The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually "to honor a living architect or architects

whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and
commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the
built environment through the art of architecture." Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his
wife Cindy, the award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation. It
is considered to be one of the world's premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to as the
Nobel Prize of architecture.
The prize is said to be awarded "irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or ideology." The
recipients receive US$100,000, a citation certificate, and since 1987, a bronze medallion. The
designs on the medal are inspired by the work of architect Louis Sullivan, while the Latin
inspired inscription on the reverse of the medallionfirmitas, utilitas, venustas (English:
firmness, commodity and delight)is from Ancient Roman architect Vitruvius. Before 1987, a
limited edition Henry Moore sculpture accompanied the monetary prize.
The Executive Director of the prize, Martha Thorne, solicits nominations from a range of people,
including past Laureates, academics, critics and others "with expertise and interest in the field of
architecture". Any licensed architect can also make a personal application for the prize before 1
November every year. In 1988 Gordon Bunshaft nominated himself for the award and eventually
won it. The jury, each year consisting of five to nine "experts ... recognized professionals in their
own fields of architecture, business, education, publishing, and culture", deliberate early the
following year before announcing the winner in spring. The prize Chair is 2002 winner, Glenn
Murcutt; earlier chairs were J. Carter Brown (19792002), the Lord Rothschild (20032004),
and the Lord Palumbo (2005-2015).

1979 LAUREATE
Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 January 25, 2005) was an American architect, best
known for his works of Modern architecture, including the Glass House in New Canaan,
Connecticut, and his works of postmodern architecture, particularly 550 Madison Avenue
(Formerly the AT&T Building and then the Sony Building), designed with John Burgee. In 1978
he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and in 1979 the first Pritzker
Architecture Prize.
1980 LAUREATE
Luis Ramiro Barragn Morfn (March 9, 1902 November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect
and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects through visual and conceptual
aspects. Barragn's buildings are frequently visited by international students and professors of
architecture. He studied as an engineer in his home town, while undertaking the entirety of
additional coursework to obtain the title of architect.
1981 LAUREATE
James Frazer Stirling (22 April 1926 25 June 1992) was a British architect. During the 1970s,
Stirling's architectural language began to change as the scale of his projects moved from small
(and not very profitable) to very large. His architecture became more overtly neoclassical, though
it remained deeply imbued with modernism.

In 1981, Stirling was awarded the Pritzker Prize.[5] Stirling received a series of important
commissions in England the Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at the Tate Britain, London
(198087); the Tate Liverpool (1984, but since then heavily altered and no longer recognisable
as a Stirling project), and No 1 Poultry in London (1986, completed posthumously).
1982 LAUREATE
Eamonn Kevin Roche (born June 14, 1922) is an Irish-born American Pritzker Prize-winning
architect. He has been responsible for the design/master planning for over 200 built projects in
both the U.S. and abroad. These projects include eight museums, 38 corporate headquarters,
seven research facilities, performing arts centers, theaters, and campus buildings for six
universities. In 1967 he created the master plan for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and since
then has designed all of the new wings and installation of many collections including the recently
reopened American and Islamic wings.
1983 LAUREATE
Ieoh Ming Pei (born 26 April 1917), commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American
architect. In 1948, Pei was recruited by New York City real estate magnate William Zeckendorf.
There he spent seven years before establishing his own independent design firm I. M. Pei &
Associates in 1955, which became I. M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and later in 1989 became Pei
Cobb Freed & Partners. Pei retired from full-time practice in 1990. Since then, he has taken on
work as an architectural consultant primarily from his sons' architectural firm Pei Partnership
Architects.
1984 LAUREATE
Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose
geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture
Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings including the Barcelona Museum of
Contemporary Art and the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
1985 LAUREATE
Hans Hollein (30 March 1934 24 April 2014) was an Austrian architect and designer and key
figure of postmodern architecture. Some of his most notable works are the Haas House and the
Albertina extension in the inner city of Vienna.
1986 LAUREATE
Gottfried Bhm (born January 23, 1920) is a German architect. He has been considered to be
both an expressionist and post-Bauhaus architect, but he prefers to define himself as an architect
who creates "connections" between the past and the future, between the world of ideas and the
physical world, between a building and its urban surroundings. In this vein, Bhm always
envisions the colour, form, and materials of a building in relationship with its setting.

1987 LAUREATE
Kenz Tange (4 September 1913 22 March 2005) was a Japanese architect, and winner of
the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the 20th
century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and designed major buildings on
five continents. Tange was also an influential patron of the Metabolist movement. He said: "It
was, I believe, around 1959 or at the beginning of the sixties that I began to think about what I
was later to call structuralism", a reference to the architectural movement known as Dutch
Structuralism.
1988 LAUREATES
Gordon Bunshaft (May 9, 1909 August 6, 1990), was an American architect, a leading
proponent of modern design in the mid-twentieth century. A partner in the architectural firm
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), Bunshaft joined in 1937 and remained for more than 40 years.
The long list of his notable buildings includes Lever House in New York, the Beinecke Rare Book
and Manuscript Library at Yale University, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in
Washington, D.C., the National Commercial Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 140 Broadway
(Marine Midland Grace Trust Co.) and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Branch Bank in New York;
the last was the first post-war "transparent" bank on the East Coast.
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (December 15, 1907 December 5,
2012)known as Oscar Niemeyer was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key
figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was best known for his design of
civic buildings for Braslia, a planned city that became Brazil's capital in 1960, as well as his
collaboration with other architects on the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. His
exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential in the late
20th and early 21st centuries.
1989 LAUREATE
Frank Owen Gehry, CC (born Frank Owen Goldberg; 28 February 1929) is a Canadian-born
American architect, residing in Los Angeles.
A number of his buildings, including his private residence, have become world-renowned
attractions. His works are cited as being among the most important works of contemporary
architecture in the 2010 World Architecture Survey, which led Vanity Fair to label him as "the
most important architect of our age".
1990 LAUREATE
Aldo Rossi (3 May 1931 4 September 1997) was an Italian architect and designer who
accomplished the unusual feat of achieving international recognition in four distinct areas: theory,
drawing, architecture and product design.

He was the first Italian to receive the Pritzker Prize for architecture.
1991 LAUREATE
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. (born June 25, 1925) is an American architect, founding principal of
the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures in the
twentieth century. Together with his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, he helped to shape
the way that architects, planners and students experience and think about architecture and the
American built environment. Their buildings, planning, theoretical writings, and teaching have
also contributed to the expansion of discourse about architecture.
1992 LAUREATE
lvaro Joaquim de Melo Siza Vieira (born 25 June 1933), is a Portuguese architect, and
architectural educator. He is internationally known as Alvaro Siza and in Portugal as Siza Vieira

In 1992, he was awarded with the Pritzker Prize for the renovation project that he coordinated in
the Chiado area of Lisbon, a historic commercial sector that was all but completely destroyed by
fire in 1988.
1993 LAUREATE
Fumihiko Maki (September 6 1928) is a Japanese architect who teaches at Keio University SFC.
In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new
materials and fuses the cultures of east and west.
1994 LAUREATE
Christian de Portzamparc (born 5 May, 1944) is a French architect and urbanist. He graduated
from the cole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1970 and has since been noted for his bold
designs and artistic touch; his projects reflect a sensibility to their environment and to urbanism
that is a founding principle of his work. He won the Pritzker Prize in 1994.
1995 LAUREATE
Tadao Ando (born September 13, 1941) is a Japanese self-taught architect[1][2] whose
approach to architecture and landscape was categorized by architectural historian Francesco Dal
Co as "critical regionalism".

The simplicity of his architecture emphasizes the concept of sensation and physical experiences,
mainly influenced by Japanese culture. The religious term Zen, focuses on the concept of
simplicity and concentrates on inner feeling rather than outward appearance. In order to practice
the idea of simplicity, Ando's architecture is mostly constructed with concrete, providing a sense
of cleanliness and weightlessness (even though concrete is a heavy material) at the same time.
1996 LAUREATE
Jos Rafael Moneo Valls (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize
for architecture in 1996 and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003.

According to the jury of the 2012 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, Moneo is a Spanish
architect of universal scope whose work enriches urban spaces with an architecture that is serene
and meticulous. An acknowledged master in both the academic and professional field, Moneo
leaves his own mark on each of his creations, at the same time as combining aesthetics with
functionality, especially in the airy interiors that act as impeccable settings for great works of
culture and the spirit
1997 LAUREATE
Sverre Fehn (14 August 1924 23 February 2009) was a Norwegian architect. His highest
international honour came in 1997, when he was awarded both the Pritzker Architecture Prize
and the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal.

In 19521953, during travels in Morocco, he discovered vernacular architecture, which was to

deeply influence his future work.
1998 LAUREATE
Renzo Piano (born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect and engineer. His notable buildings
include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London
(2012), and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (2015). He won the Pritzker
Architecture Prize in 1998.
1999 LAUREATE
Norman Robert Foster (born 1 June 1935) is a British architect whose company, Foster +
Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture.

He is one of Britain's most prolific architects of his generation. In 1999, he was awarded the
Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. In 2009, Foster
was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award in the Arts category. In 1994, he received the AIA
Gold Medal.
2000 LAUREATE
Remment Lucas "Rem" Koolhaas (born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural
theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate
School of Design at Harvard University. Koolhaas studied at the Architectural Association School
of Architecture in London and at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Koolhaas is the founding
partner of OMA, and of its research-oriented counterpart AMO based in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. In 2005, he co-founded Volume Magazine together with Mark Wigley and Ole
Bouman.

He is widely regarded as one of the most important architectural thinkers and urbanists of his
generation. In 2000, Rem Koolhaas won the Pritzker Prize. In 2008, Time put him in their top 100
of The World's Most Influential People
2001 LAUREATE
Herzog & de Meuron Architekten is a Swiss architecture firm, founded and headquartered in
Basel, Switzerland in 1978. The careers of founders and senior partners Jacques Herzog (born
1950), and Pierre de Meuron (born 1950), closely paralleled one another, with both attending the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zrich. They are perhaps best known for their
conversion of the giant Bankside Power Station in London to the new home of the Tate Museum
of Modern Art (2000). Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron have been visiting professors at
the Harvard University Graduate School of Design since 1994 and professors at ETH Zrich since
1999.
2002 LAUREATE
Glenn Murcutt, the son of Australian parents, was born in London in 1936. He grew up in the
Morobe district of New Guinea, where he developed an appreciation for simple, primitive
architecture. His father introduced him to the architecture of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the
philosophies of Henry David Thoreau, both of which influenced his architectural style.

His small, but exemplary practice is well known for its environmentally sensitive designs with a
distinctive Australian character. His architecture has remained consistent over time. His buildings,
which are principally residential, are a harmonious blend of modernist sensibility, local
craftsmanship, indigenous structures, and respect for nature. They are both unusual in character,
and yet curiously familiar.
2003 LAUREATE
Jrn Oberg Utzon (9 April 1918 29 November 2008) was a Danish architect, most notable for
designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on
28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one
of his works during his lifetime. Other noteworthy works include Bagsvrd Church near
Copenhagen and the National Assembly Building in Kuwait. He also made important contributions
to housing design, especially with his Kingo Houses near Helsingr.

Utzon had a Nordic sense of concern for nature which, in his design, emphasized the synthesis
of form, material and function for social values. His fascination with the architectural legacies of
the ancient Mayas, the Islamic world, China and Japan enhanced his vision. This developed into
what Utzon later referred to as Additive Architecture, comparing his approach to the growth
patterns of nature. A design can grow like a tree, he explained: "If it grows naturally, the
architecture will look after itself."
2004 LAUREATE
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid (31 October 1950 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British
architect.

She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004. She received the
UK's most prestigious architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, she was
made a Dame by Elizabeth II for services to architecture, and in 2015 she became the first and
only woman to be awarded the Royal Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

She was described by The Guardian of London as the 'Queen of the curve', who "liberated
architectural geometry, giving it a whole new expressive identity." Her major works include the
aquatic centre for the London 2012 Olympics, Michigan State University's Broad Art Museum in
the US, and the Guangzhou Opera House in China. Some of her designs have been presented
posthumously, including the statuette for the 2017 Brit Awards, and many of her buildings are still
under construction, including the Al Wakrah Stadium in Qatar, a venue for the 2022 FIFA World
Cup.
2005 LAUREATE
Hom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles.
Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture in 1972, where he is a
trustee. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-Arc, the California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is principal of Morphosis,
an architectural firm in Santa Monica, California. Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize
in March 2005.

2006 LAUREATE
Paulo Mendes da Rocha (born October 25, 1928 in Vitria (ES)) is a Brazilian architect.

Mendes da Rocha attended the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie College of Architecture,

graduating in 1954. Working almost exclusively in Brazil, Mendes da Rocha has been producing
buildings since 1957, many of them built in concrete, a method some call "Brazilian Brutalism",
arguably allowing buildings to be constructed cheaply and quickly. He has contributed many
notable cultural buildings to So Paulo and is widely credited as enhancing and revitalizing the
city.

Mendes da Rocha was Professor at the Architecture College of University of So Paulo, known
as FAU-USP, until 1998. His work is influenced by Brazilian architect Vilanova Artigas, from the
paulist Brazilian School. He was honored with the Mies van der Rohe Prize (2000), the Pritzker
Prize (2006) and the Venice Biennale Golden Lion for lifetime achievement (2016)
2007 LAUREATE
Richard George Rogers (born 23 July 1933) is a British architect noted for his modernist and
functionalist designs in high-tech architecture.

Rogers is perhaps best known for his work on the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Lloyd's building
and Millennium Dome both in London, the Senedd in Cardiff, and the European Court of Human
Rights building in Strasbourg. He is a winner of the RIBA Gold Medal, the Thomas Jefferson
Medal, the RIBA Stirling Prize, the Minerva Medal and Pritzker Prize. He is a Senior Partner at
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership.
2008 LAUREATE
Jean Nouvel (born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the cole des Beaux-
Arts in Paris and was a founding member of Mars 1976 and Syndicat de l'Architecture. He has
obtained a number of prestigious distinctions over the course of his career, including the Aga
Khan Award for Architecture (technically, the prize was awarded for the Institut du Monde Arabe
which Nouvel designed), the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2005 and the Pritzker Prize in 2008. A number
of museums and architectural centres have presented retrospectives of his work.
2009 LAUREATE
Peter Zumthor was born on April 26, 1943, the son of a cabinet maker, Oscar Zumthor, in Basel,
Switzerland. He trained as a cabinet maker from 1958 to 1962. From 1963-67, he studied at the
Kunstgewerbeschule, Vorkurs and Fachklasse with further studies in design at Pratt Institute in
New York.

In the book titled Thinking Architecture, first published by Birkhauser in 1998, Zumthor set down
in his own words a philosophy of architecture. One sample of his thoughts is as follows: I believe
that architecture today needs to reflect on the tasks and possibilities which are inherently its own.
Architecture is not a vehicle or a symbol for things that do not belong to its essence. In a society
that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms
and meanings, and speak its own language. I believe that the language of architecture is not a
question of a specific style. Every building is built for a specific use in a specific place and for a
specific society. My buildings try to answer the questions that emerge from these simple facts as
precisely and critically as they can.
2010 LAUREATE
In 1995, Kazuyo Sejima (born in 1956) and Ryue Nishizawa (born in 1966) founded SANAA,
the Tokyo architecture studio that has designed innovative buildings in Japan and around the
world. Examples of their, groundbreaking work include, among others, the Rolex Learning Center
in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio; the New
Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, NY: the Serpentine Pavilion in London; the Christian
Dior Building in Omotesando in Tokyo; and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in
Kanazawa. The latter won the Golden Lion in 2004 for the most significant work in the Ninth
International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale.
2011 LAUREATE
Eduardo Elsio Machado Souto de Moura (born 25 July 1952, better known as Eduardo Souto
de Moura, is a Portuguese architect. Along with Fernando Tvora and lvaro Siza, he is one of
the alumni of the Porto School of Architecture, where he was appointed Professor. Souto de
Moura was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2011 and the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2013.

Often described as a neo-Miesian, but one who constantly strives for originality, Souto de Moura
has achieved much praise for his exquisite use of materialsgranite, wood, marble, brick, steel,
concreteas well as his unexpected use of color. Souto de Moura is clear on his view of the use
of materials, saying, I avoid using endangered or protected species. I think we should use wood
in moderation and replant our forests as we use the wood. We have to use wood because it is
one of the finest materials available.

Souto de Moura acknowledges the Miesian influence, speaking of his Burgo Tower, but refers
people to something written by Italian journalist and critic, Francesco Dal Co, its better not to be
original, but good, rather than wanting to be very original and bad.
2012 LAUREATE
Wang Shu (born 4 November 1963) is a Chinese architect based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Province. He is the dean of the School of Architecture of the China Academy of Art. With his
practice partner and wife Lu Wenyu, they founded the firm Amateur Architecture Studio. In 2012,
Wang became the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Prize, the world's top prize in
architecture. The award was the subject of some controversy since the Pritzker committee did
not also award Lu Wenyu, his wife and architectural partner, despite their years of collaboration.

Wang creates modern buildings making use of traditional materials and applying older
techniques. The Ningbo Museum is constructed of bricks salvaged from buildings which had been
demolished to facilitate new developments. Wang is a keen supporter of architectural heritage
where globalisation has stripped cities of their special attributes.
2013 LAUREATE
Toyo Ito (born 1 June 1941) is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture,
in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading
exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated" city, and has
been called "one of the world's most innovative and influential architects."

In 2013, Ito was awarded the Pritzker Prize, one of architecture's most prestigious prizes. He was
a likely front-runner for the Pritzker Prize for the previous 10 years. A recent trend has seen less
experienced and well-known winners, for example Chinese architect Wang Shu in 2012, and the
award to Toyo Ito is seen as recognition of a lifetime's achievement in architecture.
2014 LAUREATE
Shigeru Ban (born 5 August 1957) is a Japanese architect, known for his innovative work with
paper, particularly recycled cardboard tubes used to quickly and efficiently house disaster victims.
He was profiled by Time magazine in their projection of 21st century innovators in the field of
architecture and design.

In 2014, Ban was named the 37th recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious
prize in modern architecture. The Pritzker Jury cited Ban for his innovative use of material and
his dedication to humanitarian efforts around the world, calling him "a committed teacher who is
not only a role model for younger generation, but also an inspiration."
2015 LAUREATE
Frei Otto was born in Siegmar, Germany, on May 31, 1925, and grew up in Berlin. Frei in
German means free; his mother thought of the name after attending a lecture on freedom. Ottos
father and grandfather were both sculptors, and as a young student, he worked as an apprentice
in stonemasonry during school holidays. For a hobby he flew and designed glider planes this
activity piqued his interest in how thin membranes stretched over light frames could respond to
aerodynamic and structural forces.

Over the years, Ottos research teams would include philosophers, historians, naturalists and
environmentalists. He is a world-renowned innovator in architecture and engineering who
pioneered modern fabric roofs over tensile structures and also worked with other materials and
building systems such as grid shells, bamboo, and wooden lattices. He made important advances
in the use of air as a structural material and to pneumatic theory, and the development of
convertible roofs. Otto made the results of the research available to other architects. He always
favored collaboration in architecture.
2016 LAUREATE
Alejandro Aravena was born on June 22, 1967, in Santiago, Chile. He graduated as an architect
from the Universidad Catlica de Chile in 1992. In 1994, he established his own practice,
Alejandro Aravena Architects. Since 2001 he has been leading ELEMENTAL, a Do Tank
focusing on projects of public interest and social impact, including housing, public space,
infrastructure, and transportation.
ARCHITECTURE FOR 100M FILIPINO
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir mens blood and probably will not themselves
be realized, celebrated American architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham once said.
These words capture the very essence of Burnhams spiritone that represents his vision on
how highly livable cities should be designed. Burnham incidentally was also the man behind
Manilas original masterplan commissioned by the Commonwealth government in 1906, whose
objective was to transform the city from an old colonial outpost to a modern urban area adapted
to changed times and modern needs.
In his masterplan, Burnham envisioned Manila as a city of efficient road systems, of quaint
waterways used for transportation, and of waterfronts, promenades, parkways, and neoclassical
buildings. Manila, in Burnhams mind, was to become like many of the worlds well-planned
cities where every resident is a short walking distance from a park, places of work, and leisure
and recreational centers.
This is just the sort of urban planning model that the Philippines should have used, but didnt,
said noted Filipino architect and urban planner Felino Jun Palafox Jr.
What Happened?
If Metro Manilas urban planning were the computer game SimCity, the playerwhich will be
our political leaders, no lesshas done (and is doing) an abysmal job. Mass transit stations
were built close to exclusive gated communities and huge military camps, the residents of which
dont even take public transport. Roads and parking spaces unable to keep up with the ever-
increasing number of vehicles. Infrastructure incapable of handlinglet alone mitigating the
effectsnatural calamities. And an army of low-income residents pushed into the corners of the
metropolis, toiling and forever priced out of the housing market.
This roughly describes the type of job our political leaders have accomplished in terms of urban
planning, which hasnt actually progressed since the Spanish times, Palafox said.
Urban planning wise, our obsolete practices have not progressed from the 16th-century practice
of intramuros and extramuros. You live inside the walls [intramuros] if youre rich and powerful,
and outside the walls [extramuros] if youre peasant, Indio, or Sangley, which today are
equivalent to Metro Manilas modern-day city employees.
Our urban planning practice of segregating areas has not progressed since the Spanish times,
says Palafox. Similar to Intramuros (above), if youre rich you belong inside the walls; outside if
youre indio, sangley, or peasant.
Some blame too much democratic process, which hampers any leaders efforts to fulfill even the
most sensible plan. Palafox says our politicians took over the work of urban planners. In the
Philippines, unfortunately, the practice of urban planning is dominated by politics, and urban
planners are marginalized even as a profession [whereas] elsewhere they are appreciated and
recognized and their recommendations followed.
Wrong Model
Perhaps due to our affinity to Hollywood, the Philippines has for decades been following the
wrong model for urbanism, said Palafox. Our leaders envision Metro Manila as a driven cityan
urban area of seemingly endless roads where elevated highways are built atop another, of
concrete megaliths that are crowded during the day and empty at night, and of people who toil
inside these concrete blocks but live in another part of the city, preferably in one of those
identical suburban houses with a two-car garage. Something like our version of the American
dream.
This is just the sort of urban planning we should move away from, said Palafox. Indeed, why
follow a model thats been proven time and again to be flawed? Were trying too hard to
become like Los Angeles or Detroit, and we dont even manufacture cars.
There are a number of North American, European, and Australian cities that are doing well.
These include Boston, San Francisco, Vancouver, Zurich, Melbourne, and Sydney, which all
boast mixed-use, mixed-income, walkable developments, said Palafox. Mobility is not a
problem in these cities as their residents can either walk, bike, or take public transport.
Balancing Needs
If a well-planned city balances the needs of its residents, the environment, and commerce, then
theres definitely nothing balanced at whats happening with Metro Manila at the moment.
Luxurious developments and gated communities sit side by side slums, while countless office
workers spend hours commuting from their workplaces to home. Yes, mixed-use developments
and townships are on the rise, but the great majority of homes peddled by these developments
cater only to haves, while the have-nots get pushed into the dank corners of the city.
Safety from risks, both natural and man-made, is also a major concern. Who will forget the
flooding caused by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. Ive given more than 100 recommendations to the
current president and his predecessor in the aftermath of the disaster, said Palafox. One of
those recommendations is addressing the hazardsthrough architecture, engineering, and
urban planningbefore they become disasters.
Security is also an issue, especially now that the metropolis is fast becoming a 24-hour urban
area. Our government fails miserably at keeping us safemugging and accidents are a staple
of our primetime news, and outside the citys guarded subdivisions and central business
districts, venturing outdoors can be perilous.
Im a firm believer of the triple bottom-line approach to development: people and social equity
first, then the environment, then profits or economic growth, said Palafox. This has been
proven the world over to be the best practice, which seems to have some kind of resistance in
the Philippines.
What Can Be Done?
Many enlightened leaders of the world, such as Singapores Lee Kuan Yew, consult the best
urban planners, architects, and engineers before they construct the built environment, said
Palafox. This is the sort of practice that we Filipinos should replicate.
However, there are Philippine cities that are taking urban planning very seriously. One of which
is San Juan, whose city government just consulted Palafox Associates to come up with a
comprehensive land use and zoning plan. Our plan for San Juan moves beyond land use and
zoning, said Palafox. We also take into consideration disaster preparedness, transportation,
and mobility.
Although the Philippines has got a long way to go before we achieve the sort of sustainable
urbanism the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong have achieved, there are ways we can get
there. Palafox lists five recommendations.
1. Its All about Urban Renewal
According to Palafox, the 21st century is a century of urban renewal. We replan, redesign, and
rebuild, and not necessarily create new ones, in the hope of achieving urban renaissance. In
fact, Metro Manila has got plenty of areas, specifically in downtown Manila itself, that
experienced urban decay over the last few decades, and will provide the city with so much
opportunity to practice good urban renewal.
Two great examples we could use as a model is New Yorks Meatpacking District and
Singapores Clarke Quay. The former successfully transformed itself from a seedy
neighborhood in the 1980s to a gentrified real estate hotspot. Clarke Quay, on the other hand,
was revived from being a polluted riverside quay well until the mid-20th century, to a flourishing
commercial, residential, and entertainment area.
2. Our Government Should Be Serious About Urban Planning
Between the 1970s and today, urban planning was not so seriously implemented in the
Philippines, said Palafox. One thing also peculiar to the Philippines is that infrastructure
development takes so long from concept to completion. For example, six circumferential and
radial roads to serve the then growing City of Greater Manila were proposed in the mid-1940s
by the American Corps of Engineers. This day, only C4the perpetually congested EDSAhas
been completed. This is appalling given our local governments have budget for beauty contests
and yet they have none for proper urban planning, said Palafox.
Another example is the metropolis mass transit system. After Manilas Light Rail Transit (LRT)
was completed in 1985, not a single kilometer of train track was constructed for 14 years, when
EDSA MRT commenced operation 1999. It took another 11 years for additional train tracks were
added to LRT, when the track was extended from Monumento in Caloocan to North Avenue in
Quezon City.
For many years, not a single kilometer of train track was constructed in Metro Manila after the
LRT commenced operations in 1985, signifying our leaders lack of sense when it comes to
urban planning.
3. We Should Shun the Car-Centric Model
Philippine politicians and planners dont recognize walking as the most basic form of
transportation; hence, they dont consider it when they design urban areas. Take Bonifacio
Global City, for instance, Metro Manilas poster child for urban planning. Has anyone seen a
covered walkway to get from one building to another? This is somewhat odd given that the
Philippines is a tropical country and sudden downpours are not uncommon.
Our political leaders and property developers, according to Palafox, build townships and cities to
accommodate cars and not people. And thats one bullet weve been unable to dodge. Even in
the United States, trends seem to be shifting. He cites a study conducted by the Urban Land
Institute, which found that the American dream is somewhat changing. Whereas before
Americans aspire for a big house and big cars in the suburbs, this time, people from all income
levels and generation prefer smaller dwellings close to places where they work, served by good
public transport, close to schools, shopping and lifestyle areas, where they can walk.
I was talking to a Boston city planner and he told me that the number of applications for drivers
license for people aged 2135 years has dropped almost 20 percent. The city might now reduce
its parking requirements as more Bostonians now prefer to walk or to take public transport.
4. Addressing Risks Before They Become Disasters
It is an inexcusable fact that the Philippine government has an affinity for consulting planners
only after disasters, when true and mindful urban planning could have avoided these disasters
in the first place, said Palafox.
Being one of the members of the World Bankfunded Metro Manila Transport and Land Use
Development Planning Project, Palafox said they have already foreseen that a flooding like that
caused by Ondoy can happen in Metro Manila unless the necessary infrastructure was put in
place. I think one of the main reasons is that there was no political will to address hazards
before they become disasters, he said.
He also cited the devastation cause by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the sustained wind of which
is far higher than what our building code stipulates. I think as architects, urban planners, and
engineers, we should ask ourselves, Whats the best way to protect people from natural
calamities.
Sensible urban planning can prevent natural risks from becoming disasters.
5. We Should Advocate Smart or Gateway Cities
For a city of more than 11 million permanent residents, it is deplorable that Metro Manila lacks
the integration between transport and land use. Our public transport systems, being managed
by different entities, are not seamlessly connected, making mobility a major a headache to the
citys dwellers, the great majority of whom live in the outskirts and suburban areas.
To demonstrate, our MRT and LRT stations are surrounded by low-density communities and
gated military camps, said Palafox. Elsewhere in the world, they have mixed-use high-density
residential developments within walking distance from mass transit stations. This eliminates
reliance for private cars.
As a result, the average Metro Manila employee spends approximately 1,000 hours a year in
traffic, studies show. Compare this to mere 300 hours per year in more progressive nations.
This creates so much wasted man-hours and so much air pollution.
If given the choice, people like to live in environment-friendly cities and communities; those that
are accessible, walkable, safe, convenient, clean, mixed-income, cross-generational, and
mixed-use. The sort of places people live, work, shop, learn, worship, and seek health care with
24-hour cycle activity centers.
The average Metro Manila employee spends about 1,000 hours a year in traffic, wasting too
much man-hours.
This is whats missing with Metro Manila. If you compare us with residents of more successful
cities in the world, we spend more time driving or stuck in traffic, while people in, say, Paris or
Toronto have more time to work, sip lattes in sidewalk cafs, and visit museums.
Somehow Filipino leaders cant let go of the obsolete urban-planning practice of segregating
places of work from places of residence and recreation, creating gridlocks in our roads and
thoroughfares in the process. Our government can build roads upon roads, but if the most basic
needs of people are not addressed, Metro Manila will just end up like another Detroit
abandoned and bankrupt.
Indeed, if our policy-makers and business leaders wont make a conscious decision to let shun
the unsustainable practice of profit, profit, profit, then development is not worthy of its name.
You dont call it development if its not spread out like butter on bread, said Palafox. If the
needs of people will not be addressed, why bother creating these cities in the first place?
How do we define sustainable architecture? And what the National Park has to do with it?
Prior to the use of the term "sustainable architecture," the term "solar architecture" expressed
the architectural concept of the reduction of the consumption of natural resources and fuels. The
intent was that we could conserve our fuel resources through the immediate capture of the
available solar energy through appropriate building design. The evolution of the development of
this design approach has brought us to the current and broader concept of "sustainable
architecture." This term describes those who take up the banner for an energy and ecologically
conscious approach to the design of the built environment. In doing so, it has broadened the
scope of issues involved. Unfortunately, because of the confusion of the literal meaning of the
term, it has also hampered the communication about this approach to architecture. The literal
interpretation of the words "sustainable environment" is the creation of an environment for
human occupation, performance and the support of life to which sustenance or nourishment is
continuously given. That is the definition used in this paper. The
term "sustainable" does not express the minimization
of the expenditure of those resources
necessary for the prolongation of the life of the
National Park. The term defines the fact that no
humanly created environment can survive
without the contributions of the larger natural

92 s p a t i u m
environment or ecological systems what National
Parks normally are.
We cannot create environmental order as
architecture without ultimately extracting
energy and resources from other systems. The
end product is a closed system of increased
order but only at the expense of other systems
within the universe. The net result is a decrease
in order or an increase in entropy. A sustainable
environment is an entity that owes its
existence to the consumption of the natural
resources and order that surround it. If an
environment physically exists, it is being
sustained. It is impossible to have a nonsustainable
environment (1). That of course
applies to National Parks too, probably even
much more than to any other environment.
The term sustainable architecture, used to
describe the movement associated with environmentally
conscious architectural design, still
creates ambivalence and confusion, even more
than twenty years ago when it was introduced
(2). A brief examination of the meaning of
sustainable identifies why this occurs. The
popular interpretation describes an approach to
design that minimizes sustenance of resource
consumption so as to prolong the availability of
natural resources. And that directly applies to
the National Park. However, the definition of
sustainable does not imply a minimization of
sustenance. Sustainable simply expresses the
fact that resources do maintain our environment.
Depletion of resources is inevitable in
maintaining any environment. Sustainable
architecture describes the fact that we receive
what we need from the universe. This realization
compels us to respond with care or stewardship
in the use of those resources around us.
Sustainable architecture, then, is a response to
awareness and not a prescriptive formula for
survival, let alone fashion.
Sustainability might be understood as "meeting
the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs" (3). We will most probably run out
of resources at some point in time but we seek
to delay that point for as long as possible.
Implicit in this definition is the hope that if we
delay long enough, we may be able to see how
new technologies will reverse what now appears
to be a continual process to an inevitable end. A
similar interpretation is that we treat the natural
resources available to us as capital and seek to
leave off only the interest or produced
resources of nature. It would mean that we
would consume less through the products of
our creative efforts than nature produces
through the natural cycles. The reality is that we
are beholding to the universe that surrounds us
for our survival, the existence of life and the
opportunity to express ourselves creatively. We
do create order and an increase in resources for
human fulfillment through our architecture (4).
Sustainable architecture describes the fact that
we can only exist and create with the
availability of natural resources. Those resources
are the foundation of our world. Sustainable
architecture proclaims this fact to the
world. It is a celebration that we are that we
create and that resources are available to do
this. And that is probably the most appropriate
understanding of the term (5).
Sustainability is a term that represents the
social and cultural shift in the world order,
patterns and styles of living (6). It is another
step in the process wherein society has moved
from a nomadic hunting order, to an agricultural
order, to an industrial order and is
currently moving fast to an information-based
order. Sustainability has become a buzzword
or symbol describing this inevitable, ongoing
transition. As such, the term sustainability is
actually not the first one that has little to do
with the dictionary, literal definition of the
word, but is the name for a new attitude and
way of looking at the world.
The artists, including architects, state that our
priority as human beings is to express ourselves
and continually say things in new and
different ways. Resources are for consumption.
Sustainability refers to the adjustments that we
must make as we exhaust one form and use
another in its place. On the other hand the
priority of life for materialists is economic productivity
and physical comfort and welfare. This
is the argument of Capitalism and Communism
alike. Consumption is what motivates us. The
earth's resources exist for our consumption,
including National Parks. Based upon the laws
of supply and demand adaptation occurs.
Both of these approaches offer opportunities to
contribute to the goals of the popular understanding
of sustainable architecture. The artistic,
should we say architectural approach contribution
is based on the concept of continually
seeking new forms and means of expression. In
a time of social and cultural change, the artist,
namely architect is in the forefront. After all,
the new architecture, if it tends to be really
new, is about sustainability (7).
Related to the nebulous quality of the term
"sustainable" in this context is that some
proponents of sustainability feel that we really
can create environments that consume less
than they produce, and I am definitely one of
those. Some even say the term is intellectually
dishonest, and we, as a society, do not know
how to build sustainable architecture.
So the term "sustainable," as popularly understood,
is inadequate and, consequently, it is a
negative influence toward the real goals of the
sustainable architecture movement. First and
foremost, it is a negative concept. The aim of
architecture is to improve our quality of life and
environment. The intention of architecture is
not to save resources preventing their use but
to reorder them to better serve the people. In
the context of that priority, the issue is how do
we achieve it.
The reality of the finites of energy and
resources and the resulting deterioration and
destruction of our natural environment,
including National Parks, clearly has significant
impact upon our cultures and lifestyles. The
logical conclusion is that we must address the
issues of sustainability in our architecture
everywhere, and of course especially to
National Parks. We need a long-term view, not
the fulfillment of immediate physical
satisfaction. Both artistic and economic points
of view have significant roles to play in the
development of sustainable architecture.
SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL PARK
In order to propose meaningful developments
that are sustainable and environmentally sound
in the National Park, then a number of
environmental aspects that promote sustainable
design need to be looked at. Therefore,
next is the study that looks at the environmental
guidelines of the National Park.
All the proposed interventions and develop-

spatium 93
ments at the National Park need to be sustainable
so as to maintain the existing ecosystem
(8). The concept of sustainable design has
come to the forefront in the last twenty years. It
is a concept that recognizes that human civilization
is an integral part of the natural world
and that nature must be preserved and
perpetuated if the human community itself is to
survive. Sustainable design articulates this idea
through developments that exemplify the principles
of conservation and encourage the application
of those principles in our daily lives.
A corollary concept, and one that supports
sustainable design, is that of bio-regionalism -
the idea that all life is established and maintained
on a functional community basis and
that all of these distinctive communities (bioregions)
have mutually supporting life systems
that are generally self-sustaining. The concept
of sustainable design holds that future technologies
must function primarily within bioregional
patterns and scales. They must maintain
biological diversity and environmental integrity
contributing to the health of air, water, and
soils, incorporating design and construction
that reflect bio-regional conditions, and
reducing the impacts of human use (9).
Design principles
Sustainable design, sustainable development,
design with nature, environmentally sensitive
design, holistic resource management -
regardless of what it's called, "sustainability,"
the capability of natural and cultural systems
being continued over time, is the key (10).
In order to have sustainable design in the
National Park, an alternative approach to
traditional design and the new design approach
must recognize the impacts of every design
choice on the natural and cultural resources of
the local, regional, and global environments.
A model of the new design principles necessary
for sustainability is exemplified by the "Hanover
Principles" or "Bill of Rights for the Planet,"
developed by William McDonough Architects
for EXPO 2000 held in Hanover, Germany.
1. Insist on the right of humanity and nature to
co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse, and
sustainable condition.
2. Recognize interdependence. The elements
of human design interact with and depend on
the natural world, with broad and diverse implications
at every scale. Expand design considerations
to recognizing even distant effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and
matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement
including community, dwelling, industry,
and trade in terms of existing and evolving
connections between spiritual and material
consciousness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences
of design decisions upon human well being,
the viability of natural systems, and their right
to co-exist.
5. Create safe objects to long-term value. Do
not burden future generations with requirements
for maintenance or vigilant administration
of potential danger due to the careless
creations of products, processes, or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and
optimize the full life cycle of products and
processes, to approach the state of natural
systems in which there is no waste.
7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human
designs should, like the living world, derive
their creative forces from perpetual solar
income. Incorporate this energy efficiently and
safely for responsible use.
8. Understand the limitations of design. No
human creation lasts forever and design does
solve all problems. Those who create and plan
should practice humility in the face of nature.
Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an
inconvenience to be evaded or controlled.
9. Seek constant improvements by sharing
knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication
between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers,
and users to link long-term sustainable
considerations with ethical responsibility,
and reestablish the integral relationship
between natural processes and human activity.
Role of interpretation
For any National Park to be sustainable, it will
only succeed to the degree that it anticipates
and manages human experiences (11). Interpretation
provides the best single tool for
shaping experiences and sharing values. By
providing an awareness of the environment,
values are taught that are necessary for the
protection of the environment. Sustainable
design will seek to affect not only immediate
behaviors but also the long-term beliefs and
attitudes of the visitors.
To achieve a sustainable park:
Visitor experiences should be based on
intimate and sensory involvement with actual
natural and cultural resources. The local
culture should be included. The experiences
should be environmentally and culturally
compatible and should encourage the
protection of those resources
Educational opportunities should include
interpretation of the systems that sustain the
development as well as programs about natural
and cultural resource values of the setting.
Site and facility design should contribute to
the understanding and interpretation of the
local natural and cultural environments.
Interpretation should make the values of
sustainability apparent to visitors in all daily
aspects of operation, including services, retail
operations, maintenance, utilities, and waste
handling. A good example should be set in all
facets of operation
BERNARD B. CARBON JR.
BSA-3C