ESPASYO 2010

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COMMENTARY

Architecture and Cultural Sustainability Rommel R. Alanis

Social Sustainability of Historical Districts

Towards Successful International Collaborations through Workshops Maureen Anne Araneta

BUILDING CRITIQUE

Building Imperfection:

Concept, Th eory and Discourse in the Design of the SDA Building Edson Cabalfi n

BOOK AND EXHIBITION REVIEWS Reuben Ramas Canete

Archi [types/text]: Architecture in Philippines Life

Diliman: Tracing the Terrain/ Monochromed Memories: UP Landmarks

Designing Filipino:Th e Architecture of Francisco Mañosa

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Editorial

Th e Espasyo Journal and the National Sym-posium on Filipino Architecture and Design (NSFAD) are two endeavors which dovetail in both objective and output. Both are avenues for learned discussion in architecture and its related fi elds, and both endeavor to further ideas, trends and conceptions in design. It is serrendipitous, therefore, that the one ac-tivity – the NSFAD conducted in 2010 – is featured in the other – Volume 2 of Espasyo Journal.

In this issue of Espasyo Journal are 11 peer-reviewed papers delivered by professors from diﬀ erent design schools in the country during NSFAD 2010, which was held on 27 August 2010 at the Aldaba Hall of the UP Th eater at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. With the theme Th e Poetics and Politics of Architectural Place-Making, the concept of Place and the process of Place-making were explained and expounded on within the context of the Philippines.

Th e theme is quite expansive, but the level of discussion required to even scratch its surface must be of the order of the analyti-cal, insightful and comprehensive. Place and Place-making are extremely dynamic con-cepts, which involve the interplay among physical constructs, value-forming precepts and technical know-how. A mere descrip-tive picture of a town as a Place, for example, would therefore not be suffi cient. Th e papers presented during NSFAD 2010 were luckily more than narratives of the observable. Pres-entations endeavored to seek the instigators of the process of Place-making, thereby ele-vating a domestic space, district or town into a Place.

What is common among the papers pre-sented was the contention that people make a Place, by virtue of their individual actions and group dynamic, as well as by the values that they lay upon architecture and spaces as the artifacts of human intent. Although the

process of Place-making may be initiated by the learned professional – the architect, the interior designer, the urban planner – it is still sustained and enhanced by the people who live and breathe within these spaces. It is people in general who make a Place and who drive the process of Place-making.

Does this negate the contributions that de-sign professionals make to the built environ-ment? Certainly not. It does, in fact, intensify the importance of the architect, the planner, and the interior designer, in that these design professionals are endowed with the responsi-bility to stake the landscape with structures that physically and mentally anchor people to a space, so that, people, in their turn, can convert the space into a Place. Spaces and structures that are conducive to this conver-sion will laden a Place with commonly-held values, thereby making the Place enduring over time.

Th e keys to a successful design professional, therefore, are to develop sensitivity to human behavior, to channel culture and tradition, and to insist that it is for people that one de-signs for, not colossal institutions, nor face-less corporations. Places are living systems that must be touched with delicacy and delib-eration. Th e design professional is the artist, the surgeon, the translator who deftly adds to and enhances this living organism, to ensure that it persists over time, and to preserve the values that secure it in the minds of individu-als and in the heart of the collective.

Espasyo Journal and NSFAD serve as the de-vices to disseminate communal intent, by amplifying the voices of the members of the academe, who are themselves design profes-sionals. Th e successful attendance to NSFAD is proof that the design community in the Philippines is of a singular mindset, armed with the conviction that to build the Philip-pines is to build a nation.

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Foreword

Th e latter part of the 20th century saw a tremen-dous growth of our cities and urban settlements. Th is continues into the 21st Century as more and more people fl ock to our cities for what they hope will be a better life. Our cities continue to embody and manifest what we aspire for and what we hold important. Yet the linkages between architecture and the city, though inextricable, have become confused. We question not only our relevance, but the impact of our architecture and the core of its signifi cance. At the onset of the Millenium, our theoreticians and pedagogues struggle with these issues and the clues they hold to our future. Th e dialectics and phenomenology of place-mak-ing in architecture are in an intimate dance with urban semiotics, our inquiries into the manifest meanings and symbols that infuse our smallest communities to our largest conurbations.

Th is year’s National Symposium on Filipino Archi-tecture and Design is a fortuitous event. Th e last NSFAD was held in 2007. Th is year 2010 marks the end of the fi rst decade of the fi rst century of our Th ird Millenium. It heralds the prospects and potentials that our nation and our Earth look to. Today we will be part of cerebral inceptions in ar-chitectural analysis, pedagogy and appreciation, intellectual incursions into the minds of respect-ed faculty from various Philippine universities. Th e Poetics and Politics of Architectural Place-Making. Th is is our theme today, a theme that seeks to remind us of the continuing evolution of architecture not only as our profession but as our shared passion. We seek to remind ourselves that architecture can never exist autonomously, devoid of setting or context, to reinforce the in-trinsic notion that Filipino architecture is but a part of a much larger whole, an essential yet often indeterminate element of that continuum.

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More and more we are called to task as to how well we have met the challenges of these aspirations and priorities. Th e failures as well as the spectacu-lar successes of our architecture and our settle-ments are poignant proof of our relevance and our responsibility.

Too often we have limited the focus of our eﬀ orts to deterministic science of use and function, with obsolete instruments that seek to compartmen-talize and zone our cities into neat little boxes of segregated and exclusionary land uses, as if our lives can be similarly compartmentalized.

Today we seek to reorient and redefi ne not only our roles, but perhaps our creative psyche. Th e strengthening of the relationship between our Architecture and our towns and cities demands that we likewise strengthen our understanding of what makes our lives meaningful. People, whether they live in a village or a megalopolis, will continue to make places in both poetic and prosaic ways. Will politics allow and enable this to happen? Th e issues that politics and governance will have to address in the 21st century are rapidly expand-ing beyond the grasp and capability of the tools of the 20th century. It is important that we come to terms with this.

Th e making of places is an eﬀ ort and undertaking that goes beyond simplistic preoccupations with function or use. Th e transcendent substance of place-making is recombinant of the profoundly human concerns of meaning and spirit. Th e an-cients referred to this as genius loci, the spirit of place. It is a concept that survives to the present but is in need of re-minding and redefi nition. Th e loss of such spirit is what has led to the loss of those spaces which we hold inviolate, our Sacred Spaces, our hallowed grounds. Th is has ham-pered, if not crippled us from the creation of new sacredness. Th e process of imbuing our spaces with meaning, both sublime and mundane, both sacred and profane, relies on our ability to com-municate that meaning and make it relevant to our lives. Th is is a singular responsibility we have, not only in the creative endeavors of our profes-sion, but in the shared passions of our humanity. In this year's symposium and the inquiries, dis-courses and dialogues that we will participate in today, let us attempt to rethink and reorient, and by doing redefi ne ourselves, what makes us hu-man and what it means to be Filipino.

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MARK ANTHONY M. MORALES

Mark Anthony M. Morales is an Assistant Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning in the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He graduated with a B.S. in Archi-tecture from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, and an M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning from U.P. Diliman. A PRC-registered Architect and Environmental Planner, he is also a member of the Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society for the Social Sciences, University of the Philippines-Alpha Chapter.

Of Art, Symbols, and

Memory of Place

Exploring Philippine Architectural and Urban Design Character Coherence Potentialities

by utilizing UP Diliman’s Built Environment as Model

particularly through the urban tapestry wherein cities and municipalities are historically interwo-ven with the people it serves. To be more precise, a myriad of stories abound wherein architectural bastions of cultural heritage, whose embodied forms and design symbols and ideologies stand as silent witnesses to the very foundation of a place’s collective history and identity, are utterly discarded and forgotten merely by the excitement brought about by new design trends and materi-als that are sweeping other parts of the globe. In the Philippine setting, many of these new trends and materials, when put in context to the local urban fabric, present confl ict regarding the physi-cal environment’s collective historiphysi-cal and cultural coherence and adaptability. Th e result of which is a propensity towards disoriented urban character aspirations and distorted defi nitions of a Filipino’s memory of place.

CHARACTER COHERENCE AND MEMORY OF PLACE

What is the signifi cance of character coherence and memory of place in our built environment? Lorraine Farrely, in her book Th e Fundamentals of Architecture explains that “the concept of memory of place is based on the premise that impression-able places are strongly remembered; they have signifi cant characteristics, sounds, textures, and events that make them memorable.” [1] Memories emanating from these places are heavily depend-ent, among other things, on the coherence (or in-coherence) of the architecture and urban design character which a particular built environment oﬀ ers, infl uencing to a signifi cant extent the col-lective impressions of the people who visit, live or work inside these environments. It is through this concept that one recognizes the importance by which built environments (of buildings, streets, ABSTRACT

How can art assist in developing our built environ-ment? Th is study aims to answer this question by exploring the possibilities of creating a replica-ble system wherein character coherence, both in the realms of creative ornamentation and subtle abstraction, can be utilized to stem a propensity towards disoriented urban character aspirations. Initial fi ndings point towards the need to study the symbols and imagery imbedded within the crea-tions of visual artists, suggesting that without sen-sitive study of the underlying meanings and sug-gestions which these artistic creations are meant to convey, though physically scattered around us, our true identity shall continue to be hidden from plain sight.

INTRODUCTION

Humanity has always been spell-bound by the luster of new discoveries. A breakthrough over producing and controlling the properties of fi re gave unequivocal power and control to Neander-thals over the harsh pre-historic environment; the invention of the wheel greatly facilitated the territorial aspirations of burgeoning empires from Mesopotamia, Asia, and Central Europe; and by harnessing the properties of steam, man was able to thrust itself (by leaps and bounds) into the in-dustrial revolution. However, with every euphoric celebration that is entwined with new discover-ies, man has been repeatedly observed to be at fault of setting-aside, at the risk of forgetting al-together, his collective past; a history that sets the precedent by which his soul and identity as an individual and as a people are hinged upon. Th is proclivity in embracing everything that is “new” to the detriment of the old is evident not only in man but also in his built environment;

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and spaces), experienced by locals and visitors alike at any particular moment in time, are and should be the direct by-product of a communal heritage that justifi ably mirrors the collective identity and culture of its inhabitants.

In the pursuit of determining key character coher-ences and memory of place features in a particular built environment, it is imperative that research endeavors concentrate more towards qualitative aspects of data gathering and analysis. Th is is due because issues concerning collective identity, cul-ture and place impressions are primarily concepts inherent to the realm of urban design, an artistic and sensorial discipline within the widely encom-passing planning profession tasked in transform-ing spatial environments with temperament towards man’s “social, psychological, aesthetic, functional, and emotional needs.” [2] Taking refer-ence from the work of Cooper, Boyko, Pemberton-Billing, and Cadman:

In the past - and arguably, the present - decision mak-ing processes existed primarily within the plannmak-ing and stemmed from a rationalist perspective, relying on the so-called precision of “hard” or objective data, such as mathematical models and economic formu-lae...from this perspective, information given by dif-ferent groups, such as local residents, was often seen as too subjective or “soft” (e.g. anecdotal accounts), and therefore was considered less appropriate for the planning process. As a result, qualitative informa-tion often risked being discarded outright in favour of quantitative data (Green, 1996). Th us planning was viewed as a dominant decision-making process, with issues of urban design being largely ignored because of its emphasis on design as “art”. [3]

Th is research aims to explore the possibilities of developing a replicable qualitative system of aes-thetic, theoretical, and symbolic relationship cor-relations which in time (and with a wider scope and scale of information brought about by a coa-lescence of related research endeavors), may lead into a qualitative and quantitative system of data gathering, analysis, and correlation that will help in determining a built environment’s original ar-chitectural or urban design character aspirations;

and serve as augmentative guide for future spa-tial development scenarios. Character coherence and memory of place shall be sought by dissect-ing and correlatdissect-ing the aesthetic and exterior at-tributes that bind a spatial environment together; along with theoretical and symbolical design aspi-rations concentrating on the underlying abstract meanings conveyed in subtlety by communities. Emerging patterns expressing these attributes (aesthetic) and aspirations (theoretic and sym-bolic), as manifested in spatial components such as buildings, open spaces, circulation patterns, and landscaping elements and structures will be explored in this study.

Francisco Manosa was once quoted as saying that “the design of the built environment refl ects man’s expression of his way of life; his emotional, philosophical, religious, technological and ma-terial values in response to his needs and envi-ronmental challenges.” [4] However, with such a varying propagation of foreign architectural fl a-vors, design trends and styles - each jostling for recognition and acceptance in the local populace’ collective consciousness - the probability of los-ing one’s own identity in the process is relatively high. Perhaps, it is the lack of cultural cohesion and connection with the emerging built envi-ronment rising fast around him that contributes signifi cantly to the Filipino’s lack of identity and sense of self. It is in this regard that many have tried before, and for this same reason that this author is daring to seek again, for possible meth-ods which can adequately identify, analyze, and correlate key aesthetic characteristics and hid-den symbolical aspirations in built surroundings; components of which will then serve as guide in preserving and promoting cultural coherence and historical identity within our people and with their local built environments.

MICROCOSM OF A NATION

Each and every individual who walks past the university’s hallowed halls and portals, inevita-bly exposes himself/herself to a multitude of life-changing experiences of academic, social, or

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ideological nature. It is in the years of stay in a uni-versity that young minds are molded and shaped, where idealism is tempered with knowledge and the search for truth in helping bring about the necessary change in a society wrecked by pessi-mism and hopelessness; and wherein old souls are constantly reminded of the power of youth and the responsibility by which they wield in sharing wisdom to push farther the boundaries of man’s concepts of possibilities and probabilities.

Like in most societies, it is the passing of culture, heritage and knowledge from the current to the upcoming generation, as well as the manner by which wisdom is disseminated amidst a conducive and supportive physical environment, that holds the key to a civilization’s survival and growth. In this regard, the University of the Philippines Dili-man (UPD) campus is of no exception. Th e home to many of the nation’s best and brightest, this state-run university also holds the distinction of being an institution of learning for the country that is able to represent fairly well all faces and facets of Philippine society: students, faculty, sup-port and administration personnel (even settlers whose stay inside the campus is of questionable legality) share daily experiences and constant interaction inside the 493-hectare university grounds regardless of economic status, religious beliefs and cultural or social preferences. In terms of the built environment, UP President Emerlinda Roman observed, and rightly so, that “the rise of structures parallels the development of the archi-tecture in the country in an almost linear fashion.” [5] From the socio-economic and cultural confi gu-ration of the UPD populace, to the various physical facilities and spaces under varying styles, scales,

and magnitudes (even state of decay) spread-out inside its environs, the Diliman campus is a veri-table microcosm in the developmental timeline of successes (and failures) of not only Philippine architecture, but Philippine urbanism as well. It is for these reasons of linear similarity and parallel-isms with the country that this research is using the Diliman campus as study model; and in this regard this study is hoped to eventually contrib-ute in augmenting established means of under-standing character coherence, memory of place and culturally sensitive development strategies for the Philippine built environment as well. BIRTH OF AN ACADEMIC CORE

Th e very fi rst buildings to be built in the Diliman campus were the twin buildings of Malcolm and Benitez Halls, built in the latter part of the 1930’s and both designed along Neo-Classical lines by Juan Arellano. Development was part of President Manuel Quezon’s grand vision of a new city, a more humane and organized built environment that is worthy of the dreams and aspirations of a nation nearing the promise of full liberation. However, campus development by the fl edging Common-wealth government came to an abrupt halt during the onslaught of World War II in 1941. It was only eight years later that development of the Diliman campus commenced. Quoting Ruben D.F. Defeo:

A massive infrastructure program followed the 1949 exodus from Padre Faura to Diliman with funds largely coming from the United States War Damage Com-mission to assist the University build “the nucleus of the new campus”. One by one, new buildings began to dot the Diliman skyline. Th e library or Gonzalez Hall in 1950. Th e colonnaded administration building or Que-zon Hall in 1951. Th e College of Engineering or Melchor

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Hall and its mirror image, the College of Liberal Arts or Palma Hall in 1952.

Until the early 1950’s, only these edifi ces dominated the fabled Academic Oval generously blest with aca-cia-lined lanes...the buildings were homogenous in character. And if that were not plausible, at least each building managed to relate to the next in quite a Hel-lenistic fashion, essaying an architectural harmony made hallowed through time.

Today, this post Hellenistic consciousness has given way to a disposition favouring an eclectic, albeit con-fused, architectural persuasion. [6]

Th e aforementioned quote reveals a relatively solid starting point wherein our search for the Dili-man campus’ primordial physical and sensorial identity may begin. With so many development trends, events and styles that have consequently passed through the study model, the risk of failing to extract its primary identity aspirations is great. Logic and prudence dictate towards a form of qual-itative regression in fi nding the original aesthetic considerations and theoretical and symbolical aspirations by which the “pioneering”(as derived from Defeo) Diliman campus structures surround-ing the UP Academic Oval, with their coherence in character despite of confl icting Neo Classicist and Modernist design perspectives, were primarily built to express. Th ese are the academic structures built from the late 1930’s to the 1950’s; Malcolm and Benitez Halls, Palma and Melchor Halls, and Quezon and Gonzalez Halls. Th is decision is based on historical records that clearly state that it was these structures that established the Diliman cam-pus’ original institutional character, and thus pro-vide historical weight in the search for the spirit by which the university was fi rst created to convey. It is of interest to note that Juan Arellano, architect of the earliest pre-war period buildings built in the Diliman campus (Malcolm and Benitez Halls), was

documented as to having tried to fuse Neo-Clas-sical design, the American colonial governments’ favored style showing its “ambitions of inheriting the glories of Ancient Greece and Rome”[7], with touches of “Regionalism,” or vernacular design ele-ments; a fact that led Winand Klassen to write in his book that “as a sensitive artist he (Arellano) must have felt that architecture must and should awaken the awareness of the Filipino people of their national identity. Arellano used various Fili-pino motifs in his designs such as the salakot as a roof motif...these were combined with ornamental items like the carabao, Igorot fi gures and others of Muslim origin to western features like arches and pilarettes.” [8] Unlike Arellano’s more famous creations outside the study model, no distinct ver-nacular symbols and imageries were found by this author integrated within the architectural embel-lishments of Malcolm and Benitez Halls. However, it is still worthy to mention that the fi rst batch of formally educated and trained Filipino architects were already beginning to search for creative ways of creating physical environments that reinforce the Filipino identity amidst globally accepted ar-chitectural styles.

Th e Modernist-inspired period of the late 1940’s on the other hand produced the simplifi ed masses and volumes best described by the Gonzalez, Pal-ma and Melchor Halls (Concio), as well as that of Quezon Hall (Nakpil and Concio). A common char-acteristic of these structures is an image of grand-ness in scale common in this earlier version of the period’s modernist designs. Veering towards the historical timeline perspective, being designed near the sphere of infl uence by the Neo-Classical themes of the Malcolm and Benitez halls, these structures fl anking the periphery of academic oval convey a relative continuity in architectural char-acter.

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In this transition period, from post-war liberation to Independence, the ideals of the City Beautiful Move-ment were still very much in the consciousness of planners. Th is could be seen in the fulfi lment of Par-son’s plans of having structures built as pairs opposite a vista of park space. Hence, Quezon Hall was mirrored across the lagoon by Gonzalez Hall, while Palma Hall was paired across the Academic Oval by Melchor Hall, both exhibiting similarities in massing and volume. [9]

In comparing the visual and theoretical properties of these two architectural styles, it may be wise to fi rst establish parameters in which correlations may be sought. Due to this study’s inclination to-wards physical or aesthetic characteristics and its eﬀ ects to culture, character coherence, and the human sensory experience as primary issues sought for scholarly inquisition, it is proposed that eﬀ orts be concentrated on analyzing the aesthet-ic undertones of the Neo-Classaesthet-icist and Modernist styles. In this regard, other planning and design applications which is of equal importance such as environmental, economic, mechanical, and insti-tutional considerations shall be reserved for sub-sequent studies regarding this matter.

We have been taught that form (volume and sur-face texture and color) and composition (contrast, proportion, scale, balance, rhythm, unity, and character) comprise the aesthetic realm of design [10]. For reasons of brevity, respect for creativity and artistic freedom, and the general knowledge that the precepts espoused by Modernism are a direct anti-thesis of those that are embraced by Neo-Classicism, let us begin our eﬀ orts towards the pursuit of aesthetic rationalization in the sphere of surface texture and color. Reasons for this being: a.) most of the espoused Modernist’s aesthetic properties and ideologies will only lead

towards the negation of the same properties in the Neo-Classicist perspective, and thus the prob-ability of a compromise as it is, is relatively low; and b.) there would be no wisdom in rationalizing design considerations that risks infringing on the creativity and artistic freedom of our planners, architects, and designers; however, on the other end of the creative spectrum, we have laws such as the National Building, as well Fire Codes which ensure that this same creativity and artistic free-dom are well within bounds of communal safety and security.

On this superfi cial level of analysis, the relational similarities of the aforementioned pioneering Dili-man structures, either Neo-Classicist or Modernist, are bounded on its play with reinforced concrete, use of bricks which are painted with the color ma-roon, and surfaces painted with hues ranging from white, maroon, beige, and grey. If we are solely to base our rationalization here, one would come to the immediate conclusion of the pointlessness of this scholarly exercise; the same conclusions may be arrived at by plain observation. Does this mean that as long as you use reinforced concrete, patronize the use of maroon-painted bricks in treating the façade, or paint a structure with the color schemes as mentioned above, that character coherence and memory of place will therefore be achieved? Surely, UPD’s rich heritage and culture, and its position as a microcosm of a diverse na-tion as promoted in this research, deserves more than just concrete fi nishes and color schemes as defi nitive determinants of its collective culture, character, and identity.

As the search continues, we are reminded of how subtle and mysterious character coherence and cultural identity in the Philippine built setting is;

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and to succeed, one has to go beyond the obvious and the superfi cial in understanding the country and its people’s true identity and cultural aspira-tions. Architect Leandro Locsin was quoted by Polites as saying that “Philippine architecture is an elusive thing; because while it makes full use of modern technology, it is a residue of diﬀ erent overlays of foreign infl uence left on the Philip-pines over the centuries. What resulted may be a hybrid.”[11] Unlike traditional Chinese or Greek architecture and urban design, whose physicality and aesthetics scream of their collective culture and identity, ours is like a gem hidden under layers of various cultures and infl uences. Quoting Klas-sen:

A consequence of the elusiveness of Philippine archi-tecture may be this: that it cannot be arrived at direct-ly, that it cannot be achieved by striving for it at the conscious level. If that is so, we have an interesting parallel in Philippine painting.

Filipino architects striving for national identity or searching for the Filipino soul in their work, would do well to turn to the painters for guidance, because they were confronted with the same problems earlier.... there are two approaches to the problem of national identity in the arts, a direct and indirect one...it seems to me that in the endeavour to arrive at an architec-ture which is truly Filipino, the indirect approach is more suitable.

In other words, what the architect should strive for is architecture in the context of the physical and cultural conditions of the Philippines. If there is Philippineness in his work, it is arrived at indirectly and often subcon-sciously, depending on the cultural background and creativity of the designer. [12]

According to Klassen, the elusive Filipino identity and soul can perhaps be easier found not by sim-ply relying at the direct or conscious level of analy-sis, but through the symbolical and subconscious level of study as well; pointing towards an identity whose meaning is more than what can be seen from obvious outside physicalities. To achieve this, Klassen alludes to the need of studying the sym-bols and abstracted images ingeniously imbedded

suggested that without sensitive study of under-lying meanings and suggestions which these ar-tistic creations are meant to convey, though phys-ically scattered around us, our true identity shall continue to be hidden from plain sight.

Currently, by limiting our research strictly within the comfortable confi nes of architectural styles and theories, we risk being at a stand-still in our pursuit of defi nitive character coherences inside the study model. Th e current research fi ndings of achieving memory of place solely via the patron-age of reinforced concrete, use of painted brick and common color schemes as seen in the Neo-Classicist and Modernist buildings of UPD are too shallow. If we are to listen in the wisdom shared by Klassen, perhaps we should turn our sights over toward the visual arts, in the hope to fi nd the truth in the true identity, symbolical, and cultural aspi-rations of the study model’s built environment. HYBRIDITY: MODERNITY AND ROMANTICISM Let us begin with the most iconic work of art that symbolizes and encapsulates everything that UP stands for: Th e Oblation. With its name derived from the latin word Oblatio and Oblatum, which means “to oﬀ er,” this three-and-a-half meter high sculpture created by the fi rst National Artist for Sculpture, Guillermo Estrella Tolentino[13] shows us clues pertaining to the core values of the uni-versity; the inherent nakedness of the statue per-sonifi es the search for truth and honesty in the pursuit of scholastic excellence. Looking for ar-chitectural correlations, these are clearly precepts intertwined as well within the concepts of Mod-ernism; where the search for architectural truths and honesty is primordial. Th is clearly points to-wards the campus’ identity and character needs to espouse the bareness and adherence to truth, as symbolized by the Oblation, in the modernist style of building character.

However, Geronimo Manahan pointed out a

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“there was also evolving a deep-seated sentimen-tal longing for architecture that is relevant to Fili-pino behavior, space needs and culture. Th e Filipi-no, being a romantic, reaches out for the free-play of forms, colors, and textures.” [14] In this regard, ornamentation is a core characteristic of Filipino culture and identity that severely lacks in the established precepts of modernism. It is an incli-nation that in turn, can be suffi ciently addressed by one of the core elements of Neo-Classicism; particularly in the use of sculptural reliefs and or-namentation that symbolize among many other things, the progress of civilization and military conquests. Th e famous Arc de Triomphe for in-stance, located in Paris and commissioned by Na-poleon Bonaparte in 1806, has several sculptural “relief panels based on Roman designs, and heroic statuaries celebrating the glory of France.”[15] Th rough the acknowledgment of the UPD’s aca-demic aspirations of truth, honesty, and bare na-kedness in the pursuit of enlightenment - char-acteristics which are in consonance with the precepts found in Modernism - and by embracing Filipino romanticism as expressed via

Neo-Clas-sicist sculptural reliefs and ornamentations, this study points towards an emergence of aesthetic as well as symbolic embodiments of architectural hybridity. Th is hybridity gives weight to an emer-gence of a vernacular form of romanticism - or Modern Romanticism as this author humbly sug-gests - which may be deemed as a present-day in-carnation of National Romanticism, a movement which fl ourished in Germany and Scandinavia from about 1890 to 1920. “During this period, painters, interior designers, city planners and architects created a new kind of domestic architecture and interior design, as well as monumental architec-ture. Drawing on local and regional folk traditions, and encouraging a simple way of life, architects such as Eliel Saarinen, Hans Poelzig, and Martin Nyrop, among others, looked back to medieval and even prehistoric times for their models, as they tried to create a new architecture”. [16] Th is revelation, intriguing as it is, would not have been possible had we not sought to validate the beliefs and recommendations of Locsin and Klassen in fi nding answers through the realm of the visual arts. Let us then go deeper towards this artistic track by searching for examples of iconic campus

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art - sculpture, reliefs, and paintings -that further validate the fi ndings initially found through the Oblation, and point the way towards true charac-ter coherences and a memory of place eﬀ ectively manifesting UPD’s true collective identity, herit-age, and culture.

TRUTH AND ORNAMENTATION: ART AND THE SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE

Aside from the Oblation, another iconic visual art piece are the two sculptural works of Napoleon V. Abueva lining the fl anks of the campus’ University Avenue - one is entitled Tribute to Higher Educa-tion and the other, the University Gateway. Cre-ated in 1966, the Tribute to Higher Education is an avant-garde sculptural piece that is modern in character but romantically embellished with sculptural reliefs and symbols depicting the Filipi-no’s academic aspirations, history, and culture. Th e University Gateway on the other hand, are the two massive sail-like waiting sheds that perpetually defy gravity with its modern and massive form; at the same time seemingly pointing towards the main symbol of the U.P. system, the Oblation. Th e two Abueva creations exemplify modern forms that seek to exult man’s search for truth as manifested through its intended symbolisms and choice of textures and honesty to material. Among other meanings conveyed, there is massiveness yet lightness in character exuded by the Univer-sity Gateway; the same meanings seen in the rela-tive lightness by which four posts eﬀ ortlessly carry into the air the “massive” body of the local bahay kubo, and the same lightness amidst massive-ness as achieved in Locsin’s Cultural Center of the Philippines. Th ere is also the tasteful placement of romantic and symbolic ornamentations amidst modern forms as seen in the Tribute to Higher Ed-ucation, the same meanings exuded by the mini-mal and tastefully placed reliefs as seen in Quezon Hall. In relation with romantic ornamentation in our built spaces, it is of note that Paulo Alcazaren was quoted in observing that local buildings today

have lost its connection with the romanticism of Philippine art. Quoting Alcazaren, “In the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the art of Filipino sculptors, painters, and craftsmen embellished the spaces, walls and fa-cades of our modern architecture.”[17] It is in this regard that it may be of benefi t to go back to the architectural history of the study model, wherein it can be recalled that the original design concept of Cesar H. Concio for UP Diliman’s Quezon Hall featured prime and adequate spaces for the inclu-sion of symbolic artworks on its façade. However, the eventual merging of the respective designs of Concio and Nakpil led to the Quezon Hall we are all familiar today. More than anything, this bit of history strengthens the relevance and cultural pa-tronage of merging modern design precepts with romantic ornamentations and symbolisms in our architecture and design; of creating new forms of architectural hybridity which eﬀ ectively mir-rors our uniqueness as a country and as a people. Th ese are emerging characteristics of coherence inside the study model; aesthetic and symbolical aspirations that can and should be maximized in the pursuit of distinct memory of place symbols and images.

MOVING FORWARD: POSSIBILITIES

Th is proposed system of qualitative regression and correlation, though still in its crude form, shows promise in institutionalizing the process of classifying key character and sensorial coherence features of a particular built setting, both in the realms of aesthetic ornamentation and theoreti-cal, as well as symbolical abstraction. By doing so, we tune ourselves to the importance of the sen-sorial experience of people in the planning and development of our built settings and environ-ments. It is of no secret that local urban planning and design professionals have had diffi culties in delineating the equally important roles on which they play in the pursuit for better environmental development scenarios and plans of action. Per-haps this study’s approach of moving towards cre-ating a replicable framework of analysis may

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set-up the stage to better understanding between the two genetically interconnected professions; and set-up a bridge of understanding for the plan-ning and design fi elds. It is hoped that by propos-ing this qualitative regression type of analysis, more positive collaborations maximizing both the planning and design professions strengths can be achieved.

Prudence was consciously exhibited as well during the entire process by which this study was based upon; to provide as much creative leeway in aptly accommodating the need for artistic freedom by architects, designers and planners who will be cre-ating, planning, and designing the future spatial development plans and programs of their desig-nated built environments.

Numerous research potentials and variations are likewise emerging. Instead of simply entrusting the character growth of their physical landscape to artists, planners and designers, private develop-ers, and a few individuals in local government, this process may also open possibilities of empower-ing local communities toward hearempower-ing their voice by utilizing this systematized system of discover-ing collective identity in their built environment. By providing a systematic framework of identifi ca-tion and analysis wherein inputs from community shareholders and the visual arts are dovetailed with other planning and design precepts, we may help improve the determination and assimilation of a community’s collective identity, character co-herence, and memory of place in both their urban designs and plans; at the same time establish the importance of art and culture to national develop-ment. Quoting Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature:

It is necessary to formulate a national policy that fully recognizes and gives due importance to culture as the core and foundation of government’s political and eco-nomic policy...for the people’s welfare and well-being. ...support for the potential of culture and creative work in economic production, meaning, invigorating

literature, fi ne arts, architecture, music, dance, fi lm and other arts as cultural or creative industries that are capable of generating sizable employment and export earnings, apart from promoting and enshrining national talent and dignity. [18]

Furthermore, by proposing a consultative ap-proach by which community lay-persons, key stakeholders and decision-makers, as well as de-signers and planners may interact through a par-ticipatory oriented, bottom-up approach of action-plan generating activities, we put ourselves in a good position that is geared towards improving the discovery of distinct urban identities and its importance to sustainable urban development and growth policy options. Perhaps future studies can be attuned in further developing or verifying this proposal; with an end result no less of creat-ing lastcreat-ing urban environments that is in touch with the collective identity, culture, and charac-ter of the people which it was originally meant to serve, nurture, and dignify.

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REFERENCES

[1] Farrelly, Lorraine. Th e Fundamentals of Architecture, AVA Publishing SA, Switzerland, 2007, p.28

[2-3] Cooper, Rachel et.al. Designing Sustainable Cities, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom, 2009. Pp.5, 8. [4] Caruncho, Eric S. Designing Filipino: Architecture of Fran-cisco Ma osa, Tukod Foundation, Inc., Manila, 2003, p.17 [5] Roman, Emerlinda R. Th e Diliman Campus: Th e Changing Shape of the Future, Sites and Symbols 2, Offi ce of the Chan-cellor-UP Diliman, Quezon City, 2005. P.3

[6] Defeo, Ruben D.F. Th e Diliman Campus Th en and Now, Sites and Symbols: UP Diliman Landmarks, Offi ce of the Chancellor-UP Diliman, Quezon City, 2000. P.4

[7] Glancey, Jonathan. Architecture, Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London, 2006, p.346

[8] Klassen, Winand. Architecture in the Philippines: Filipino Building in a Cross-Cultural Context, Clevano Printers, Cebu City, 1986, p. 177

[9] Lico, Gerard. Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architec-ture and Urbanism in the

Philippines, Th e University of the Philippines Press, Quezon City, 2008, p.400

[10] Wong, Wucius. Principles of Form and Design, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1993

[11-12] Klassen, Winand. Architecture in the Philippines: Filipi-no Building in a Cross-Cultural Context, ClevaFilipi-no Printers, Cebu City, 1986, pp. 200, 201, 10

[13] Defeo, Ruben D.F. Th e Diliman Campus Th en and Now, Sites and Symbols: UP Diliman Landmarks, Offi ce of the Chancellor-UP Diliman, Quezon City, 2000. P.7

[14] Manahan, Geronimo. Philippine Architecture in the 20th Century, Kanlungan Inc., 1994, p.48

[15] Glancey, Jonathan. Architecture, Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London, 2006, p.348

[16] Lane, Barbara Miller. National Romanticism and Modern Architecture in Germany and the Scandinavian Countries, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, 2000 http://www.cambridge.org/ us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521583098, downloaded 04 May 2010

[17]Alcazaren, Paulo G. Benchmarking Philippine Architecture, http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=581242, downloaded 17 April 2010

[18] Almario, Virgilio S. Cultural Agenda for New President, Let-ter, Opinion Section, Phil. Daily Inquirer, 09 April 2010 GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bridge, Gary. Reason In Th e City of Diﬀ erence: Pragma-tism, Communication Action and Contemporary Urbanism, Routledge Publishing, New York, 2005

Bronowski, Jacob. Th e Creative Process, Creativity: A Discus-sion at the Nobel Conference, North-Holland Publishing Co., 1970

Caruncho, Eric S. Art for Earth’s Sake: Public Art Not only Beau-tifi es Space, it Initiates Th inking, Curiosity among Viewers, Sunday Inquirer Magazine, 27 April 2008

Caruncho, Eric S. Designing Filipino: Architecture of Francisco Manosa, Tukod Foundation, Inc., Manila, 2003

Cooper, Rachel et.al. Designing Sustainable Cities, Wiley-Black-well Publishing, United Kingdom, 2009

Defeo, Ruben D.F. Th e Diliman Campus Th en and Now, Sites and Symbols: UP Diliman Landmarks, Offi ce of the Chancellor-UP Diliman, Quezon City, 2000

Doxiadis, Constantinos A. Between Dystopia and Utopia, Trin-ity College Press, 1966

Duhl, Leonard J. Th e Human Nature: Man and Family in Mega-lopolis, Th e Future Use of Urban Land, Th e John Hopkins Press, 1963. 133-154.

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Farrelly, Lorraine. Th e Fundamentals of Architecture, AVA Pub-lishing SA, Switzerland, 2007

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Klassen, Winand. Architecture in the Philippines: Filipino Building in a Cross-Cultural Context, Clevano Printers, Cebu City, 1986

Kostelanetz, Richard. SoHo: Th e Rise and Fall of an Artist’s Colony, Routledge Publishing, New York, 2003

Lico, Gerard. Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architecture and Urbanism in the Philippines, Th e University of the Philip-pines Press, Quezon City, 2008

Mackinnon, Donald. Creativity: A Multi-Faceted Phenomenon, Creativity: A Discussion at the Nobel Conference, North-Hol-land Publishing Co., 1970. 17-32.

Manahan, Geronimo. Philippine Architecture in the 20th Cen-tury, Kanlungan Inc., 1994

Miles, Steven, et. al. Culture-Led Urban Regeneration, Routledge Publishing, New York, 2007

Morato, Jr. Eduardo A. Investing in creative industries, Busi-ness Section Phil. Daily Inquirer, 30 Oct. 2006

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Perkins, G. Holmes. Th e Architect and the City: His Role and Training Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, Th e Architect and Th e City, M.I.T. Press, 1962. 64-75.

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GRACE C. RAMOS and KUN-HYUCK AHN, PH.D

Th

e Philippine Housing

Regulatory System in a Period of

Socio-economic Ambivalence

answers the general question: How have hous-ing regulations manifested in Metropolitan Ma-nila’s urban geography? Th e research objectives are: 1) To identify the dominant residential forms and location patterns in Metropolitan Manila. 2) To explain the economic bases of these forms and patterns in relation to general economic / housing market theories. 3) To explain the place-specifi c factors which underlie these forms and locations. 4) To analyze the forms and locations in relation to economic globalization.

Th is research is based on the merging of the Pri-vate Enterprise Th eory and the Public Enterprise Th eory. Th e former basically states that decision-makers involved in any business decision-making process aim at maximizing profi ts, while the latter states that government aims at maximizing the economic welfare of the country. [2] In the hous-ing delivery process, the decision-makers on the private side include the developers, landowners, shareholders, funders and other stakeholders. Decisions are made regarding house types and features, locations, prices and timing based on given macro and micro-conditions. Regulation, in general, is a public sector function that aims at achieving order, equity and effi ciency. Hous-ing regulations in particular seek to ensure that construction and development-related decisions are done in accordance with land use plans, target market and other sectoral plans. Finding out how these two seemingly confl icting interests con-verge is the goal of this research.

Th is problem is set against the backdrop of glo-balization, the trend to which the Philippine gov-ernment sought to be up to through its neo-liber-alist policies. How the housing sector fi gures into the pursuit of national economic development in ABSTRACT

Th e urban form is a product of the convergence of multi-level economic forces and state interventions. Th is paper discusses the extent to which the dy-namics between these two factors have infl uenced the formation of residential patterns in Metro Ma-nila. Th e fi ndings reveal a paradox whereby state regulations have actually led to the dominance of market forces that it sought to control while man-aging urban growth. Th is study particularly looks at the intentions behind the Urban Development Housing Act of 1992 and how they have manifested in the housing forms 10 years after the enactment of the law.

INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM SETTING

Th e morphological processes that result in the changing disposition of spaces within a city repre-sent the place-specifi c confl uence of many inter-nal and exterinter-nal factors. [1] Th is paper looks into the convergence of two of these factors. On the one hand, there are globally and locally-induced market forces that seem to naturally direct the physical growth and development of urban set-tings. Th ere are, on the other hand, government regulatory systems that are supposed to be con-sciously established to control how such growth must proceed. Within the framework of economic globalization, market forces have been more in-tense and have placed cities in more prominent positions. Th e trend towards globally-linked economies consequently puts pressure on states to assert their roles in urban management. In this light, this paper explores the tensions between the economic forces and state interventions. How these two forces merge in the Philippine context is analyzed by focusing on residential forms and locations in Metropolitan Manila. It, therefore,

Grace C. Ramos is a faculty of the UP College of Architecture and a practicing Architect and Environmental Planner. She is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Urban Design at the Seoul National University. She obtained a Master of Science degree in Urban Development Planning in University College London and B.S. Architecture in the University of the Philip-pines.

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a globally integrated economy is twofold. Firstly, the government acknowledges the direct contri-bution of the housing sector to the gross domestic product. [3] With the wide network of forward and backward linkages, the multiplier eﬀ ect of house construction-related activities is very high. Sec-ondly, housing serves as an essential component that makes cities function. Labor, as a major fac-tor of production, needs residential bases where productive activities take place.

How the housing sector should be managed within the context of neo-liberalism is the national gov-ernance issue that this study tries to address at the end. While neo-liberalism is generally known to be a system where market forces take center stage, it also is one where state roles are critical. “Neo-liberalization is defi ned, in process-based terms, as the mobilization of state power in the contradictory extension and reproduction of mar-ket rule. Th is involves a new form of statecraft that is concerned with managing the consequenc-es and contradictions of marketization. It impliconsequenc-es that the boundaries of the state and the market are blurred and that they are constantly being renegotiated. Neo-liberalization is the dominant contemporary means through which such ‘bound-ary adjustments’ are being made and rationalized. Markets are not naturally occurring phenomenon or spontaneously actualizing systems. More often than not, they have to be made, steered and po-liced.” [4]

Th e renegotiation process between market and state implies that the two are connected. Urban governance should proceed from the notion that it is not a matter of choice between one or the oth-er. While the fi ndings of this study would initially project the dominance of market forces in shap-ing residential patterns, a more in-depth analysis would reveal that the regulations in place, to a signifi cant extent, have directed the manner by which house production has taken place. Govern-ment incentives that are built into its fi nance and regulatory frameworks have done little to encour-age the participation of the private sector in the goal of alleviating the housing conditions for the low-income group of the urban population. Th e study further argues that patterns that can ac-tually be seen indicate that there is an Asian ur-banization model that underlies the disposition of spaces in Asian cities.

Th e Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA) of 1992 serves as the framework within which the various government housing programs are being implemented. Th is paper is a qualitative assess-ment of this regulatory framework based on the area of land that has been developed into saleable residential lots from 1994 to 2003. Th e database includes 1,500 development projects that have been issued Licenses to Sell over the 10-year

pe-riod. Th e study period allows for a two-year gesta-tion period from the time of the enactment of the law. It also represents a period of socio-economic ambivalence because while it captures the time when the Philippines was referred to by the in-ternational community as the next Asian tiger, this was also the time of the Asian fi nancial crisis. [5] Th e study area covers the Expanded National Capital Region (ENCR), which includes Metropoli-tan Manila and the contiguous provinces of Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan and Laguna. Th e tensions be-tween private (public?) sector and private sector goals are operationalized in this study through the variables that would represent both sectors’ concerns, i.e., location and price factors that in-clude distance to the Central Business District (CBD), city features and amenities, highways and transport facilities, land use and residential land availability, quality of neighborhood, and market base or population.

FINDINGS

With a land area of 619.50 square kilometers, Met-ro Manila ranks 8th among the top 10 mega-cities in terms of population, with an annual growth rate of 2.5 percent. [6] From the pre-colonial times Ma-nila has emerged and developed out of the meet-ing of market forces and conscious plannmeet-ing. Th e old capital was chosen as seat of Spanish colonial government based on both its physical features and the concentration of native population at the time of conquest. Th is part of the country has been linked to world trade routes since the an-cient times. It was, therefore, selected as the site for the “Intramuros” or the walled city. Planning principles followed the “Laws of the Indies” that required some level of agglomeration for the iden-tifi cation of Spanish Crown sites. [7] During the American occupation, Daniel Burnham prepared a plan for the city based on the principles of the City Beautiful movement. [8] Th is plan, however, was only partly realized because of the confl uence of various external forces in the later years. Th e present urban fabric of contemporary Manila is characterized by a coarse texture and an uneven grain. Juxtaposed within the city are high-rise buildings, low-density residential subdivisions and the randomly disposed informal settlements. Six housing agencies are in charge of rationalizing the disposition of residential areas in the Philip-pines. Th e Housing and Urban Development Coor-dinating Council (HUDCC) is the lead agency that undertakes planning for the housing sector. Th e National Housing Authority (NHA) is tasked with augmenting and enhancing local governments’ capabilities in the provision of housing benefi ts to their constituents. Th e Home Insurance Guaran-tee Corporation (HIGC) provides the appropriate guarantee schemes to encourage fi nancial insti-tutions to go into direct lending for housing. Th e Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB)

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oversees the enforcement of housing design standards and development of comprehensive plans for various urban and urbanizable areas. Th e Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) administer the diﬀ erent house fi nance programs. [9]

Th e UDHA was formulated to achieve the objec-tives of uplifting the conditions of the underprivi-leged and homeless citizens in urban areas and in resettlement areas by making available to them decent and aﬀ ordable housing, basic services and employment opportunities. It is also aimed at reg-ulating and directing urban growth and expansion towards a dispersed urban net and more balanced urban-rural interdependence.

To achieve the above-stated objectives, the act sought to promote the following strategies for land acquisition, balanced housing, private sec-tor participation, consultation and rural develop-ment. Strategies for land acquisition that called for varying degrees of government intervention include: community mortgage, land swapping, land consolidation, land banking, joint venture agreements and expropriation. Th e act aimed at balanced housing by requiring developers to allot 20 percent of the area of their projects for social-ized housing. To fully tap the private sector in pro-ducing socialized housing, incentives in the form of simplifying accreditation and fi nancing proce-dures were extended. Socialized housing devel-opers were also granted exemptions from certain types of taxes. [10]

In terms of price and market served, there are seven main categories of houses in Metro Manila. Residen-tial/Commercial (RCCC) and Residential Condomini-ums (RC) are high rise buildings with an average of 18 stories. Th ese housing types cater to the high-end market. Open-market housing refers to low-density types of structure with one to three stories, also ca-tering to the high-end market. Economic housing (EH) refers to low-density structures that cater to the middle income group. EH selling prices cannot go beyond P2,000,000 or $40,000. Socialized hous-ing (SH) has a maximum sellhous-ing price of P225,000 or $4,500. Th e Community Mortgage Program (CMP) enables slum settlers to organize and, as one legal en-tity, purchase the land that they are occupying. Slum Improvement and Relocation (SIR) is also a program that addresses the informal settlers. Th e EH, SH, CMP and SIR are the housing types that receive public fi -nancial assistance. [11]

Based on the housing database [12] for 1994 to 2003, more than half of the total area was developed for open market housing and, therefore, catered to the middle income and high income households. Twelve percent was developed for economic housing while only about 15 percent catered to the low-income group. (Figure 1)

Th e relative magnitudes of residential areas devel-oped per city/municipality were plotted as shown in Figure 2.

Th e distribution reveals a tendency for RCCC and RC types of housing to gravitate towards the old and new CBD areas. Economic housing dominates the second ring while the housing types catering to the low-income households are in the outer-most ring with respect to the CBDs, where resi-dential property prices are as high as $2,033 per square meter. Rental prices per month in the CBD areas average at $1,826. [13]

Fig. 1: House Distribution by City/Municipality

Fig. 2: House Distribution by City/Municipality (Base Map Source: www.en.wikipilipinas, com, 2010)

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Th ese graphs were then overlaid on the road map to see how the distribution relates with the high-way system and the distance to the main CBD. It can be seen in Figure 3 that the areas with the largest concentration of residential condominium units are those that are located inside the 24-kil-ometer highway EDSA, which is a circumferential road encircling Manila, Makati and San Juan. On the right side of the ring are the mostly open-mar-ket types of housing that consist mainly of the low-density residential subdivision projects.

Th e three main highways, North Luzon way, Marcos Highway and South Luzon Express-way, which radiate from the center, have spurred urban expansion in three directions, as shown in Figure 4. Growth has been relatively faster in the southern direction, where land prices have gone up due to the high-end amenities that have been developed in the area. Th ese amenities include golf courses, retail centers and recreational facili-ties. Residential developments in the eastern di-rection have mostly been of the low-end type. Relative to transport facilities, the high-end hous-ing units are located in the area enclosed by the two mass transport lines as can be seen in Figure 5. Vast properties were developed into open-market housing types in the areas were these transport lines terminate. Commuters living in the edges of Metro Manila take buses or jeepneys that connect to the mass transport stations.

Another thematic map that was used to analyze the distribution of projects was the land use map, which indicates residential land availability (Figure 6). Residential lands make up almost 50 percent of the total land areas of Metro Manila. [14] Th e high-est magnitude of low-density housing corresponds to Quezon City, which has the largest residential area of all. Th e cities with RC as dominant house type are those with large areas for commercial use. In the highly uneven spatial setting of Metro Ma-nila, it is not unlikely to fi nd high-end housing right beside informal settlements. Segregation comes in the form of gates and perimeter walls. Gated communities are homogeneous in terms of social class of the occupant homeowners. Th e squatting phenomenon makes possible dispersion patterns that defy the classical bid-rent theory. [15] Figure 7 shows that where the high-end houses are located are also the areas with the highest concentration of informal settlers. [16]

Th is is refl ective of two things. Firstly, the disposi-tion pattern refl ects the process of gentrifi cadisposi-tion that the high growth areas are going through. Old Manila is still in the process of transformation, where there is continuous tension between goals of preserving old structures and of modernizing the urban landscape. Old-time homeowners are subjected to pressures arising from rising land val-ues as new buildings come up. Th e juxtaposition of high-end housing and informal settlements is also attributed to the mix of labor demand in the CBDs. Th ese business districts are the locations of service economies which require manpower rang-ing from managerial to low-wage jobs. High con-centration of slum settlements can also be seen in districts with strong economic pull forces such as the areas surrounding the Port of Manila in the City of Manila and the Government Center in Que-zon City. Th e Pasig River Banks are also fi lled with

Fig. 3: House Distribution relative to Highways and Main CBDs (Base Map Source: “Maps of the World”, 2010)

Fig. 4: Direction of Urban Growth

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squatter settlements due to the number of indus-trial plants that are lined up along its length. It may be gleaned from Figure 8 that ironically, the high-density types of housing are situated in the areas where populations are decreasing while the low-density types are in those where populations are increasing. Th is could be attributed to specu-lative buying of properties in the CBDs, where real

estate values increase at a faster rate. Th is could also be explained by the high level of expatriate workers who live in these areas on a temporary basis.

Increasing population not matched with corre-sponding rate of house production resulted in a huge backlog in the years that followed. Th e Medi-um-term Philippine Development Plan for housing took oﬀ from an almost one million fi gure for its 2005-2010 projections. [17]

In summary, the distribution of housing in the ENCR from 1994 to 2003 exhibits a concentric tendency with high-end residential condomini-ums gravitating towards the main CBD areas, as can be seen in Figure 9. Open market type of housing catering to the high-income and middle income households are in the middle ring, while the government-assisted housing types that ca-ter to the low-income households are in the ouca-ter ring. Th is tendency would initially resemble the mono-centric city model that is refl ective of the Ricardian bid-rent curve. [18] Consequently, it would also initially seem apparent that market forces were dominantly or even solely responsible for this distribution.

As earlier argued though, what manifest as physi-cal elements in a city represent the convergence of forces coming from outside and within the

na-Fig. 5: House Distribution relative to Mass Transport Lines (Base Map Source: www.pinas trends.com, 2010)

Fig. 6: House Distribution relative to Land Use (Base Map Source: www.mmda.gov.ph, 2010)

Fig. 7: House Distribution relative to Slum Settlements (Base Map Source: Murakami and Pajilon, 2005)

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tional boundaries of the country where it is situ-ated. Internal factors such as state regulations have been among the determinants of this result-ant confi guration.

Th e Metro Manila case is also distinct from clas-sical urban models that stress the relationship between diminishing house prices/rents and CBD distance. [19] Th e distinction is due to the exist-ence of informal settlers within all of the three rings. As earlier noted, the CBD areas, where high-end housing is concentrated, also has the densest concentration of informal settlers. Informal set-tlers in the city represent un-served urban hous-ing demand.

Furthermore Metro Manila is hardly mono-centric. It has emerged as one of the largest metropoli-tan areas in the world due to its poly-centricity with each city/municipality having its own set of population pull factors. While the results of this study highlight the existence of a major CBD core emanating from the old city of Manila, the other cities/municipalities are sites of major ameni-ties such as prestigious colleges and universiameni-ties, multi-national corporation subsidiaries, industrial complexes, huge retail centers, international air-port, government offi ce, recreational facilities and others.

Fig. 8: House Distribution relative to Population Change (Base Map Source: FBDC, 2010)

Fig. 9: General Concentric Tendency