Architects to tackle public housing in gab

Public housing and how it can be more responsive to the needs of burgeoning Asian communities, will be one of the main topics of discussion at the forthcoming 70th annual national convention of the Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA).

The subject will be taken up by Prof. Ruslan Khalid of Malaysia and Tony Tan Keng Joo, head architect of Singapore’s public housing units, where 85 percent of Singaporeans now live.

Khalid, former secretary-general of the Eastern Regional Organization for Planning and Housing (EAROPH), will address the convention on Feb. 27.

Tan, chief architect of Singapore’s Housing and Development Board, will make a presentation on March 1.

The PIA convention and trade exhibition will be held at the Westin Philippine Plaza on Feb. 26 to March 1.

Under Tan’s leadership, the image of public housing in Singapore changed, from the repetitive stereotype slab blocks to high-quality housing not too different from private condominiums.

Tan will outline the different stages in the development of Singapore’s public housing and the key programs that contributed to its success.

He will also present new planning initiatives for brand-new towns as well as renewal strategies for old towns.

Khalid, for his part, will call on Asian architects to redirect their focus from "facadism" and state-of-the-art architecture to the design of public housing if they are to meet the challenge of population explosion and discover the other facets of the architectural profession.

The PIA is the country’s oldest professional organization of architects, headed by national president Remigio Abella, FPIA. Convention chairman is Nicomedes Pagulayan.

For more information, call 634-1762/63 or 890-5318/19, or log on to www.piaarchitects.com.