By MST
Business | Posted on May. 19, 2013 at 12:02am | 1,015 views
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Architect and
urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. envisions the transformation of the
Philippines into a first world country by the time it celebrates its 500th
anniversary as a nation in 2021.
“While
practicing our professions of architecture and urban planning, we want to bring
our country to a first-world position by year 2021,” says Palafox, who has
visited and observed the architecture, urban development, culture and history
of key cities in 57 countries.
“It’s about time that the Philippines’ image
be metamorphosed from dusky squatters, archaic natives and rice terraces to an
actively growing nation characterized by vertical and horizontal developments,”
he says.
Palafox, who
has 40 years of experience in architecture and 38 years in planning, is the
founder and managing partner of Palafox Associates, the world-renowned
architectural design and planning firm.
His company
has designed memorable buildings and beautiful landmarks across the country
such as Rockwell Center, Camp John Hay, Summit Ridge Tagaytay, the 180-hectare
First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, SM, Robinsons and
Waltermart shopping malls. It was also
behind the redevelopment of Ayala Alabang, Panglao Beach in Bohol, La Mesa
Ecopark and Quezon Memorial Circle, among others.
Globally,
Palafox Associates has been involved in the planning of over 14 billion square
meters of land and the design and architecture of more than 8 million square
meters of building floor area in 37 countries.
The company
is the first Filipino architectural firm included in the top 500 architectural
firms in the world of the London-based World Architecture Magazine in
1999. In 2012, Palafox Associates ranked
89th in the list of the world’s largest practices and 8th in leisure projects.
Palafox is
vocal about his vision for the Philippines and is most excited about 2021, when
the Philippines is set to celebrate its 500-year anniversary since the arrival
of Magellan on March 16, 1521.
PH
renaissance
He says 2021
will also mark the onset of the Philippine Renaissance, brought by the growing
young population, good governance, environmental sustainability and economic
stability that the country last enjoyed after World War II.
“We can bring
the Philippines from the 20th century well into the 21st century,” he
says. “Now is the time to revitalize if
the country is to undergo a reinvigoration and redevelop our country. The world
is rapidly changing, and for the Philippines, things are looking up.”
Palafox
believes in the capacity of the Philippines and the Filipino people to become a
great nation again.
“We can do
it. We can make our Philippines a great nation. The Philippines is number one
in marine biodiversity, in seafarers and sailors, call centers, and maybe
musicians. We are number two in business processing outsourcing. We have the
third largest coastline,” he says.
“We are
fourth in the world in gold and shipbuilding, and fifth in all other mineral
resources. We are number 12 in human resources, and the Filipino expatriates
are the preferred employees elsewhere in the world,” he says.
Palafox recalls
that the Philippines was among the most progressive countries in Asia and
Manila was viewed as a major financial hub.
“We were
number one in Asia, second to Japan, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Asian
countries voted Manila as having the highest development potential as a
financial center for the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank,” he says.
He says for
300 years, the Philippines has been the Asia-Pacific hub of Spanish Europe, 100
years of the Americans, four years of the Japanese, and two years of the
British.
Palafox says
the Philippines is 400 times the size of Singapore, 350 times the size of Hong
Kong, eight times the size of Taiwan, and three times larger than South
Korea—all very successful and globally competitive countries.
Palafox has
the ability to transform big words from concept to real projects. He is a former president of the Management
Association of the Philippines and now the president-elect of the Philippine
Institute of Environmental Planners for 2013 and 2014. He has been a recipient of local and
international awards such as Gusi Peace Prize 2011 Laureate for Architecture
Excellence and International Urban Planning.
He is an
international associate/member of international organizations like the American
Institute of Architects, US Green Building Council, Urban Land Institute,
Congress for the New Urbanism, American Planning Association. He is country
representative for the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
He obtained
his degree in Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas in 1972, a
Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the
Philippines in 1974 and a diploma in Advanced Management Development Program in
real estate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in Cambridge,
Massachusetts in 2003.
Palafox
started his career as an apprentice draftsman in 1970, before becoming a
private architect in 1972. He worked for
various government agencies such as the University of the Philippines, Export
Processing Zone Authority and the Department of Public Works, Transportation
and Communication until 1975.
Palafox
worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates as a senior planner from 1977 to
1981. Upon returning to the Philippines,
he became a consultant for urban renewal projects of the Ministry of Human
Settlements.
In 1982, he
joined the Shoemart Group of Companies, then known as Inter-Continental
Development Corp., as planning consultant and construction coordinator.
He
established his own architectural firm, Palafox Associates in 1989. The company now has more than 100 full-time
staff and professional consultants.
21st largest
economy
Palafox has
an optimistic outlook for the Philippines, which he says, has the chance to
reestablish its once historic Asian seaport.
He says the
Philippines is predicted to become the 21st largest economy in the world, this
must be supported by development visions, in terms of sustainable projects with
positive effects on the environment.
He says each
project should enhance the quality of life in terms of comfort and
neighborliness, income generation and socio-economic and cultural activities in
the local, regional, national, and international scenarios.
“Every
project must elevate the international stature of Filipino professionals, be
economically and financially viable, and enhance the environment for future
generations,” he says.
Palafox says
to achieve such renaissance, “we should step up and speed up from vision to
concept, commitment, completion and implementation.
He cites the
crucial role of cities in national development.
“The recipe of most successful
cities, I have learned, is not just establishing good leadership, but must also
have a long-term economic strategy, an immense institutional capacity,
well-financed infrastructure, high-quality education and a constant pursuit
towards design excellence,” he says.
He says
American architect and planner Daniel Burnham, who planned Manila in 1905,
Baguio and Chicago in 1909, once commented that Manila had “the opportunity to
create a unified city equal to the greatest of the Western world, with
unparalleled and priceless addition of a tropical setting.”
“It is
unfortunate, however, that the Philippines copied cities like Hollywood and Los
Angeles that are car-oriented cities. Had the Philippines developed the best
practices in the world such as the cities of London, Paris, Venice, New York,
Boston, and San Francisco, Manila would fit the title ‘City Beautiful of the
Orient’, or as Burnham put it, ‘the Pearl of the Orient’,” he says.
Palafox says
as the Philippines became an independent republic, it disregarded the ‘City
Beautiful’ urban planning principle of Daniel Burnham, and the leaders of the
government and industry copied erroneously the car-oriented Los Angeles of the
1950s and 1960s.
“Thus, places
to live, work, shop, and dine and resulted to the long commutes of people or
employees from their place of residence to their workplaces. Along with
historic developments in Manila comes the rapid population growth significantly
so because of the continuing influx of migrants from other provinces,” he says.
Palafox says
Manila, once the throbbing hub of commerce, tourism, and finance, was bedecked
with contemporary and architectural landmarks from the Spanish and American
era. However, the empty lots and spaces in Manila have been filled out by
informal settlers, who moved from the provinces in the hopes of finding a
better living and future for their families.
Manila then
faced major problems such as flood and informal settlements, which turned worse
at the turn of the century, posing great challenge to city officials and
residents.
Vision 2021
Palafox says
to address the problem, the vision 2021 puts forward a strategy which takes
advantage of the locational advantage that includes the development of urban
corridors and clustering of major cities to urban growth centers as counter
magnets to Metro Manila.
He says this
will spur new investments nationwide in the regions and redevelopment
opportunities in the other cities, creating jobs and economic opportunities
especially for the urban poor in the provinces.
Palafox says
his Manila Megalopolis 2020 vision, contained in his Harvard term paper in
2003, showed how the Philippines can create ‘pockets of efficiencies’ and
strong regional economic activity by connecting major transportation nodes so
that the Metro Manila congestion can decrease rural immigration to the already
congested Metro Manila.
“Hopefully,
the country, before its 500th anniversary, will achieve its aims to enhance the
economic opportunity and provide a strong social support structure for people
throughout the country. Opportunity means not only good jobs at every skill
level, but also a good place to raise a family, participate in community
affairs, and enjoy recreational and educational opportunities,” he says.
“We can all
help together in bringing the Philippines from the 20th century into the 21st
century to be number 21 in the world’s top economies by 2021, when our country
celebrates its 500 years. For a renaissance to happen, all of us, Filipinos and
residents of the Philippines should be open to new ideas that are creative,
innovative and artistic, progressive and effective, short-term and
opportunistic as well as long-term and visionary that must follow this new age
of constant change,” he says. RTD
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