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.

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A year in review: Let's talk about Design

Happy new year everyone! The best is yet to come as far as new things happening in our world and in the architecture world at large. We are excited! One of the highlights of the past year was when OREM interviewed Lira Luis to discuss the Value of Design. It has reached nearly 54,000 views worldwide. Take a look:

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Reign In España 2011

2 Reasons To Celebrate

When Tile of Spain launched its inaugural "Reign In Spain A&D" Tour Program in 2009, it selected a group of four architects and interior designers who participated in a free, week-long architectural opportunity to visit Spain and Cevisama 2010 that would occur every February.

The 2011 edition will consist of six American journalists and the four Reign in Spain winners and coincides with Cevisama, the International Ceramic Tile and Bath Furnishings Show held in Valencia. The first half of the trip includes a few days exploring a region of Spain to immerse in the local culture, see notable sites and attractions that are of architectural and design significance and to gain a general understanding and appreciation for Spain. The latter half of the trip includes visiting Cevisama, factory and booth tours and a press conference. - Tile of Spain

So how does one win in the Reign In Spain? "Odds of winning depend on the number and quality of applications received. Participants are selected based on the information provided in the application and not by a random drawing or other element of chance." For the 2011 Edition, the search for four architects and interior designers began on November 1, 2010 until December 1, 2010. I was notified on December 10, 2010 as one of the winners and was told to pack my bags because they're sending me to the cities of Zaragoza, Teruel, and Valencia.

What did I do upon learning that I will be going to Spain? Like any self-respecting architect who's about to embark on a trip where Bullfighting is a national spectacle, I bought a ticket to the nearby Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago and watched Spanish culture--in this case the film, Antonio Gaudi, by Hiroshi Teshigahara. That was a good refresher course on Spanish culture. My conversational Spanish is rusty so I will rely on my fellow winners and the rest in the Reign In Spain groupie. I can already tell that this trip is going to be a blast as I hang out with the other winners who seem interesting and accomplished architects and interior designers. Don't believe me? Then read what one of them has to say about this in Life Of An Architect.

In case I get hit by a charging bull, here are the rest of the people in this Spain groupie:

Reign in Spain A&D Winners
· Bob Borson, associate principal and architect at Bernbaum Magadini Architects in Dallas, Texas. He also writes and maintains www.lifeofanarchitect.com and can be followed on Twitter @bobborson and www.facebook.com/lifeofanarchitect.
· Andie Day, principal of Andie Day LLC, Boston, MA. Andie maintains an active blog http://www.andieday.com/blog/ and can be followed on Facebook and on Twitter @AndieDay.
· Scott Knudson is vice president of design for Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners PC, Washington, DC.
· Lira Luis, principal architect, Atelier Lira Luis, LLC. in Chicago, maintains a blog and can be followed on Twitter @liraluis and Facebook

Media Junket
· Mike Chino, Inhabitat.com (Twitter @MikeChino)
· Arpi Nalbandian, Tile Magazine (@TileMagazine, @TileEditor)
· Megan Mazzocco, Architectural Products
· Jean Dimeo, Hanley Wood Business Media (@JeanDimeo)
· Paul Anater, Kitchen & Residential Design blog (@Paul_Anater)

And the complete Reign In Spain group:

As I go celebrate in "España" on February 4-12, 2011, there is another type of celebration happening concurrently and coincidentally in another "España". The University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila will turn 400 years old, located in a main thoroughfare called "España", named after the Spanish name of Spain, the Philippines' colonial power for 333 years. UST was where I earned my Bachelor of Science in Architecture before going for graduate studies at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. For 2011, we will reign in España--a true celebration on both accounts. Viva España!

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Architecture brings people together

Upon the recommendation of my sister, I watched the movie "The Lakehouse" starring Keannu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. I have to admit, this is a chick-flick, but I was more attracted to the architecture in the movie than the movie itself. They had an architectural walking tour of Chicago, the characters have 3 architects in it, they quoted architectural jargons and names that made me feel connected. In the photo at the top, this scene brought back memories of my years in school.

But the moral of the story is that two people were brought together by this unique architectural piece---The Lakehouse. True architecture does that to you---you experience it, rather than see it.

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Frank Gehry on FILM

My favorite architect Frank Gehry releases his documentary "Sketches of Frank Gehry" this month.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/sketchesoffrankgehry/


Here's a funny clip from the Simpsons show about Mr. Gehry:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=K8lUO8KCts0&search=frank%20gehry

"ENJOY THE RIDE..."

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