3D modeling for architecture, construction pushed

MANILA, Philippines — A group of architects on Wednesday, October 2 pushed for the local adoption of three-dimensional modeling tools in architecture and design to help make the country in lockstep with emerging global standards.

Gianluca Nicholas Lange, regional industry manager of design software company Autodesk, said that compared to the current two-dimensional drawing tools currently used in the local field, the Building Information Modeling (BIM) will bring greater work efficiency, improve collaboration, reduce errors, and boost global competitiveness.

“BIM makes more things possible beyond what can be done in 2D. Inefficient and error prone 2D workflows are replaced with integrated BIM workflows yielding greater efficiencies, improved accuracy and predictability,” Lange said in a forum at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City.

Worldwide, overall adoption of BIM has increased from 17 percent in 2007 to 71 percent in 2012 according to data cited by Lange. Other countries such as the U.S.A., UK, and Singapore among others have helped usher in the technology by adopting BIM as an industry standard.

“Locally, the industry as a whole is still in a learning process right now,” Lange said.

“Majority is still moving away from the 2D workflow and still learning about the advantages of 3D,” Lange added.

Architect Felino Palafox, Jr., founder of Palafox Associates, said that the BIM has helped their design process.

“It improves our coordination and avoids repeat work. This technology has helped us a lot,” Palafox said. “We’d rather see our mistakes in drawing than in concrete. Otherwise, it would be a monument to our errors.”

Architect Christopher dela Cruz, CEO of Phil Greenbuilding Council, likewise stressed the inherent advantages of using 3D modeling.

“Simply put, with new ideas like green building, we need newer tools,” dela Cruz said. “Moving forward, everything gets done easier with the right tools.”

For the technology to widely adopted, dela Cruz said that the challenge will be for firms to see the advantages in investing on the technology and for advocates to help public awareness on its benefits.

“The challenge is to make city councils understand the benefits of acquiring BIM and allot time in investing in public awareness,” dela Cruz said.

“It should not just be an aspirational goal. This has to be the new business as usual,” dela Cruz added.

source: interaksyon.com

Test your Design IQ

MANILA, Philippines - Who is the 20th century Spanish architect and city planner whose groundbreaking works include the Miro Foundation Building and the Spanish Pavilion in the 1937 Paris International Exhibition?

He was born in Barcelona in 1902. After graduating from the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arqutectura in 1929 he  worked with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret in Paris.

Returning to Barcelona in 1930, he continued his practice there until 1937.  There, he created several outstanding pieces of modern architecture like the the weekend house at Garraf Catalonia, the Central Dispensary of Barcelona, and the Master Plan of the City of Barcelona (1933-35).

During that time, he also helped organize the first group of architects affiliated with Congres International d’Architecture Modern or CIAM.

From 1937 through 1939 he lived in Paris where he designed the Spanish Republic’s pavilion at the World’s Fair, the Paris Exposition 1937.  The Spanish Pavilion was built right beside the Nazi Germany Pavilion, while in Spain the Civil War was going on, and the Nazis had just bombed the town of Guernica.

For the artistic content of the building, he called on his Spanish artist friends Picasso, Miro, and Calder. Picasso’s contribution was Guernica, which became the focal point of its design.



After the Civil War, he went into exile in the US, where he worked with the Town Planning Associates, carrying out numerous urban plans for the cities in South America.

After a one year visiting professorship at Yale University in 1952, he became dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1953 to 1969.

There, he initiated the world’s first degree program in urban design, integrated the programs of architecture, planning, landscape, and urban design, and taught many of today’s leading architects.

In 1955, he founded a studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which in 1958 became a partnership with Huson Jackson and Ronald Gourney.  The studio designed many well-known projects including the Maeght Foundation in southern france, the Fundacio Miro in Bacelona, and a few buildings for Harvard University include the Holyoke Center, the Harvard Science Center, Peabody Terrace Apartments.

His other memorable works include the US Embassy in Baghdad, Motor City in Brazil, and his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Through his architecture, he hoped to achieve a balance of contrasting elements.  He worked to effectively and successfully combine people with machines, urban density and support services, and community spaces with private spaces.

In 1981, he was awarded the AIA Gold Medal.  He died in Barcelona in 1983.

source: philstar.com

Filipina architect’s buildings awarded preservation grants

Sixteen historic places received preservation grants as part of the Partners in Preservation competition in New York City, the first-ever citywide effort powered by social media.

Four of the sites are current and past clients of UST alumna and preservationist architect Roz Li. These are the Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens and the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn.

“I am happy to share with you the good news that the restoration of the stained glass of the Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn has been awarded a grant of $200,000 by American Express through their Partnership in Preservation Program,” says Roz in a statement. “Thanks very much for voting for this project through Facebook and other online sites.”

Roz is a registered architect in New York, New Jersey and the Philippines with more than 30 years experience. She received her Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and her architectural degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. A principal at Li-Saltzman, she is an advocate of preserving historic buildings through her Bakas Pilipinas foundation. One of its projects is the artistic San Sebastian Basilica in Manila known for its turn-of-the-century Gothic architecture.

The 16 organizations that received grants were:

▪ Brown Memorial Baptist Church, Brooklyn: $200,000 to complete restoration of Transept’s Roberts Memorial Tiffany Pilgrim window frame and glass.
▪ Henry Street Settlement, Manhattan: $175,000 to develop an achievable, measurable and replicable model for achieving sustainability in historic structures.



▪ Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Manhattan: $170,000 to arrest the active deterioration and loss of historic fabric within three of the “instructive ruin” apartments.
▪ Apollo Theater, Manhattan: $150,000 to restore specific decorative elements in the historic auditorium.
▪ Louis Armstrong House Museum, Queens: $150,000 to repair exteriors including patio woodwork and interiors such as bathroom tiles.
▪ Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx: $150,000 to conserve exterior of mausoleum including the resetting of uneven terrace stones and preservation of doors.
▪ Tug Pegasus & Waterfront Museum Barge, Brooklyn: $140,000 total with $90,000 to repair the main deck of Tug Pegasus and $50,000 to permanently preserve markings and historical “graffiti” on barge walls of the LV 79.
▪ St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, Manhattan: $135,000 to replace exteriors including the portico floor, roof, and front arches.
▪ Alice Austen House Museum, Staten Island: $120,000 to repaint exterior and repair the roof’s decorative woodwork, shutters and chimney, and build a new handicap access door.
▪ Flushing Town Hall, Queens: $100,000 to restore windows and roofing, coinciding with the 150th anniversary celebration of the building.
▪ Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, Staten Island: $100,000 to renovate and reset the exterior stairs and conserve the cast iron staircase in Building A, which is being transformed into a new home for the Museum.
▪ Queens County Farm Museum, Queens: $80,000 to restore the farm’s exteriors by replacing the roof, windows, clapboards and exterior wall shingles.
▪ Federal Hall National Memorial, Manhattan: $75,000 to repair, clean and protectively coat the statue of George Washington.
▪ Caribbean Cultural Center, Manhattan: $70,000 to redevelop and renovate an 8,400 square foot former city firehouse to create its new home on 125th street.
▪ Weeksville Heritage Center, Brooklyn: $70,000 to reuse the existing shed structure for exhibit and program space and recreate a root cellar.

Forty sites from all five boroughs competed for public votes this spring for preservation funding. American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation will have infused $3 million in funding to preserve historic buildings throughout New York.

“This program is designed to encourage community support for preservation and have the public rally behind their favorite historic places to help us determine where these funds are needed,” said Timothy J. McClimon, president of the American Express Foundation. “The sites’ dedication and persistence paid off and should prove to have a lasting effect on these historic places.”

“By spotlighting the benefits of historic preservation and the need for funding to keep historic sites vibrant, this program has galvanized New Yorkers to recognize the treasures in their communities,” said Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The long-term benefits of the program are evident with the increased engagement of local preservationists by the historic sites through their web pages and social media channels, coupled with an increase in visitors to the sites themselves.”

source: thefilam.net