SESSION 04 MAPPING PROJECT

 ARNOLD GOMEZ'S PEDICAB / (TUK-TUK) MAPPING

 Vito Cruz Street , Manila

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

- See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Uh6W3z8BAAA.k8Ravz7JQoJZxDqIAkqI0Q.FbqfPgO7y76YAoBFhFGuAw&postId=6953363593670272923&type=POST#sthash.yRtQkSqs.dpuf

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

- See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Uh6W3z8BAAA.k8Ravz7JQoJZxDqIAkqI0Q.FbqfPgO7y76YAoBFhFGuAw&postId=6953363593670272923&type=POST#sthash.yRtQkSqs.dpuf

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

- See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Uh6W3z8BAAA.k8Ravz7JQoJZxDqIAkqI0Q.FbqfPgO7y76YAoBFhFGuAw&postId=6953363593670272923&type=POST#sthash.yRtQkSqs.dpuf

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

- See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Uh6W3z8BAAA.k8Ravz7JQoJZxDqIAkqI0Q.FbqfPgO7y76YAoBFhFGuAw&postId=6953363593670272923&type=POST#sthash.yRtQkSqs.dpuf

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

- See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Uh6W3z8BAAA.k8Ravz7JQoJZxDqIAkqI0Q.FbqfPgO7y76YAoBFhFGuAw&postId=6953363593670272923&type=POST#sthash.yRtQkSqs.dpuf

Constellation of pedicab stations of downtown Manila. The encircled portion is Vito Cruz area where the SDA Building is located. Above the zoomed in map is a table of maps within La Salle to Bangko Central vicinity.

The 3 small photos above are the different zoomed in road patterns of Manila's pedicab nodes. The next photo is the impression of Arnold's journey from Roxas Boulevard to the SDA Campus while riding the pedicab. His representation of the pedicab movement put the viewer in front of the object. He was advised to keep this perception. However, it was suggested to him that it will be more interesting if the documentation was about the views of the passenger and not of the viewer.

ZACC RENIA'S HOUSEFLIES ("LANGAW") MAPPING

 Pedro Gil Street , Manila

Zacc Renia investigated his home and took photos of flying houseflies. It is documented as dots in space.

This led him to reanimate these dots using his old model to justify his claims of housefly movements. It had similarities in his plotting of flies as dots in space. The speed of movement is still in question. The images below are Zacc's other mapping strategies.

 

SANDER SY'S HORSE DUNG AND GALLOP MAPPING

Binondo (Chinatown), Manila

Sander's choice of mapping is oddly interesting because it is a noticeable object in Manila that either annoys or disgusts. "Calesa" or horse drawn carriage still ply the streets of Chinatown. Their route is mappable because they leave a trail that is very noticeable. While it sounds smelly, he was encouraged to look at other aspects of the "calesa." He mapped the galloping patterns of the horse because it is different from a horse without the carriage to pull.

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The droppings were mapped and connected by a line generating how the dung spreads out as it falls on the road. What is interesting is how Sanders related the horse's legs movement in relation to the droppings (represented as blue lines). He mapped the calesa activity around the San Lorenzo Ruiz Plaza and Binondo Church because it serves as the center of Binondo (Chinatown) where these carriages also converge.

Eliminating the other details of the map Sanders concluded by showing how the "calesas" move around his area of study. The perfect straight path of the calesa was challenged but Sanders claims that this is due to the vehicles along the road. The calesa maintained this path but the variety of patterns happen during galloping, when the horse accelerates, pauses or stops. The turning behavior of the horse remains to be proven.




MICHELLE ABELLO'S PAPER CUP TRASH MAPPING
 Piazza along Pedro Gil Street (near Pasig River), Manila

      

Above are Michelle Abello's sheets showing the trashed cups from the nearby establishments. The scale was exaggerated but shows the different kinds of cups that indicate their origins. The variety was shown per sheet. When the sheets are laid on top of one another it represents the piling of the cups. Abello opens the cups to show object expansion and extent of the cup envelope. This is when the issue of scale becomes very relevant.

ARCDES1 AY 13-14 SESSION 03 MAPPING PROJECT
De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde SDA AR (School of Design and Arts - Architecture Program) - See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/#sthash.ByXIvJO5.dpuf

ARCDES1 AY 13-14 SESSION 03 MAPPING PROJECT
De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde SDA AR (School of Design and Arts - Architecture Program) - See more at: http://metroplexed.blogspot.com/#sthash.ByXIvJO5.dpu

ARCDES1 AY 13-14 SESSION 04 MAPPING PROJECT 

De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde SDA AR (School of Design and Arts - Architecture Program)

SESSION 03 MAPPING PROJECT

SESSION 03 MAPPING PROJECT

Continuation of the mapping projects.

Arnold Gomez's Pedicab (Tuk-tuk) mapping of Vito Cruz led him to make a location map of all the pedicab stations in downtown Manila.

The connections of all the pedicab stations generated a geometry.

Gomez set a radius highlighting the street pattern surrounding one pedicab station.

Chuck Lear's housefly mapping of Pedro Gil in Manila might sound strange. This mapping was a result of his research on the place that possesses many interesting history of the residents. He focused on the "langaws" or houseflies that infest the area that enhances the weirdness of the place. The above sheet shows his simulation of flies as dots in space using strings and painted styropor. He claims that by shaking the model it generates the same movement as the flies. He capture these movements as photographs then connected as dots generating geometric lines.

The sheet above shows Chuck's attempt to freeze the flight behavior of houseflies and the pattern it creates in air. He used a wire model to simulate this.  Also shown is a representation model demonstrating the flight crossings of houseflies along Pedro Gil Street..

Continuation of Angeli Adriano's Olfactory mapping of Blumentritt Street in Manila. Above photo shows the  buidlings along Blumentritt Street that house different products emitting different smells.This street is rich in olfactic experiences. The aroma of bread in the nearby bakery ignited the idea of mapping smell since it triggers personal memories. The right photo below shows the shaded part that indicates the extent of the different scents of merchandise along that street. Opposite photo shows fer initial olfactory impression of the streets through line drawings.

It is interesting to see former students provide comments and suggestions.Celine Paglinawan suggests to use color coding to map and code smells of the place.

Angeli can work on technique but the clarity of presentation is noticeable. The sheets had enough information that didn't need further elaboration.


ARCDES1 AY 13-14 SESSION 03 MAPPING PROJECT
De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde SDA AR (School of Design and Arts - Architecture Program)

SESSION 02 MAPPING PROJECT

SESSION 02 MAPPING PROJECT

As a first exercise, the students chose an area in Manila they find interesting.  The first attempt revealed that the students’ choice of site for the study was affected by personal desires and convenience. This was understandable given the requirement that they should be able to go back to their site to gather more information or conduct further research. They documented their experience of the place and looked for artifacts that exhibit intrigue, curiosity and peculiarity. The second attempt was more fruitful since their biases with likability and comfort toward the exercise were somehow deviated.  

The list of mapping projects and their initial study:

Zacc Renia on “Langaw” or Flies along Pedro Gil St. Manila.

Arnold Gomez on Pedicabs along Vito Cruz St. Manila:

Angeli Adriano on “Olfactory” Experiences  of Blumentritt, Manila.

Interesting projects include:

Regina Morales on “Siomai” ot Street food of the De La Salle Taft area.

Bernadette Margallo on Tiles of Malate, Manila.

Sanders Sy on Calesas’ Horses’ Gallops and Dung of Chinatown, Manila.

Justin Mulingbayan on Barbeque of Pasay City.

Michelle Abello on Trash along Pedro Gil Plaza in Makati City.

Jenel Samonte on Vendors along Hidalgo Street in Quiapo, Manila.

Elijah Soriano on Cigarettes on Malate, Manila.

Ailyn Villa on Candles of Intramuros, Manila.

Gabriel Villegas on Dog Poop of Harrison Plaza.

Sasha Ablatif on Coconuts of Manila.

ARCDES1 AY 13-14 SESSION 02 MAPPING PROJECT
De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde SDA AR (School of Design and Arts - Architecture Program)

ARCDES2 2012

ARCDES2 2012

Arcdes 2 or Design 2 at the SDA AR tackles the city in general. If Arcdes 1 dealt with designing for the self that allowed the students to formulate their own design processes and beliefs in architecture, Arcdes2 projects focus on site sensitivity and dealing with different urban conditions.  The studio is required to identify problems and propose solutions to provide a better Urbanism for the city. Since our school is Manila based, it is but important that we make our home city our laboratory.

For this year, I picked Malate as a venue for urban study. However, I decided to take a different route because I want to avoid massive infrastructure projects. Instead, I took the story discourse which I think is a perfect continuation of Arcdes1 and more relevant to Malate. The revival of its identity through a building is what our studio proposes for the district’s rebirth.

Malate, contrary to what the general public perceives is multi-layered and it is a place that offers a lot of opportunities for architectural ideas.  I allowed the students to discover these stories and serve as the starting point of their respective projects.  As a first exercise, the students were asked to map Malate  to produce initial site information relevant to their studies. Since the value of Malate is anchored to its layered history: Bohemia, prostitution, homosexuality, Art Deco buildings, Socialites, 19^th century elites, Larry Cruz and nightlife, their proposals were expected to center on the stories that made Malate known for its constant reinvention.

Image above.  1st photo is a beautifully hand-drawn crime map of Malate by Christopher Mccombs, Sheliak Jimenez and Mark Gervoso. Other maps generating information about Malate. Fyi, SDA AR stands for School of Design and Arts Architecture Program of the De La Salle - College of Saint Benilde.

FROSHED

Posted in this blog several years ago was a behemoth standing along Vito Cruz that pushed my desire to teach in an architecture school. Leap 2 years forward, I am already preparing for my second year as a faculty in a design program housed in the same giant plotter (this is a complement).

Before stepping into the academe, one could imagine my confidence as first-time lecturer whose optimistic attitude remain untainted by professional practice. I thought wrong. During my first day at school, this idealist and proud mentor-wannabe, found himself behind the vintage looking classroom-computer, clueless where and how to start an intro. It felt like I was seeing the light in the tunnel as my life when I was a student flashed before my eyes. The experience in the room was like an apparition of a not too distant past. The last two hours of that day was saved by the thought that we were all neophytes or colloquially called in CSB, “frosh.” Half of the term ended with me struggling and finding my way to deliver the syllabus with perfection. Paranoia sets in as it whispers that blame is upon me when these students end the term without their lessons learned. It took a while before it sunk in what our program chairperson advised us during our orientation; that we have an academic freedom, provided that the learning outcomes are met. The sound of freedom in a design academe is music but I found myself more paranoid because of the time wasted. Somehow, I pulled it off. Redemption was sweet towards the end as I saw my students produce good results. You always feel that you knew you could have done better… had you known.

The students' output was a testament that indeed, design language can be thought, not in a superficial way but as a thought process. To make up for the lost opportunities in engaging them in design discourses, I set up one on one (grouped) sessions with my students, to somehow introduce to them vocabulary of design processes. That short period of time, somehow made an effect to those who were dedicated to their tasks. It could have been better…”had I known,” like I already said….

Noticeably, one can see the students’ pure view of architecture. It is good for them to realize that they can do anything at first before they are bombarded with limitations. This freedom allowed them to create new things and ideas. It is normal that they hesitate at first attempt, but with proper steering, they progress impressively. That is the beauty of teaching frosh, they are like infants whose first words of “dada” is music to their father’s ears. The best work of my frosh students are akin to that experience. No, this is not an indication that I want to be a father soon.

Image above. Karla Elefante and Kevin Singzon’s “Petals.” The final studio work is for the group to design a space that CSB students can use. The group created a disc module with a standard size of 1.2 meter in diameter. The discs were provided with notches on its four quadrants for connection purposes. This was a structural element that they played to create a program for the site.