Important Cultural Landmark by National Artist for Architecture is the venue for Radical Symposium

Manila, Philippines -- The Leapfrog From Disaster Symposium's official venue in Manila is the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It is "designed by Philippine National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin. It is a primary example of the architect's signature style known as the floating volume, a trait can be seen in structures indigenous to the Philippines such as the nipa hut. Being a work of a National Artist, the brutalist structure is qualified to be an important cultural landmark as stipulated in Republic Act No. 10066." via Wikipedia


(Image credit: "CCP Tanghalang Pambansa Collage-2012" by Nixenzo)

Organized and led by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)-USA and Leapfrog Project including the American Institute of Architects’ AIA NY Design for Risk and Reconstruction (DfRR) and AIA International, “Leapfrog From Disaster” will be held in the Philippines on November 1 – 7, 2014 to bring together world-leading pioneers in Resilience, Architecture, and Ecology.

“Leapfrog Project’s role and potential for the Philippines is staked out, and a unique role for (Filipino) architects defined. (This) symposium will be hugely important as the one year anniversary of the disaster (Haiyan/Yolanda) approaches,” said USA Ambassador (ret) John F. Maisto, President of the US-Philippines Society.

Speakers, which include influencers in science, business, government, and the arts, as well as the delegates, will be challenged to re-invent the post-disaster paradigm, going beyond current aspirations and expectations in post-disaster rehabilitation.

“Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda was very devastating and horrible. Having witnessed its impacts firsthand and assisted in rebuilding, I saw the tremendous amount of work going on including all the help that’s happening around the world. I’m delighted to hear of the efforts being made toward this symposium. It sounds super special, positive, innovative, and I hope it will go a long way,” shared Billy Dec, The Whitehouse, US President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

"It is truly an honor to be with individuals who are willing to share their resources to help rebuild our nation,” said confirmed speaker and Philippine TV personality/Trainstation CEO Carelle Mangaliag. “In this Symposium, I also get to work with an inspired new organization such as the Leapfrog Project, at the heart of building a resilient future for Philippines. Thankful for this opportunity to serve,” further comments this Rappler.com content producer.

Ultimately the Symposium aims to: Organize a genuinely collaborative post-disaster rebuilding initiative that utilizes wide-ranging local, national and international expertise, efforts, and resources to help Tacloban and its neighboring cities rebuild with resilience; Engage different schools of thought from design, science, technology and business, through interdisciplinary discourse and group activities both during and after the symposium; Birth a new school of architecture-and-design-thinking from the typhoon rebuilding efforts, which may inform future natural hazard resilience programs worldwide; Develop ecologically-friendly architectural solutions that help protect the rich biodiversity of the region and beyond.

Tour the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Register for the symposium today! bit.ly/leapfrogP 

 

Read full post »

Leapfrog From Disaster Symposium will radically generate and seed distinctive solutions to the challenge of today’s natural hazards

Chicago, IL. — More people are now living in natural disaster-prone areas resulting from climate change. In 2013, over 22 million people were displaced by natural disasters, as reported and backed by the UN in the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) Global Estimates. That year, category 5 Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines displaced 4.1 million people alone — a million more than the combined effects experienced in Africa, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.

Organized and led by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)-USA and Leapfrog Project including the American Institute of Architects’ AIA NY Design for Risk and Reconstruction (DfRR) and AIA International, “Leapfrog From Disaster” will be held in the Philippines on November 1 – 7, 2014 to bring together world-leading pioneers in Resilience, Architecture, and Ecology.

“Leapfrog Project’s role and potential for the Philippines is staked out, and a unique role for (Filipino) architects defined. (This) symposium will be hugely important as the one year anniversary of the disaster (Haiyan/Yolanda) approaches,” said USA Ambassador (ret) John F. Maisto, President of the US-Philippines Society.

Speakers, which include influencers in science, business, government, and the arts, as well as the delegates, will be challenged to re-invent the post-disaster paradigm, going beyond current aspirations and expectations in post-disaster rehabilitation.

“Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda was very devastating and horrible. Having witnessed its impacts firsthand and assisted in rebuilding, I saw the tremendous amount of work going on including all the help that’s happening around the world. I’m delighted to hear of the efforts being made toward this symposium. It sounds super special, positive, innovative, and I hope it will go a long way,” shared Billy Dec, The Whitehouse, US President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

"It is truly an honor to be with individuals who are willing to share their resources to help rebuild our nation,” said confirmed speaker and Philippine TV personality/Trainstation CEO Carelle Mangaliag. “In this Symposium, I also get to work with an inspired new organization such as the Leapfrog Project, at the heart of building a resilient future for Philippines. Thankful for this opportunity to serve,” further comments this Rappler.com content producer.

Ultimately the Symposium aims to: Organize a genuinely collaborative post-disaster rebuilding initiative that utilizes wide-ranging local, national and international expertise, efforts, and resources to help Tacloban and its neighboring cities rebuild with resilience; Engage different schools of thought from design, science, technology and business, through interdisciplinary discourse and group activities both during and after the symposium; Birth a new school of architecture-and-design-thinking from the typhoon rebuilding efforts, which may inform future natural hazard resilience programs worldwide; Develop ecologically-friendly architectural solutions that help protect the rich biodiversity of the region and beyond.



About Leapfrog Project

Leapfrog Project was officially launched during the 2014 American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention and is now deployed to respond to the call of rebuilding. It is a project under the Orem Foundation, a US registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt Non-Profit Corporation.  It rallies a number of local and international partners to collaborate in helping Tacloban and its neighbouring cities rebuild with resilience, to serve as model of post-disaster reconstruction to the rest of the country and perhaps, the world.

Read full post »

....... No matter who you are, what you look like, where you're from, or who you love, you were the 'IN' crowd

The first-ever Global Inclusion Reception (EV321) of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) was held during its national convention in Chicago on June 27, 2014 at the Hafele Chicago Showroom. Here are my three takeaways from the event:

1. It is possible for a diverse group of creative organizations to come together in fellowship.
2. Humanitarian issues, like the most recent need for rebuilding after category 5 typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), are global operations that require a spirit of communal unity, because no one is exempt from experiencing natural disasters.
3. "No matter who you are, what you look like, where you're from, or who you love," architecture and design can be a profession where you are part of the 'IN' crowd.

Members of the US Whitehouse delivered enlightening and inspiring messages about diversity and inclusion, from Billy Dec who's a Presidential-Appointee to the Whitehouse Asian-American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), to US Ambassador John Maisto...   US Ambassador John Maisto (ret) "A really great talk too Billy Dec. Inspirational -Diversity Rocks," shares Immediate Past President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Angela Brady PPRIBA FRIAI FRIAS FRSA FAIA FRIAC BIID Ph.D, who was in attendance. She further mentions after meeting Ambassador Maisto at the event, "It was a pleasure meeting such an enlightened man on great humanitarian issues." It was a showcase of diversity in all of its forms where official partners of the AIA Diversity and Inclusion came together for an evening of fellowship. The evening's programmed presentations were woven together by Master of Ceremonies, Kyle Hillman, that started with... AIA Diversity Council (Co-Chair): Wendy Ornelas, FAIA NOMA (National President): Kathy Dixon AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, NCARB Arquitectos (immediate Past-President): Juan Gabriel Moreno, AIA[/caption] Other multicultural professional organizations participated in celebration of diversity... Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)-USA (President): James Karl Fischer RIBA, AIA, PhD American Society of Interior Designers (CEO): Randy W. Fiser LA.IDEA | DC (Co-Chair): Jeannette (Gigi) Soto
LA.IDEA | DC: Juan Carlos Alvarez Tiffany C. Millner, AIA, NOMA from the AIA Diversity Council board shared the 40th Anniversary exhibit of Chicago Women in Architecture in the Chicago Architecture Foundation.[/caption] Members of the LGBT community as well as another official partner of the AIA Diversity and Inclusion, Out & Equal, transformed the Hafele showroom using multimedia and ambience that made the evening magical. Multimedia Installations by Troy Larsen[/caption] Which quickly became a hit and encouraged interaction among guests. Guests interacting with the installations.[/caption] And lastly, the celebration had a humanitarian component. Led by collaborators from the Leapfrog Project, there was a silent auction and raffle to benefit the rebuilding efforts in the Philippines after its central cities were decimated by category 5 typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Leapfrog Project Collaborators Melissa Sterry (Design Scientist) and Enrique Otarola (Orem Foundation) announce the winners of the silent auction and raffle. (Image credit: Chris Vaughn)

Rockit Ranch's restaurant Sunda where Billy Dec is CEO and Founder, was one of the donors to the Leapfrog Project's silent auction that night.
Some collaborators of the Leapfrog Project with Billy Dec: (L-R: Mitchell Obstfeld, Melissa Sterry, Billy Dec, Lira Luis, Enrique Otarola, Romeo Santos)

Check out the rest of the event photos. (All images and videos courtesy of Lester Scaife, unless otherwise noted.)

Read full post »

How Do We Make Our Cities More Resilient? Make Them More Natural

Scientists predict that extreme meteorological events are becoming more frequent and destructive. For instance late last year, Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm recorded in the world so far, decimated central island cities in the Philippines. Recent data sourced from the Japanese Meteorological Agency indicated extreme weather occurrences across the globe. These pose critical challenges to our current and future rebuilding programs in cities where extreme weather has become the new “benchmark for disaster prevention,” as suggested during a congress meeting in the Philippines by the UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia Pacific, Senator Loren Legarda. What are the systems and strategies that can get us to resiliency?

Read more at Metropolis POV: http://bit.ly/OfOlea

A review on:

Image via Amazon

Global Innovation Science Handbook, Chapter 9 - Biomimetics: Learning from Life: Learning from Life

Read full post »