Philippine Conservation, Restoration

And Preservation

Research

In

History of Architecture 4

KHYLE CHRISTOPHER G. AQUINO

202150567

ROSHEILLA MAY MALIT

When it comes to the ordinary practice of architecture, heritage conservation has either
been misinterpreted or, worse, is thought to be architecture with a modern twist. Too
many active architects believe that conservation is outdated and pointless, and they do
not see any benefit or necessity for it. In the context of building, the preservation and
repair of historic buildings can even be considered straightforward "retrofitting" and
costly. We tackle the unique area of architectural practice known as Heritage
Conservation and its preservation of human— in this case, Philippine— values within
scientific bounds.

In addition to showcasing the nation's culture and telling tales of its past, heritage
buildings—structures with historical, architectural, cultural, or aesthetic value—can also
be renovated to meet modern needs. For instance, the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam,
Netherlands, is a symbol of industrial architecture from the 20th century made of
concrete and glass. Originally a factory producing items like tea and coffee, it is
currently used as an office building and a venue for events.

Regretfully, hardly many public or private organizations in the Philippines today appear
to recognize the importance of heritage buildings; in fact, many regard them as actual
obstacles to contemporary progress. Many of these structures are abandoned, if not
completely demolished, as opposed to being conserved and put to other uses.

The creators of Brutalist Pilipinas, a visual database of brutalist architecture in the

Philippines, told VICE that it is "frustrating to lose these heritage [buildings] one after the
other, as they appear to belong to a time when local architecture was done with more
thought, quality, and sensitivity to local context."

"One notices that the structures that dot our CBDs (Central Business Districts) today
lack the same character and variation; instead, they are primarily glass towers with
similar exteriors. Today's urban areas suffer from a maddening disregard for texture,
character, and quality of space, which is made worse by the ongoing erosion of our
physical heritage.

Preserving heritage structures also takes time and money. But right now, the only
reason someone would want to register and preserve a heritage structure is their
personal appreciation of built heritage, ―which many Filipinos don’t have,‖ said
Tagnipez. Unlike in Spain and the United Kingdom, where architectural sites generate
profit, there’s quicker money to be made in the Philippines by demolishing old structures
and building 40-floor housing or office buildings.

―There’s a lot of work to be done on coming up with a cohesive plan for heritage as a
tourism draw or attraction for Metro Manila. There isn’t a clear appeal to visiting heritage
sites in the Philippines. There isn’t also a framework for financial support for these
buildings,‖ said Tagnipez.
Without these, heritage buildings will continue to go down to make room for newer and
more immediately lucrative structures.

The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate is one recent example of a successful

conservation project. If not for the individuals who battled to get the 1930s art deco
sports complex recognized as a significant cultural asset and historical landmark, it
would have been razed.

Later, the coliseum had a significant restoration project managed by Lico and supported
by the national government in preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019.
Old structures may play important roles in modern life if given the permission to do so.
This was seen when the building was employed as a quarantine center during the peak
of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Abstract

This research reviews the preparedness of Philippine landscape architecture curriculum

for the CLHC specialization and acts as a pilot study for the teaching of cultural
landscape heritage conservation (CLHC). It suggests using the "Geodesign" framework
to the creation of a developmental process and validation of the cooperative efforts and
relationships fostered by theme areas in the direction of professionalization and
education about landscape heritage. By studying and professionalizing cultural
landscapes, the project seeks to raise awareness of the value of cultural heritage and
heritage conservation via the perspective of Philippine landscapes, thereby opening up
new career opportunities.

Methodology

The Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (PALA), Technical Committee for

Landscape Architecture, Commission on Higher Education (TCLA CHED), Professional
Regulation Commission–Board of Landscape Architecture (PRC–BOLA), and the
ICOMOS IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes, National
Philippine Committee (Philippine NSCCL) were among the stakeholders who
participated in the stakeholder feedback discussions that informed the research
methodology. The literature reviews, thorough desktop reviews of the landscape
architecture curricula of higher education institutions (HEIs), and SWOT and PESTEL
analyses were employed as qualitative assessments. The Leopold, Lohani, and Thann
assessment matrix on importance (without taking magnitude into account) was used to
quantitatively evaluate the data in addition to the qualitative analysis. For this study, the
relevance was the degree of integration and readiness.

Findings

The study concludes that the bachelor's degree programs in landscape architecture at
the University of the Philippines – Diliman (UP – Diliman) in Quezon City and the
University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu are ready to incorporate and/or think about
updating their respective curricula in line with the CLHC specialization. To be able to
provide a foundation for integration, the curriculum of the University of San Agustin
(USA) in Iloilo and Bulacan State University (BulSU) in Malolos, Bulacan, may need to
take into consideration adding courses linked to theme areas.

Value

This work functions as a pilot study for the professionalization and education of CLHC in
the Philippines. Notably, the growth of CLHC specialty in the Philippines will create a
number of chances for the training of local context-trained conservationists for the
country's cultural landscape heritage.

Keywords

Conservation

Words Landscape architecture, Cultural landscape heritage conservation, Philippines

Specialization.

Restoration –To keep something in its original state or in good condition. the action of
preserving something -state of being preserved, especially to a specified degree

Relevant law and terms

Republic Act 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act, requires cities to document
and identify cultural heritage properties, including both built or immovable heritage, like
buildings, and movable heritage, like books and art. But having the law down on paper
does not mean it’s implemented on-ground. And the law, on its own, is ultimately not
enough to encourage the preservation of heritage structures.
References:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JCHMSD-11-2021-0194/full/html

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=
crawler&jrnl=16566505&AN=84429317&h=8lKxEX9s6PS8fL1XcfP0onK2CRGaACfGtPy
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direct%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%
3d16566505%26AN%3d84429317

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epzzyw/preservation-history-heritage-architecture-
photos-old-manila-philippines