Preparing future architects

Less than three months after graduation, Clarissa Peñamora (Clarie) and Jose Francisco Aquino, Jr. (JJ) recipients of the 2006 Philip H. Recto Design Excellence Award instituted by the University of the Philippines - College of Architecture (UPCA), had already left the country to begin their two-year training at Architects 61 in Singapore.

The Philip H. Recto Design Excellence Award is given to students of the UP College of Architecture with the highest grades for their thesis year. Instituted in the year 2000, originally it gave recognition only to the architecture program but eventually expanded to include the landscape architecture program of the College in 2002. The award gives recognition to outstanding theses in design and research-based categories of both programs.

Upon the selection by a panel of professors and field experts, the theses are displayed prominently on the college grounds during the UPCA annual event dubbed "Haraya" which is a term pertaining to "imagination." The award provides trophies, certificates and cash prizes to the deserving students on the date of their graduation ceremonies. To date, there have been 85 recipients of the Philip H. Recto Design Excellence Award.

Now in its 7th year of implementation, the said award not only gives merits to those individuals that acquire them but also inspires the younger batch of architecture students to emulate their seniors leading to a higher design level and a more competitive culture among the students in the College. The award also opens doors of opportunity for a variety of employment possibilities for the awardees.

As an extension of the award program, the recipients of the award are assisted in obtaining professional training with prestigious architectural firms beyond the shores of the Philippines. Singapore-based architectural firm Architects 61 is the primary partner of Architect Recto in this endeavor. It is one of the biggest in Asia with branch offices in Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai, specializing in complex high-rise developments covering the complete range of building types from commercial to institutional and everything in between.

Both Clarie and JJ are part of the group which was recognized as having the best thesis in architecture for the academic year 2005 to 2006 in UP. They were taken in by Architects 61 through the referral of multi-awarded architect Philip H. Recto himself. Inclusive of Clarie and JJ, nine had already had a chance to be trained with Architects 61. Correspondences between Architect Recto and the awardees prove the experience to be highly beneficial: Upon entry into the said office, they get a chance to be part of a global company as well as interact with the other awardees and share experiences among themselves. Trips to the neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia become part of their training as they broaden their outlook through traveling and observing diverse cultures first-hand; truly a wonderful experience and an eye-opener for these young and idealistic designers of space.

Architects 61 acknowledged the efforts of Architect Recto recently through a plaque in recognition of his contribution in "promoting architectural design education and professional development" with regards to his design award program. It goes without saying that Architects 61 is more than impressed with the candidates that had been presented to them and shall continue to expect more from the up-and-coming awardees. The firm doesn’t mind the year long wait and even the bureaucratic hassles. As representations of the quality and caliber of the Filipino graduates, the Philip Recto awardees are elevating the state of our countrymen in the eyes of foreigners. This example is proof of the strife and prowess that the Filipino is capable of, and as ambassadors of our country to Singapore, each and every one of them is doing us proud.

Some 35 years ago, Architect Recto - then a young graduate who garnered 2nd place in his class at UP, also worked in Singapore gathering invaluable experience in the design and supervision of high-rise office buildings, residential condominiums, schools, churches and industrial buildings during his 5-year stay there. He was the architect-in-charge of the 50-storey International Plaza, the tallest building in Singapore at that time. He later became an associate member of the Singapore Institute of Architects and was active in the architects’ circles, making many friends and acquaintances among which were the principals of Architects 61 who were similarly young budding professionals then.

Architect Recto received the distinct honor of "Outstanding Alumnus in the field of Architecture" bestowed by the UP Alumni Association in 1999. He is only the 6th architecture graduate to ever receive such an accolade.

Architect Recto’s other merits include the "Outstanding Architect of the Centennial Year" award conferred by then President Fidel V. Ramos (1998), "Araw ng Maynila Mayor’s Award of Honor for Art and Culture" presented by Mayor Joselito Atienza Jr. (1999) and the "2002 UAP Design Award of Excellence in Architecture". He is a Fellow of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) since 1986.