This tiny 330 square foot apartment in Hong Kong, transforms into 24 different rooms!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
30 sqm 24-room Apartment
This tiny 330 square foot apartment in Hong Kong, transforms into 24 different rooms!
Arch. Felino Palafox Jr.
Felino Palafox Jr., principal architect and urban planner/founder and managing partner of Palafox Associates (PA), wanted to become a priest, even finishing his secondary education at the Christ the King seminary, where he spent his formative years preparing for priesthood. But his calling was elsewhere, and after high school, his interest in the arts, mathematics, and sciences – plus his visits to the construction projects of his late uncle Jess Palafox – motivated the young seminarian to take up BS Architecture at the University of Santo Tomas .
“I like architecture because it is experiential. It’s a functional art,” Palafox says.
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| Regency Boracay Hotel |
Climate Change Adaptability
As a student of Architecture I have encountered the green design trend and was so impressed with the solutions presented that I started to incorporate sustainability in my design philosophy. As I have researched on green solutions and discovered that the resources available online are mostly of western origin for obvious reasons, and so I was able to further develop myself in the green philosophy. They say, "Think Global, Act Local".
Applauding the western world for sharing with us this way of thinking, I have read books and watched documentaries about sustainability and other related topics. Fascinated about my new passion I started my own awareness campaign through my family, friends and the social media.
When Typhoon Pedring hit Luzon it was very reminiscent of Typhoon Ondoy which experts attribute to climate change. All the more I was interested in the pursuit of carbon mitigation. However, raising awareness level is not enough in solving the problem, I have to raise the accountability level as well. Coincidentally, I watched a documentary about the Chaos Theory where it was mentioned that weather phenomenon doesn't necessarily affect the location from which it has originated from.
It occurred to me that these typhoons may not have been caused by the carbon emissions of our country. However, the catastrophic damages were immense. I had a change of heart and concluded that while environmental and sustainable design is vitally important it cannot outweigh weather-resilient solutions that is urgently needed to potentially save Filipino lives.
With annual recurring typhoons in our country, and probably wouldn't be over anytime soon, I think it would be more cost effective if the government will allocate more resources in preventive measures in calamity prone areas rather than throwing basic amenities or offering relocation during relief operations. It would even be a social injustice to relocate calamity victims somewhere that food and job security is not guaranteed while giving them just a few thousand pesos to get by.
Going back to the Green philosophy it may have been a conspiracy that developed countries sensitize over us to prioritize a zero-carbon footprint lifestyle because it will help rehabilitate this world that they themselves destroyed, while they already have the resources and preventive solutions, that when disaster strikes it would only do minimal damage to them. A lot of our local projects that are well funded are focused on renewable energy or tree planting to combat climate change. However, these projects take time to mature. We need to take immediate action plans that will dramatically lower our casualty rate during typhoons. There is no excuse for the death of our countrymen.
It is good that we are implementing eco-friendly designs and investing in renewable energy but I think that the most humane thing to do first is to empower Filipinos to climate change adaptability and make it a priority program not only of the government but the whole society. The damage to our environment has been done, calamities will regularly strike, thus, climate change is something that we have to live with. Green architecture would only be a part of the climate change adaptability program in which the design considerations include structures that will be able to withstand calamity re-occurrence, to be able to sustain the basic needs of its inhabitants during calamities like having a rainwater harvesting system for potable water and the rebuilding process, if necessary.
We are living at a time where a lot of community leaders are sprouting nationwide in effort to better our lives. We are very blessed to live in this society that we have the access to all necessary knowledge and we have the capability to make informed decisions to change the course of history. The worst thing to do is do nothing, and as a citizen of this country I am taking personal responsibility and accountability to whatever happens to the society I live in, and if most of us will, it may create lasting positive change in our beloved Philippines.
Applauding the western world for sharing with us this way of thinking, I have read books and watched documentaries about sustainability and other related topics. Fascinated about my new passion I started my own awareness campaign through my family, friends and the social media.
When Typhoon Pedring hit Luzon it was very reminiscent of Typhoon Ondoy which experts attribute to climate change. All the more I was interested in the pursuit of carbon mitigation. However, raising awareness level is not enough in solving the problem, I have to raise the accountability level as well. Coincidentally, I watched a documentary about the Chaos Theory where it was mentioned that weather phenomenon doesn't necessarily affect the location from which it has originated from.
It occurred to me that these typhoons may not have been caused by the carbon emissions of our country. However, the catastrophic damages were immense. I had a change of heart and concluded that while environmental and sustainable design is vitally important it cannot outweigh weather-resilient solutions that is urgently needed to potentially save Filipino lives.
With annual recurring typhoons in our country, and probably wouldn't be over anytime soon, I think it would be more cost effective if the government will allocate more resources in preventive measures in calamity prone areas rather than throwing basic amenities or offering relocation during relief operations. It would even be a social injustice to relocate calamity victims somewhere that food and job security is not guaranteed while giving them just a few thousand pesos to get by.
Going back to the Green philosophy it may have been a conspiracy that developed countries sensitize over us to prioritize a zero-carbon footprint lifestyle because it will help rehabilitate this world that they themselves destroyed, while they already have the resources and preventive solutions, that when disaster strikes it would only do minimal damage to them. A lot of our local projects that are well funded are focused on renewable energy or tree planting to combat climate change. However, these projects take time to mature. We need to take immediate action plans that will dramatically lower our casualty rate during typhoons. There is no excuse for the death of our countrymen.
It is good that we are implementing eco-friendly designs and investing in renewable energy but I think that the most humane thing to do first is to empower Filipinos to climate change adaptability and make it a priority program not only of the government but the whole society. The damage to our environment has been done, calamities will regularly strike, thus, climate change is something that we have to live with. Green architecture would only be a part of the climate change adaptability program in which the design considerations include structures that will be able to withstand calamity re-occurrence, to be able to sustain the basic needs of its inhabitants during calamities like having a rainwater harvesting system for potable water and the rebuilding process, if necessary.
We are living at a time where a lot of community leaders are sprouting nationwide in effort to better our lives. We are very blessed to live in this society that we have the access to all necessary knowledge and we have the capability to make informed decisions to change the course of history. The worst thing to do is do nothing, and as a citizen of this country I am taking personal responsibility and accountability to whatever happens to the society I live in, and if most of us will, it may create lasting positive change in our beloved Philippines.
Illac Diaz
The founder of MyShelter Foundation and Design Against the Elements (DAtE)A man who is a dreamer but also believes that failure is part of success. Illac Diaz was born in Manila in September 15. He is the son of Ramon, an accomplished visual artist and brother of Gloria Diaz, the first Filipina Miss Universe.
Career and Education
Nurtured by an Italian-born mother, Silvana nee Ancellotti who runs an art house Galeria Duenila, Illac studied High School in Ateneo de Manila in 1990. He earned his bachelor in Management Economics also at Ateneo.
As a young fellow and bachelor, he was then a model, a party-goer and an actor for sometime. He was also an advertising executive for Smart Communication. But he strove for more.
To further his studies, he took a Masters Degree in Entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) with graduate thesis: “Shanties to Jobs: Creating a Migrant Center in Manila.” Then he later left to study in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston with Urban Planning, Course II – Urban Studies and Planning. In 2008, he took Masters of Political Administration, MPA 1 in Harvard.
Accomplishments
Someone who is as inspired, creative, determined and warm-hearted as Illac is definitely the kind of person who can contribute to improve the social and economic condition of the country. He established Pier One, an affordable, clean and safe house for seafarers. This transient housing is for seamen coming from the provinces, looking for work and waiting for their next voyage. To help the women to manually shell off peanuts with simple pedal-powered machines, he established the “Peanut Revolution”. Then he established First Step Coral, an artificial coral reef system to attract fish to shallower waters. In 2001 up to the present, he is the Executive Director and Founder of MyShelter Foundation, Inc. It is a social enterprise that looks for sustainable housing solutions for homeless and the lack of infrastructure in developing countries, like the Philippines.
Awards
Illac is he youngest AIM alumnus to receive an Honors and Prestige Award because of Pier One. In 2004 he got a three-in-a-row award. He got an Everyday Hero Special Award from the Readers Digest Asia and an Entrepreneur Award from the 1st Johnny Walker Social Award. He was runner-up in New York’s Next Big Idea International Design Competition. He got the First for Social Entrepreneurship from TOYM Award in 2005. His latest citation is the “Young Global Leaders of 2008” by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva.
Illac is always hungry to experience life to the fullest and inspire others to believe that most of the things that hold us back can be overcome. He always believe that if we are to do things in life, we must be either totally passionate and believe in it or not at all, and just too many people live in the lukewarm state of being indecisive or half hearted. People give up so easily and sometimes it happens at the moment that they are about to reach their dreams. As a person who is a dreamer, he always found a road to success!
TEDxManila - Iliac Diaz - 12/05/09
Talking about Climate Change Adaptability through the creation of sustainable solution for building clinics and classrooms through stronger architecture and planning in low income communities in the rural areas.
1. How do we provide the purest form of charity? Is to make ourselves obsolete
2. To help onces, a week later they come back at your door again.
3. Isn't it more expensive for us to keep acting post-disaster
4. Food, medicine and refugee centers
5. If we design for the future of a country that is vulnerable to disasters but able to adapt we may make it safer.
6. We always ask for funds after the storm
7. Every year we have 20 storms, every year it's destructive and every year it looks like an act of God
8. Storms are definite but our survivability is not
9. If we act with a linear kind of solution to a escalating kind of problem we will have more and more problems in the coming years
10. A lot of our projects are in carbon mitigation, we use this is way to sensitize foreign countries to lower their carbon, which will only help a little bit to our typhoons
11. We are dealing with climate change as reactive and not proactive
12. What we will do ahead of time when the cost are manageable when creativity can be put into concrete structures
13. Instead of donation model after the storm which last weeks
14. We had concerts to raise awareness but what happens in the next storm
15. 70% of our population are in the rural areas and a lot of it are in the coastlines
16. Mass produce housing
17. Focus on classrooms in the rural area because this is where people go to when calamity strikes
18. Empower the people to have a system to build before and rebuild after the calamity strikes
19. 12% forest cover
20. It takes time to make a million trees
21. Bamboo is a material that grows very quickly and 35% more efficient in absorbing carbon
22. No matter what NGO you are, if you have not empowered the community there is no way you can provide housing for the whole eastern seaboard of the country
23. Farmers are empowered to build the schools
24. How do we do thing here and now
25. Negative climate change psychology
26. What more knowledge do we need that the manifestation of climate change is prevalent that it took over our cities.
27. How to empower rural communities
28. We can provide safety before the storm
29. Next generation low-income housing, low impact in the environment, and weather resilient
30. Prevention and not rehabilitation
Stand Up (DAtE Climate Change Music Video)
“Stand Up”
- Adapting to a Climate Challenged World (Design Against the Elements)
Sung by: Various Artist
Composed by: Boogie Romero (Kjwan)
Directed by: Henry Posadas
Seasons come, seasons go
Why won’t the rain stop falling?
Did you notice?
She’s suffering the world is weighing on earth
Bring their home, bring them home
Bring them, bring them home
Bring them home, oh..
We gotta join hands with shield
We gotta do our part and start from within
We gotta stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Get ready
One heart, one soul, one world
Stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Yeah, yeah
Get ready, get ready, yeah
[New climate situation we have to customary to be able to be more resilient to the world]
Bring hope amidst change
Bring home our brothers are need to be safe
They need to be safe, they need to be safe
Today, today they need to be safe
Bring love in one world
We must work together to persevere
One world, oh…
We gotta join hands with shield
We gotta do our part and start from within
We gotta stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Get ready
The time to moving up
Stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Get ready, get ready to face the storm
Get ready
There are no better people to do this
than you and I (you and I)
There’s no better time to do this
than now
Bring them home
[We need the one people and see all of ourselves as solutions rather than part of the problem]
Stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Get ready, get ready
[This is a local problem that needs a global solution - Illac Diaz]
Stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Get ready, get ready
Get ready for the storm
Stand up, rise up, stand up
Stand up the world is changing
Rise up get ready to face the storm
Get ready, get ready
Let’s bring them home
We gotta bring them home
[It could be a better world for the next generation simply because we are learning from lessons to the past and we have great hope for the future.]
DAtE (Design Against the Elements)
A global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. http://www.designagainsttheelements.org/
Illac Diaz, organizer of DAtE (Design Against the Elements)
1. Survivability is moving away from post-disaster. The poorest are the most vulnerable and the least to adapt.
2. We will be living in a flooding environment.
3. Designers can contain the solution
4. Philippines has a Defeatist culture
5. We cannot create a BLISS housing anymore because when it sinks it becomes dependent to donations.
6. Climate change is something that humanity has to live with.
7. Government agencies just plant trees to combat these calamities when it takes 7 years to grow.
8. We have to build a canal in the next 25 years when climate change is already here now
9. There is no excuse for people to die
10. If developed countries say, low carbon society, we should not follow that, we should have a zero climate casualty society.
11. Teach architects to design a climate challenged world
12. The poorest of the poor can have green architecture that entails their survival.
13. The worst thing to do is do nothing
14. The manifestation of climate change is that 80% of the city went down in water.
15. Build a sample, once the residents say they live better then people will follow
16. We have to build better or else we will put people at risk
17. When this yearly storms are livable then other communities will follow
18. On low cost-housing: A lot of our designs are from the 1960s where it was a time that intense flooding is not a regular course.
19. Thw worst thing to do is grab the people who are affected and throw them to a rural barangay without any kind of food security or job and hand them P7,000 which is a social injustice
20. Climate change is happening accross boarders so all these world aids cannot just give them in bulk
21. Enough reacting after storm, people has to work on the problem well before the storm hits
Illac Diaz, organizer of DAtE (Design Against the Elements)
1. Survivability is moving away from post-disaster. The poorest are the most vulnerable and the least to adapt.
2. We will be living in a flooding environment.
3. Designers can contain the solution
4. Philippines has a Defeatist culture
5. We cannot create a BLISS housing anymore because when it sinks it becomes dependent to donations.
6. Climate change is something that humanity has to live with.
7. Government agencies just plant trees to combat these calamities when it takes 7 years to grow.
8. We have to build a canal in the next 25 years when climate change is already here now
9. There is no excuse for people to die
10. If developed countries say, low carbon society, we should not follow that, we should have a zero climate casualty society.
11. Teach architects to design a climate challenged world
12. The poorest of the poor can have green architecture that entails their survival.
13. The worst thing to do is do nothing
14. The manifestation of climate change is that 80% of the city went down in water.
15. Build a sample, once the residents say they live better then people will follow
16. We have to build better or else we will put people at risk
17. When this yearly storms are livable then other communities will follow
18. On low cost-housing: A lot of our designs are from the 1960s where it was a time that intense flooding is not a regular course.
19. Thw worst thing to do is grab the people who are affected and throw them to a rural barangay without any kind of food security or job and hand them P7,000 which is a social injustice
20. Climate change is happening accross boarders so all these world aids cannot just give them in bulk
21. Enough reacting after storm, people has to work on the problem well before the storm hits
Experience the Philippines
When God created the Philippine island, He liked it so much he created 7,000 more.
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