AFTON, MINNESOTA — At the Estudio Damgo project ribbon cutting in March 2014 in Dumaguete, Mayor Manuel Sargarbarria stated, “We need more buildings like these designed by architects in Dumaguete.”
The Mayor was referring to the multipurpose hall in Barangay Bajumpandan, a structure showcasing bamboo and locally-sourced materials for flood survivors.
This project marked the completion of my role with Foundation University’s architecture program in 2014.
After leading the program for two years, I decided to move back to the US to establish my architecture career.
Meanwhile, the program in its formative years prompted my return as a Fulbright scholar to provide some consistency for the benefit of the program.
Estudio Damgo is the first design-build program in the Philippines. It was established in 2012 in the Department of Architecture at FU, requiring 5th year Architecture thesis students to complete small structures for a chosen community.
Students gain hands-on experience leading the design and construction on real projects, showcasing regional materials, like bamboo, amakan, sak-sak, and clay, and utilizing passive design methods that serve as examples within the community.
This pedagogy in architecture education, adapted from the US, is changing the way Filipinos view architecture education and building design and materials in the Philippines.
Since the completion of the first project in 2013, the program has raised the bar in architecture education.
It has been nationally- recognized by the United Architects of the Philippines Students Association, and the Ten Accomplished Youth Organization.
Most recently, Estudio Damgo’s program contributed to Foundation University’s 2015 national award as the most Eco-Friendly School in the Philippines from the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
These are high achievements for such a new program, and after three built community projects, it was timely to return as a Fulbright scholar to ensure its ongoing success.
In August 2015, I returned to Foundation University for five months to research and evaluate past projects and institutionalize the program.
Teaming up with FU Director of Research & Community Extension Geraldine Quinones, we revisited communities and conducted post-occupancy evaluations on the first three Estudio Damgo projects: a daycare in a rural mountain village (2013), a multipurpose hall for flood survivors (2014), and a floating guardhouse for the marine sanctuary (2015).
We connected with each community and barangay council members conducting qualitative research and evaluating building condition, operations, and community integration.
The research visits were essential to improving the University’s outreach program, and build better relationships going forward.
After visiting the buildings, I was pleased to see that the bamboo structures held up well, and the buildings are in great condition.
Regarding the first two projects, the daycare and multipurpose hall, they are well-integrated, and the community members are taking care of the buildings.
As for the floating guardhouse, the structure collapsed on Oct. 30, negating further research.
In light of these events, the project provides lessons in understanding program limits, and what can result from a lack of community ownership.
Our visits on past projects and conversations with community beneficiaries and barangay officials reveal that stronger partnerships developed through open communication, community participatory design, written formal agreements, and proper instruction on owner maintenance lend to successful projects that are well-integrated.
Simply building and donating a structure alone does not guarantee a successful project; rather, the complexity of social impact design engages communities in all phases of planning, design, and construction that address socio-economic issues expressed by the community.
Back at the FU campus, I organized an advisory committee with the department heads, architecture faculty, and student alumni to institutionalize the program.
As members, we met bi-monthly to review the program and identify areas for improvement. We restructured the Architecture department to incorporate 3rd and 4th year classes to assist in the research, planning, design, and construction with the 5th year Estudio Damgo students.
This integrates the knowledge and disperses the workload, alleviating the pressure and expectations that were solely the responsibilities of the 5th year students before, which will help sustain the program.
Sharing my knowledge and experiences leading past projects with the department heads and faculty has shaped guidelines that will create consistency on future projects.
Facilitating regular meetings has opened the pathways of communication between Estudio Damgo instructors and department heads that was lacking before.
Shoring up Foundation’s architecture program over the past five months has been timely.
Now in its fourth project, architect of record and instructor of Estudio Damgo, Zorch Guia, affirms, “We now have a roadmap to guide us on future projects”.
It took some explaining in the beginning of my Fulbright contract that I hadn’t returned to lead the program as before, but instead, create guidelines and recommendations to assist Filipinos to step into their leadership roles.
Working alongside the University as a consultant I was able to take a broader view. Researching past projects and institutionalizing the program has shaped my understanding how to develop a successful design-build program abroad.
And while the Fulbright experience revolves around the cultural exchange “to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into the world affairs . . . to live in peace and friendship”, I have participated in community activities that reflect the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, creating a sense of belonging that I hold close to my heart.
I continue to learn through my experiences in the Philippines the elements that make strong communities, which are linked closely to family bonds.
I take these experiences back with me, with fresh understanding to engage communities in the United States.
It is inevitable that the Estudio Damgo program will change overtime. I envision the program to evolve where Filipinos naturally incorporate the bayanihan spirit to build alongside communities. Successful US design-build programs, from which Estudio Damgo is mirrored, have in place dedicated and passionate instructors leading consistently for decades.
Estudio Damgo has raised the bar in architecture education in the Philippines, and as an institution, we have created the guidelines for a successful program. It is now up to the instructors and department heads to step into their leadership roles and work as a team to create consistency.
My advice for the University is to concentrate on building a solid program first, with dedicated instructors that have a heart for humanitarian design and bayanihan spirit; scale back projects, and gather the resources to sustain the program before taking risks on structures.
Foundation University’s Estudio Damgo is one-of-a-kind; it is planting seeds by educating architects within the community that will shape their cities tomorrow. It is worth sustaining. (Anna Koosmann)
