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.