Two graduates of the UST College of Architecture presented their papers on heritage studies as applied in architecture. Ms. Shayna Mari Tria and Ms. Gellaine Maria Burgos, Class 2020 graduates, were featured in the Second International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Philippines Student Symposium (IPSS 2021) held from May 28 to 29, 2021, in celebration of the National Heritage Month.
With the theme “Heritage Makers, Change Makers,” the webinar featured research works of undergraduate and graduate students that focus on heritage conservation. It covered three (3) sessions, namely, “The doing of built heritage conservation: Methods and approach,” “Heritage Values: Intangible meanings, tangible effects,” and “Adaptive Reuse: Old buildings, new uses.” Dr. Felipe de Leon Jr. of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) delivered the keynote address.
In the first session, Ms. Shayna Mari Tria presented her project titled “The Redevelopment of the PASAKK Indigenous Peoples School based on the Traditional Manobo Raft & On-Stilt Architecture.” The project is a proposed school that is sensitive to the unique culture of education of the Manobo and Kamayo indigenous communities of the CARAGA Region in Mindanao. Furthermore, through traditional and innovative solutions, it promotes ecological stewardship on its site, the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, which constantly experiences monsoon floods.
In the third session, Ms. Gellaine Maria Burgos presented her project “Mutualistic Architecture: An Alternative Approach to the Conservation of the Javellana Building in the Iloilo Downtown Central Business District (CBD) Heritage Zone.” The project employs the mutualistic approach to the conservation method by applying modern addition to the heritage building.
Tria was mentored by Ar. Assoc. Prof. Clarissa Avendaño, while Burgos was mentored by Ar. Asst. Prof. Demetrio Alcaraz.
Burgos and Tria joined student presenters from the University of San Carlos, University of Northern Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, Mapua University, and the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
The video recording of the event is available for viewing on the Facebook page of the International Council on Monuments and Sites Philippines.
