to redefine its identity as a new city. Being a home to the largest fish port in the country, Navotas was dubbed as the Fishing Capital of the Philippines.

Navotas is located on the extreme northwest coast of Metro Manila. With a land area of only 11.51 square kilometers, it is recorded as the second smallest city in the region. The city is surrounded by water, with that, fishing is the major livelihood in the city.

Despite its potential and vision to be progressive, the city is threatened by several socio-economic factors. First, population. Even with a small land area, the city’s population rounds up to 250,000 people as of recent Census.

That makes its population density equate to 234 people per hectare. Which is an oversimplification since the density per barangay is not uniform and only a little more than half of the city is occupied. Second, the city’s urban setting.

Since Navotas was inhabited by people before it was planned, the land use of the city was patterened with the existing zoning which was predominantly residential. These residential areas are settlements that are very organic and highly dense making the city a collection of small populated communities.

Given that, the streets in the city are narrow, where alleyways are the only accesses around the area. Next, the economy of the city. The city registered a 5% to 10% economic growth rate where 70% came from the low-income group. Despite the city’s aim to become a regional fishing industry hub, only 8% of the its economic activties are related to fishing. Plus, fish ponds in the city have become stagnant and left unused. Lastly, labor and employment.

From my immersion in the city, most people would always say that they need a source of income more than anything else. True enough, based from the statistics publicized by the city, as the population of the workforce increases, the city’s unemployment rate has also been increasing.

Being the most dense barangay in the city, Barangay Tangos has very dense and informal plot patterns and building patterns.

Formal plot configurations and medium density of buildings are seen in the central area of Barangay Tanza.

The density of the houses in Barangay San Rafael Village is low and the plots are more formal and bigger compared to the other barangays.

The density of the settlements become highly dense in the areas near the river like the informal settlements along Tangos River.

FRAMEWORK The framework on the right summarizes the agenda formation of the project. After the macro site analysis of the City of Navotas, the four common issues faced by the city are the following: increasing population density, lack of job opportunities, inadequate facilities for economic activties, and uncontrolled urban patterns.

From the issues stated, it is analyzed that they are factors and precedents to a major problem that has been prevalent in the city —poverty. Since poverty is a very broad topic to discuss, it is narrowed down into a more measurable agenda. With that, one of the dominant manifestations of poverty in the city was considered as the agenda. The urban slums, guided by the definition of the UN-HABITAT, is a major urban characteristic of the city.

The City of Navotas appears to look like a network of high-density communties since most of its land is occupied by such zoning. With that, it is appropriate and significant to introduce an intervention that will help in mitigating and controlling the effects of such living conditions to the communities.

A set of strategies will be used to formulate a solution for this problem.

These strategies are the following: urban linkages, livelihood development, educational support, and community empowerment.

From these strategies, a sustainable livelihood is seen as a solution to the given problem. A sustainable livelihood will provide the affected community with improved industrial facilities that will allow them to have a more sustainble economy and income. Moreover, they will empowered through proactive participation and opportunities. This solution will then be measurable through the same strategies.

Population Density

Labor & Employment

Economic Sectors

Urban Setting

POVERTY

URBAN SLUMS

Urban Linkage

Livelihood Development

Educational Support

SOLUTION

Sustainable Livelihood

Community Empowerment

urban linkages Despite its relatively small land area, Navotas City has a number of city centers that are integral to the activities and livelihood of the people. With these city centers, issues on connectivity and mobility arise like traffic congestion, unplanned urban spaces, poor privacy and proxemics, and incompatible land uses. On the other hand, barangay’s distinct urban patterns can be both advantageous and problematic to the site. Hence, certain urban patterns will be integrated to the proposed project and will be mitigated to develop the urban design of the area.

1. Connect the different urban layers of the site: spatial/physical, sotcial, and economic.

2. Create interactions among areas through the urban linkage layers.

livelihood development One of the major economic drivers of the city is the fishing industry. Several fish-related businesses and industries are operating in the city. Tangos is the major distributor of bagoong alamang in the city and Metro Manila. Despite its significance in the economy, it lacks well-designed, fullyequiped, and sanitary facilities for alamangmanufacturing. Furthermore, commercial spaces both retail and wholesale, are needed to provide avenues for trade and distribution.

1. Satisfy and improve the livelihood conditions and the needs of the community through livelihood.

2. Provide and improve the three economic sectors existing and needed for the area: primary sector (sourcing of raw materials), secondary sector (processing and manufacturing), and tertiary sector (retail and service).

educational support Regardless of the existing schools in the barangay, there is still a need for educational support projects such as training facilities, libraries, and research centers. The growing number of out-of-school-youth in the city is also taken into consideration. The demand for alternative learning and skill-training facilities can be integrated to the programs of the barangay.

1. Provide other means of livelihood through offering alternative learning opportunities for the community.

2. Provide spaces that are enocurages interaction and promotes the importance of learning.

3. 3) Cater to the dependant population of the community such as children, out-of-school youth, and the jobless.

community empowerment Tangos is considered as one of main barangays of the city. However, several well-designed facilities for commercial, educational, and industrial are needed for the barangay to function well. The project shall provide spaces which will open more opportunities for the community to be productive and sustainable. This project must be empowering and enabling.

1. Encourage the community to participate in envisioning a better livelihood.

2. Provide means to have a sustainable industry for the community.

3. Enable the community to have a productive and progressive lifestyle.t

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A NEW URBAN CENTER THAT ENABLES THE COASTAL COMMUNITY OF TANGOS TO BE PRODUCTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE THROUGH LIVELIHOOD DEVELOPMENT.

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THE PROJECT Considering the agenda framework of this study, this project must introduce an architectural intervention that would address the issue on urban slums.

The strategies will be used to help in creating a design approach and program that will be specific to the needs of the chosen community. The project must also satisfy all these strategies which are also measurable indicators of the effectivity of the intervention. The project must be able to answer the design problem: “What kind of architectural intervention can help a depressed community in providing sustainable livelihood to be developed and enabled?”

The project entitled as“Bagong Bagoong: Empowering the Coastal Community of Tangos, Navotas”, is a mixed-used development with civic spaces, commercial spaces, educational spaces, and industrial spaces. The programming is livelihood-centric where the commercial, civic, and educational spaces act as supplementary or support facilities for the industrial spaces.

The Bagong Bagoong is envisioned to be a model for the urban centers that provide livelihood development and upward mobility to the urban poor sectors in the Philippines. Looking forward, the urban center is seen to grow with the changing needs of the developing community. As the city develops, the urban poor should be given the opportunity to reep the benefits of urbanization with their engagement and participation.

DEPRESSED COMMUNITY

POVERTY

URBAN LINKAGES

LIVELIHOOD DEVELOPMENT

EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT

PRODUCTIVITY

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

ENABLED COMMUNITY

AREA OF STUDY

BARANGAY TANGOS Tangos is one of the major centers of Navotas City. This city center is bounded by the fishponds of Barangay Tanza on the north, the Manila Bay on the west, Tangos River on the east and the patismanufacturing barangay of San Roque on the south. The barangay has a land area of 31 hectares and shares a significant percentage to the city population. With its population density of 1,192 persons per hectare, the barangay holds the record as the densest barangay in the City of Navotas.

Barangay Tangos is connected to the rest of the city through the two major spinal roads; M. Naval Street and Gov. A Pascual Street. Like most of the barangays in the city, majority of the land use of the barangay is residential; mostly informal settlements.

The barangay is known for its alamang manufacturing industry, which supplies bagoong to the city and to the adjacent key cities in Metro Manila. The issues faced by the city is highly experienced in the barangay of Tangos and it is rather ideal to choose the barangay as the area of study for this project.

AREA OF INTERVENTION The chosen area for intervention has a land area of approximately 20,000 sq. meters. It is located along the coast of Manila Bay, northeastern part of Barangay Tangos. Several informal settling families currently inhabit the site. The two major distributors and manufacturers of alamang are also found within the site. The bagsakan or the boat docks are located on the north of the site. The site is at the end of M. Naval Street, as seen from the diagram below. The street is the city’s major road and several significant establishments and institutions are built along it.

The site was chosen because of its geographical location, economic significance, current social situation. Located along the coast of Manila Bay and near the opening of Tangos River, the site has interesting views and a great potential for transportation and livelihood. Furthermore, the site can highly affect the city economy because of its major industry – alamang manufacturing. It is ideal that this industry will be developed. Lastly, the social situation within the neighboring area and the site will be improved especially that the poorest and most depressed areas are along the coast.

SPECIFIC SITE OF INTERVENTION Using the criteria, this lot configuration was selected. Keeping in mind that the lot shall maintain the connectivity and permeability in the site, this lot configuration was considered as the best fit for the project.

Having a shape that looks like it is hugging the two separated communities; the project’s goal to create a new node will be more achievable.

The chosen lot has a land area of approximately 5,300 square meters. It was chosen because of its geographical location,

economic significance, current social situation. Located along the coast of Manila Bay and near the opening of Tangos River, the site has interesting views and a great potential for transportation and livelihood.

Furthermore, the site can highly affect the city economy because of its major industry – alamang manufacturing. It is ideal that this industry will be developed. Lastly, the social situation within the neighboring area and the site will be improved especially that the poorest and most depressed areas are along the coast.

Approach from Parking Area

View from Main Entrance

View from the Docking Area

PROGRAMMING CONCEPT The model of the project is influenced by a livelihood-centric programming; whereas all the different uses of the development such as the commercial, civic, and educational are related to the industrial use of the building.

These uses shall support the industrial spaces.

The Administrative and Civic Spaces serve as the “human” component of the program.

They are the areas for social interaction and manpower. The Commercial Spaces serve as

the areas for development. They provide the industrial spaces a place for exchange. The Educational Spaces provide opportunities for skills training and learning.

Livelihood needs the people, the platforms for exchange, and the skills for it to function well. The three supplementary uses can only function if “livelihood” is significant and defined. Thus, the livelihood in the area must be well-defined in terms of extent and varieties of industries.

CIVIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE

DESIGN PROJECT COMMERCIAL

EDUCATIONAL

INDUSTRIAL

ZONING & USES The project has a maximum of 4 floors with a roof deck. The ground floor is composed of the retail spaces, market, multi-purpose hall, ferry terminal, the bagsakan area, service area and MRF. The barangay center and the offices for BFAR and Coast Guard are located at the second floor, together with the dry market hall, local retail outlets, and the bagoong processing area. On the third floor of the development, the educational spaces like the community library and the training rooms are located. The drying area and the seafood-processing area are also located at the third floor, together with the market and coop office and the fishermen’s lounge.

The Student Center and the provision for the production of One Barangay One Product are located at the 4th floor of the development. A roof deck is provided at the top of the industrial area. The machines for the exhaust and air intake will be placed in this floor. A helipad is also provided for disaster response.

WALL PANEL SYSTEM The wall panel system. Just like how the houses in the area are built, these wall panels are also incremental in nature.

These are prefabricated panels that will be constructed by the people in the community itself. These panels will serve as the walls of the buiing. The panel is constructed using a wooden framing and different materials that are readily and easily accessible to the

community. This is to ensure that the wall panels will be reproducible. The different wall panels are intended for different spaces and are rated according to its permanence, permeability, affordability, and aesthetics.

The materials that will be used are GI roofing, plywood, bamboo or wooden lattice, flat steel bars, bamboo, fencing chain link, jalousie windows, wood, and glass.

THE CIVIC NODE The Civic Node is one of the two major activity centers of the development. This area is composed of the Retail Spaces, Community Library, Student Center, Co-working Spaces, Barangay Center, and Multi-Purpose Hall. A plaza located at the center serves as the focal point of this activity center. The plaza will be used for barangay and community events such as fiesta, talent shows, beauty contests, medical missions, and job fairs. The Civic Node will be one of the interventions used to link the development to the other urban centers in the city. It will be an essential element in the empowerment of the community because this node provides a common space for the community to interact and socialize.

Plaza

Barangay Center

Community Library

Student Center

Training Room

THE INDUSTRIAL NODE The Industrial Node is the other major activity center of the development. It is composed of the Market Hall, the Ferry Terminal, the Utility Spaces, and the Industrial Spaces. A courtyard is provided to serve as a spill-over for the activities in the Market Hall and Bagsakan Area. This spill-over is located at the center of the three uses in thisnode. The Industrial Node will be one of the interventions used to address the problem on the livelihood component of the development. Since the programming of this project is livelihood-centric, the Industrial Node is the key component in achieving a more empowered community through livelihood development.

Courtyard

Ferry Terminal

Wet Market Hall

Processing Area

Bagsakan

The Project as an Urban Model Addressing the issue on urban slums and helping the people to have a sustainble livelihood as a solution to their situation, this project aims to become a model for the other settlements.

It is envisioned that this architectural solution can be used by the local government of Navotas in addressing the issues of the city. The design approach for the project can be used by the city and introduce interventions to the different high-density areas in the city. Shown on Figure 6.15 is the network of the communities that can be empowered through this typology.

The thought process for each community should be unique to them. Each community has their own urban processes and social and economic aspects that need to be considred.

This project should only be a guide on how an architectural intervention can introduced to an area and create a bigger impact to the living conditions of the community.

Looking at a bigger picture, this intervention can also be used by the nearby cities as a solution for the concerns with informal settlements. Urban slums exist not only in Navotas but also in several cities in the country. Thus, this project can be a precedent study for the local government units to consider.

“Architecture is a political act, by nature. It has to do with the relationships between people and how they decide to change their conditions of living.

- Lebbeus Woods