This maverick architect is green—and minted, too
By Purple S. Romero, abs-cbnNEWS.com, Newsbreak | 12/03/2008 4:21 PM
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A $1 million fee for the construction of Ocean 9 Casino and Hotel Resort in Subic, Pampanga would seduce any architect and environmental planner. But because it would lead to the cutting of more than 300 trees, Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. turned his back on it.
The project, which would be financed by a Korean developer, reportedly enjoyed the backing of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Philippine Amusement Gaming Authority.
Palafox, principal architect, urban-planner and managing partner of Palafox Associates has waged yet another battle against property developments that spoil the country’s environment.
Sometimes he would find a willing partner, such as in the case of the late Enrique Zobel, former chief executive officer of Ayala Corp. and one of his first clients in the Philippines. “When we were doing the Alabang Town Center, Zobel ordered us to do whatever it takes to preserve one old tree in that area,” he recalled.
“Imagine that, one tree. And now in Subic, they wanted us to uproot 366 trees, some more than 100 hundred years old.” he said.
But Palafox has realized that it’s a lonely fight, ticking off options of returning to Dubai, where he first made a name for himself in architecture, or working in other countries where he does not have to deal with “stupid” laws and be greeted with red tape.
Maverick
Palafox rose as a maverick in architecture after he helped transform Dubai into a tourist magnet. He worked as a senior planner in the town planning department of Dubai from 1977-1981, “turning it into a city as if there is no oil, putting a golf course in the middle of the desert.”
But the ideas that he had for Dubai were actually first conceived for the Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning project, which the World Bank gambled on in 1975.
Building schools in Iran
Acclaim from an international inter-religious body is something that is often married to an activist’s name, not to a person in a crisp golden suit in an air-conditioned room.
But architect Felino “Jun” Palafox has won such acclaim in an award he recently received in New York. Etched in the plaque are the words “ambassador for peace.”
He explained that he got the recognition because he led “an all-Catholic team of architects and engineers who made a school for Muslim children with money from Buddhist sponsors.”
The six schools in Bram, Iran, rose from the ashes years after an earthquake ravaged the place in early 2000. Designing them was no walk in the park — the Iranians need buildings that would endure natural calamities.
“They wanted me to build schools that would withstand earthquakes stronger than the one that hit them before,” Palafox said.
He looked back at Iran’s history for the answer. He later discovered the “very basic” solution of putting citadels. “I just brought back a landmark which they used 2,500 years ago,” he said.
Then to address the problem of worsening heat, he studied the environment. The key to flushing out humidity is to bring in natural ventilation. He constructed a wind tower, which served as a wet blanket for air.
“The temperature fell to 20 degrees in the summer,” he said.
He had some problem with the design, though. The wind tower looked like a flat-top oriental roof. For the Iranians, it came across as a religious symbol from the Far East. Palafox had to explain to them that it signifies a man in motion. On the other hand, he told his Buddhist clients that it is a symbol of two hands clasped in prayer.
“It worked for both of them,” he smiled.
However, more than three decades after, his development plant is still stuck in the pipe line.
Palafox blamed it on the government officials who all wanted to have a say on the project in order to have a piece of the pie. “It was corruption, all corruption,” he said.
A recent Social Weather Station Survey on enterprises showed that 7 out of 10 businessmen were asked for pay-offs by government agencies.
And just before Palafox backed out of the Clark casino project, a similar case in Subic recently hogged the headlines. The Hanjin condominium project at the Subic Bay watershed forest reserve was met with protests because of its potential repercussions on the environment.
“I kept bringing investors here but what would happen to them with the kind of system that we have?” he said, referring to porous government regulations and penchant for corrupt practices.
Not giving up on RP
While he speaks of options to get out of the country, he has continued to bring in investments, two of which would be set in motion in 2009.
One involves the construction of a $3 million-mosque in Cotabato City, with money from the sultan of Brunei, while the other is the establishment of a logistics hub in Clark, with $2 billion-worth of investments expected to come in from Kuwait.
Palafox said that the logistics center in Clark is expected to open 72,000 jobs. He is excited by these prospects, calling them the “bright side” of being an architect in the Philippines.
“I am not giving up on this country,” he said.
Dubai and 27 countries
Recalling how it all began, Palafox said “nobody knew me before [my work] in Dubai.”
In the 1970s, news of his success in the Middle Eastern city led to Filipino business scions courting his services. However, the architect who made a city out of a desert, could not be moved.
Palafox said it was not a question of money. What he wanted was to have a free rein on design, for his ideas to be accepted.
Fortunately, Zobel and mall mogul Henry Sy did. The two made him come back to the Philippines in the 1980s, where he worked for 6 ½ years as architect urban-planner for Ayala Corp. and Ayala Land Inc. and supervised the establishment of a chain of SM malls.
He also put up Palafox Associates in 1989, which would later be responsible for the master planning of over 100 communities covering more than 11 billion square meters of land in 27 countries.
In 2006, Palafox Associates coveted the 94th spot in World Architecture Magazine’s top 200, the only Southeast Asian firm which made the list.
More clients knocked at his door. But Palafox had to say no to a number of them. “We begged off from 30 percent of the offers made to us,” he said.
Unlike wobbly regulatory laws here, Palafox has a rigid set of rules: if they do not meet his three “Es,”― economy, environment, equity― they’re out.
No to urban mess
Last year, Palafox pulled out of a project to build Manila’s tallest building because it would result in a traffic gridlock. He made this decision for the well-being of the “urban” environment
In Palafox’s book, a project is not worth considering unless it’s profitable, eco-friendly, and would be beneficial to the marginalized. He also sets high standards for the safety of the structure, albeit the costly price that these may entail.
One of those who scrapped his development plan because of price problems has reportedly ended with bigger headaches. Malaya columnist Lito Banayo wrote that Antel Holdings allegedly did not follow Palafox’s recommended 6.8 meter-elevation for its Grand Centennial Homes in Kawit, Cavite because it would be more expensive.
A number of residents in GCH have now filed a complaint against Antel Holdings after their homes succumbed to dreary floods brought by Typhoon Milenyo in 2006. They alleged that since GCH is situated in a low-lying area, Antel Holdings should have taken measures to buffer the rise of water.
If only the developer listened to the maverick architect.
