The Architect's Song

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
thinking I could not design what you had specified
But then I spent too many years redrawing what you just built wrong
and I grew strong
and I learned how to get along

And now you're back
with more floor space
I just walked in to find you here
with that QS look upon your face
I should have changed that stupid plan
I should have made you pay that fee
If I had known for just one second
you'd be back to bother me

Oh go now go,
delete that door
move the wall around now
you don't wanna pay for it anymore
Were you the one who tried to break me with your RFIs
you think I'd crumble
you think I'd lay down and die?

Oh no not I

I will survive....

Job opening: TAO-Pilipinas

TAO-Pilipinas, Inc is looking for Staff for its Young Professionals Program (YPP).

Responsiblities:
- Reports to and consults with the YPP coordinator for project assignments;
- Assists in the coordination and documentation of Young Professional Program (YPP) projects, including those requiring travel outside NCR and site visits or supervision. Specifically assist in the implementation of the following YPP projects:
a. YP Orientation and Training Program (YP-OTP)
b. YP-Philippines National Network
c. YP Volunteers Pool
d. YPP E-newsletter;
- Assists in the preparation of project/program documents, reports, research papers and proposals;
- Responds to requests from other organizations on YPP issues/concerns;
- Perform other relevant tasks that may be assigned by the Program Coordinator, Executive Director and/or Board of Directors.

Competencies
Professionalism: sound knowledge and practical application of TAO principles on sustainable human settlements development, to include approaches and techniques to address problems; strong analytical capacity and in the ability to identify, analyze and articulate difficult issues/problems; sound judgment; strong research skills.
Planning and Organizing: ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and competing deadlines.
Communication: excellent communication (spoken and written) skills, including the ability to draft a variety of analytical reports, background documentation and other communications and to articulate ideas in a clear and concise style.
Teamwork: very good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations in a multicultural,
multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.
Client Orientation: ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other staff and outside collaborators, for
purposes of substantive coordination.
Technology Awareness: fully proficient computer skills and use of relevant software and other applications, e.g. CAD, Photoshop,
word processing, database management, spreadsheet, Internet, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS
Education
University Degree in Architecture, Engineering, Planning, Humans Settlements or experience of equivalent nature.
Work Experience
Preferably with at least one year of significant work experience in the technical disciplines (architecture, engineering, planning).
Experience in working for non-government organizations and with urban poor communities, preferred.
Languages
Fluency in written and spoken Filipino and English, additional languages/dialects would be an asset.
Other Skills
TAO-Pilipinas strongly encourages applications from qualified women candidates only. English and Tagalog are the two working languages of TAO-Pilipinas. TAO-Pilipinas is a non-smoking environment.

How to apply
Applications may be sent through email or fax. Include the Vacancy Announcement Number YP-001-2006 in the subject heading.

Applicants must submit the following documents:
1. Application Letter
2. Curriculum Vitae
3. Two (2) recommendation letters from former employers or professors.
4. Include preferred salary.

Applications will be acknowledged where an e-mail address has been provided. If you do not receive an e-mail acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. Only short listed candidates shall be notified.

E-mail: info@tao-pilipinas.org
Fax: (632) 4367301

International CAD Training Course

You might be interested to go...

Mandated by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China, Guangzhou Hi-tech Incubation Center will conduct an International Training Course on Computer Aided Design (CAD) of Architecture Design and Interior Decoration. This training course will be held in Guangzhou from Sep.2nd to Sep.16th, 2006. Its curricula consist of theory course, case study and professional investigation. The Chinese Government will cover the expenditure of accommodation, local transportation and training expense during the training course in Guangzhou for the participants. International traveling expense will be borne by the participants themselves.

The deadline for application is July 15th, 2006.

--Guangzhou Hi-tech Incubation Center

BACKGROUND
The Ministry of Science and Technology of China is a governmental department that is responsible for the formulation and implementation of national science and technology R&D plans. One of its important missions is to strengthen international cooperation in science and technology training workshop/courses, especially with developing countries. Since 1989, international technical training workshop/courses on various subjects have been conducted in China every year under the auspices of Ministry of Science and Technology of China as a part of its international scientific and technological cooperation programs. The International Training Courses on Computer Aided Design (CAD) of Architecture Design and Interior Decoration will be organized by Guangzhou Hi-tech Incubation Center in Guangzhou city from Sep.2nd to Sep.16th, 2006. The training course will be supported by China Association for International S&T Cooperation and Center of Torch Program of Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

Description of the Training Course
1. Objectives
1) To introduce the achievement of the research and development on software in China;
2) To display the technology developed by Chinese on Computer Aided Design
(CAD) of Architecture Design and Interior Decoration;
3) To promote the bilateral cooperation and exchange on software;
2. Duration: Sep. 2nd to Sep.16th, 2006
3. Location: SAN YU Hotel
4. Weather: It is usually fine in Sep. in Guangzhou with temperature ranging from 26 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius.
5. Working Language: English

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Liang Weifang (Alice Liang)
Address: Guangzhou Hi-tech Incubation Center
Room 306, No. 242 of Tianhe Dong Road, Guangzhou, P. R. China, 510620
Tel: +86-20-87544956 Fax: +86-20- 85513896
Website:http://training.ghtic.org.cn/ E-mail: internation@ghtic.org.cn

Philippine Architecture Awards are going to a Non-Registered Architect?

This information was sent as an open letter via email by Armando D. N. Alli.

He would like us to view the the announcement that came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Friday, 05 May 2006, Business Friday Section, bottom left hand portion of page B2-3).

It is about a certain Mr. Ed Calma, a supposed non-registered individual practicing architecture in the Philippines and who received the Philippine Jaycees' Ten Outstanding Young Men TOYM) Award for Architecture in 2002) and who is again poised to receive yet another award for architectural practice i.e. Lupel Marketing's UNI Circle of Ten Achievers. Kawawa naman tayo. There are now about 20,000 registered Philippine architects and the award for architecture (a regulated profession that includes any form of architectural consulting or advisory services as defined under RA 9266) again goes to a non-architect.

In Mr. Alli's own words: "Wala ba silang mapiling ibang arkitekto na lisenyado o registrado man lamang? The UAP (which supposedly controls resources for the advancement of the architectural profession) and the Board of Architecture (BoA, which oversees the implementation RA 9266 and which has official data on both Mr. Calma and his father) must act together to prevent things like this from happening, particularly since Lupel Marketing's chosen awardee for architecture is apparently running circles around RA 9266. The entity concerned actively seeks such awards to bolster his practice with the aid of his father. It was fortunate that a right-thinking UAP member (acting on his own) successfully stood up against him and his father in mid-2005 when Mr. Ed Calma apparently sought the Araw ng Maynila Award for Architecture. If Mr. Calma is as good and as qualified as he claims to be, then he should be able to take and hurdle the BoA's architecture licensure examinations without any difficulty. If Mr.
Calma wants to practice architecture in the Philippines to qualify him for future awards in architecture which he may desire (including UAP awards), then he should be registered and licensed first, no ifs and buts."

Mr. Alli then proceeds to cite several passages from RA 9226 as they apply to both Mr. Ed Calma and his father the better known Mr. Lor Calma. The list of passages is quite lengthy and very detailed.

He then concludes with the following:

"If neither the UAP nor the BoA communicates with the award-giving body (Lupel Marketing) about this continuing transgression of Philippine architecture laws, then the individual UAP members or UAP chapters should take matters into their own hands to promptly address the
possible failure/ inaction of their governmental and non-governmental organizations to stand up for them and for the profession. You may write to or call Lupel Marketing to make known your sentiments : Lupel
Marketing Corporation, 718 Quirino Ave., Paranaque City, Metro Manila with listed telephone number 8516053 (from page 278 of the PLDT 2003-04 MMla Telephone Directory) or try looking up their website or send a message to their e-mail addresses i.e. including the Mitsubishi Pencil Company of Japan, makers of UNI writing instruments.

Or better yet, try writing the other awardees such as Sen. Richard Gordon (a law-maker) and Che-Che Lazaro (a media person) to inform them of the fact that their fellow UNI Circle of Ten Achievers awardee may be practicing the regulated profession of architecture illegally.

As recalling an architecture award given out due to possibly inaccurate information and in possible violation of the earlier architecture laws i.e. RA 545, RA 1581 and their implementing rules and regulations (IRR) is still very much possible, particularly if there are many complaining architects or organizations, You may also opt write to or call the Philippine Jaycees to make known your sentiments about the December 2002 TOYM Award for Architecture : Philippine Jaycees, Inc., 14 Don A Roces Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila (a stone's throw away from
the UAP HQ Building) with listed telephone numbers 3742495 or 3744138 (from page 359 of the PLDT 2003-04 MMla Telephone Directory) or try looking up the website and send a message to the e-mail address of the Philippine Jaycees.

Hoping You will all help urge the UAP and the BoA to act with dispatch on the foregoing. Or better yet, You may greatly help address the situation by acting on it yourself."

And there you have it. What are you going to do about it?

Remembering Jane Jacobs, 1916-2006

Anyone who ever met Jane Jacobs or read her books couldn't help but be infected by her enthusiasms. She loved cities and celebrated the life that teems within them. She articulated better than anyone how the best ideas about making cities great come not from theories and master plans but from careful observation of what goes on around us. This was a startling, radical idea when she first proposed it in the 1950s and 60s, and it changed the way North Americans think about cities.

But above all else, Jane Jacobs loved people. Whether chronicling the habits of fellow city-dwellers or organizing a campaign with her neighbors to save important places from destruction, she was always engaged in the life of her community.

It is hard to imagine a world without Jane Jacobs, harder still to imagine what shape our cities would be in had she never come along. Today her books are classics, taught in universities all over the world. Her ideas are well-known by planners, architects, and activists everywhere. But at the time The Death and Life of Great American Cities was released in 1961, she was a brave, singular voice challenging the dominant theories of the entire planning establishment. Without any formal training in city planning, she managed to transform the field. Indeed, her lack of a degree in architecture, planning or even journalism is often cited as the secret of her wisdom and innovation. She took a fresh look at what makes cities work and what makes them fail, never blinded by the assumptions and orthodoxy of a particular profession. Jane Jacobs was a true original.

One of her earliest champions was William "Holly" Whyte, then an editor at Fortune Magazine who encouraged her to write a series of articles in the late 1950s that became the basis for Death and Life. Later in life, Jane always professed a special affinity for Holly, who had gone on in the early 1970s to create the Streetlife Project, which in turn led to the founding of Project for Public Spaces. She was one of the first people to visit the PPS office in 1975, and we were fortunate to have spoken with her and shared our progress every few months in recent years. Her advice, encouragement, and dedication to the cause of making places great have been invaluable to us and to our mission.

It has become fashionable of late for certain architects and critics infatuated by high design to pooh-pooh her thinking as rigid and out-of-date. But such groundless criticism has never made even a dent in her legacy, since so many people from so many fields have been influenced and inspired by her wisdom.

We are greatly saddened by Jane Jacobs' death yesterday, but confident that her infectious love for cities will be carried on by many followers far into the future. We will miss her dearly.

-- The Staff of Project for Public Spaces (http://www.pps.org/info/bulletin/jane_jacobs)