Infrastructure of Colonial modernity : public works in Manila from the Late 19th to the early 20th centuries -- Condensing the country : identity politics in the design of Nayong Pilipino (Philippine Village) and the 1998 Expo Pilipino them parks -- Grassroots approach for Filipino community gardens : an evaluation of the Luntiang Barangay landscape design framework applied in Villa San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal -- Kinetic architecture : the experiential connections between human consciousness and informal settlements -- Developing an assessment tool to assist local government units monitor low-carbon programs in the pursuit of ecological governance -- Urban renewal of the City of Manila and its impact to environment and physical design : where can we go from here? -- A step towards international accreditation: a review of the curricula of Philippine and internationally-accredited architectural schools -- Biofiber reinforcement and natural Pozzolana: upgrading the physico-mechanical properties of interlocking compressed earth blocks through the inclusion of durian husk fiber and sugarcane bagasse ash -- Interior design in the Philippines: A retrospect of spaces and culture -- Philippine heritage homes: a guidebook -- What kids should know about Philippine architecture -- The surface of the world: Architecture and the moving image -- Time space existence -- A shared heritage: Quezon City and the University of the Philippines Diliman.

[Article title: Infrastructure of Colonial modernity : public works in Manila from the Late 19th to the early 20th centuries / Gerard Lico and Mary Delia Tomacruz, p.1-25]

[Article title: Condensing the country : identity politics in the design of Nayong Pilipino (Philippine Village) and the 1998 Expo Pilipino them parks / Edson Roy G. Cabalfin, p.26-39]

[Article title: Kinetic architecture: the experiential connections between human consciousness and informal settlements / Kelley O'Brien, p. 40-48]

Abstract: The author argues that Metro Manila's informal settlements of are best understood not merely in terms of their architectural structures, but rather by their environments that are causally linked to human consciousness. Informal settlements are dynamic, unstable and constantly evolving, representing what Rahul Mehrotra defines as "kinetic architecture" that identifies directly with its inhabitants. Mehrotra speaks of the static city as having been created from the formal, traditional, monumental structures of the utopia that is to come. Kinetic architecture's rejection of static formalism in favor of experience allows these informal settlements to transcribe the users as interactions in space. The author then shows how human consciousness, through Nicholas Humphrey's description of the "extended present," is the location where past and present overlap through consciousness and experience. The ability to link cognitive and social systems through interaction in the physical environment will then allow for a more complete comprehension of architectural typologies than is currently presented by traditional static analysis. The paper concludes by showing how the unique culture of informal settlements directly reflects their environment and therefore human consciousness.

[Article title: Grassroots approach for Filipino community gardens: an evaluation of the Luntiang Barangay landscape design framework applied in Villa San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal / Cathe Desiree S. Nadal, p. 49-63].

Abstract: Grassroots involvement as a tool in designing Filipino communities was used in the project "Luntiang Barangay: A Landscape Design Workshop Using Indigenous and Edible Plants for the Filipino Communities." With funds from the Philippines Association of Landscape Architects (PALA) and National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the project was initiated and community landscapes were designed in the proposed site of Villa San Isidro in Rodriguez, Rizal. Thirty participants comprising three groups from the community underwent the workshop module and were guided by landscape architects and landscape architecture students from the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Architecture (UPCA). This study aims to assess the landscape design framework of the workshop according to the intended attributes of a community garden. Using landscape design analysis tools, the researcher evaluates the potentials and issues of the site, the workshop design outcome and proposes landscape design guidelines for Filipino community gardens with Villa San Isidro's community gardens as model.

[Article title: Developing an assessment tool to assist local government units monitor low-carbon programs in the pursuit of ecological governance / David Leonides T. Yap, Toshiaki Ichinose, Rowena T. Zapanta and Faith T. Dumaligan, p.64-76].

Abstract: Growing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) leading to climate change has been a global concern for decades. Research data show that CO, (carbon dioxide) accounts for 75 percent of GHGs, which has led many cities to further push efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The Philippines is no different, trying to set in place policies and mechanisms to keep emissions in check. However, one criticism levelled at Philippine-prepared plans is the absence of specific targets to lower GHG emissions within a given timeframe. Another is the absence of baseline data against which the impacts of action plans can be measured. Addressing these two gaps can provide a ground-breaking scientific method for evaluating programs. This will assure that resources in the efforts against climate change are deployed where they will be most effective. The current research aims to do just this: rectify the data gaps by developing an assessment tool that can quantitatively track carbon emissions and reductions. The assessment tool adopted GHG emission and reduction factors developed in other countries modelled after the Tsukuba Environmental Style in Japan. As a test case, this tool was applied to Antipolo City in Rizal Province. The results are not so encouraging though, indicating that Antipolo is in fact emitting more carbon than it can reduce (a deficit of over 20 billion kilograms). Obviously the city is in need of more intervention, but the positive side is that because of the tool, it is now possible to direct efforts at the right reduction activities. Beyond this pilot study, the bigger and more important task is applying the tool to other local government units (LGU) to establish a scientific method for determining each unit's contribution to carbon emission figures and to pinpoint specific actions that can be directly addressed to ease GHG levels.

[Article title: Urban renewal of the City of Manila and its impact to environment and physical design : where can we go from here? / Maria Lourdes T. Munarriz, Preeces Julee A. Perez and Rory S. Caguimbal, p.77-91].

Abstract: Urban Renewal is said to be one of the alternative actions for mitigating the negative impacts of urbanization and urban decay. This study investigated the impacts of urban renewal factors on the environmental setting and physical design of the City of Manila. It reviewed redevelopment plans, zoning ordinances, previous studies and conducted an ocular inspection of the City's major areas. Despite being limited to the City of Manila, urban planners may find the study useful in formulating redevelopment plans of cities in the light of sustainability. Moreover, the study can present policy makers with better ideas on how the development planning of a city can be managed, say by boosting the economic sector, and how they can keep the environmental and historical conditions at par with each other.

[Article title: A step towards international accreditation: a review of the curricula of Philippine and internationally-accredited architectural schools / Dolores Cecilia T. Madrid, p. 92-101]

Abstract: This paper aims to recommend measures to enable local architectural schools to set an equivalency with the curriculum of internationally accredited schools. Equivalency in curriculum is a step towards the fulfilment of the requirements set by the Canberra Accord, a document signed in 2008 by seven accreditation/validation agencies in architectural education that seeks to set uniformity in the criteria and guidelines for accreditation and validation of educational credentials of member countries. For this study, the curricula of the B.S. Architecture program offered by the University of the Philippines (UP), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of San Carlos (USC) are compared to the curriculum of Seoul National University of Korea (SNU). The evaluation was done in the categories of Communication, Cultural Context, Design, Technology, Professional Practice and General Education. The comparison is based on the number of units for each category and the course syllabi and structure. The weighted percentage of the comparison was obtained and the reasons for the differences were determined. Based on the analysis, both the Philippine schools and the SNU seek to establish a curriculum relevant to the evolving need of architectural education. However, each institution presents different approaches and foci. This paper is an initial step towards a procedure to globalize the local curricula. It seeks to provide recommendations to set an equivalency for the international accreditation of Philippine architectural schools.

[Article title: Biofiber reinforcement and natural Pozzolana: upgrading the physico-mechanical properties of interlocking compressed earth blocks through the inclusion of durian husk fiber and sugarcane bagasse ash / Nory Loyd N. Pernes, Gwen Harriet R. Bautista, p. 102-111]

Abstract: The study aims to improve the properties of interlocking compressed earth blocks (ICEB) that are currently used as an alternative to concrete hollow blocks (CHB) in low-cost housing construction. Durian husk and sugarcane bagasse are agricultural wastes that have been identified as potential additives to the common ICEB because of their tensile and cement-like characteristics. This experimental study produced 18 samples of pillar-type, hybrid ICEBS infused with varying amounts of durian husk fiber (DHF) and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA). To the raw material - lime from Makilala in Cotabato, durian husk from Davao City and sugarcane bagasse from Hagonoy in Davao Del Sur were added. The mixture was compressed at a molding pressure of 1 to 2 N/mm2 using the manually-operated Cinva-Ram Compressed Earth Block Press Machine (CR machine). The sample blocks were then subjected to Dry Compressive Strength (CS) tests, Modified Capillary Absorption (MCA) tests and product costing computations. The study concluded that the use of DHF and SBA improved the physico-mechanical properties of the common ICEB by increasing its compressive strength and improving water resistivity at a competitive price. In total, this study is a demonstration that the use or re-use of waste resources is an attainable strategy to build more sustainable and earth-preserving structures.

[Book review: Interior design in the Philippines: A retrospect of spaces and culture / Maureen Anne L. Araneta. p. 112]

[Book review: Philippine heritage homes: a guidebook / Maureen Anne L. Araneta, p.113]

[Book review: What kids should know about Philippine architecture / Maureen Anne L. Araneta

[Exhibition review: The surface of the world: Architecture and the moving image / Gerard Lico, p. 115-116]

[Exhibition review: Time space existence / Reuben Ramas Cañete, p. 117-118]

[Exhibition review: A shared heritage: Quezon City and the University of the Philippines Diliman / Timothy Augustus Ong, p. 119-120]