Gung-ho for green architecture

MANILA, Philippines - When the environmental movement first gained traction as a response to global warming, few would have foreseen its positive impact on the building industry, which has since addressed its polluting ways with a more eco-friendly approach to erecting structures: Green architecture.

“Green architecture is a confluence of technologies and techniques, ranging from outdoor landscaping to the use of natural construction materials,” explains architect Francis Xavier Santaromana, one of the leading green architects in the Philippines. “It is a tool for us designers to help save the earth, and preserve it for the future generations to come.”

Responsible design

Santaromana recalls that his eco-consciousness started when he was still an architecture student at the University of the Philippines: “My awareness to responsible design goes as far back to my undergraduate studies, which touched on the growing clamor for sustainability in my field.”

Two decades after leaving the campus, Santaromana now infuses green elements to his buildings as the principal architect for F.L. Santaromana Designs. “My firm has applied an energy-efficient and sustainable design approach to most, if not all, of our projects. These include the De La Salle Zobel campus buildings, the Puenta Fuego resort homes, and the Canyon Wood mountain vacation cottages,” he says.

Sustainable recreational facility

In fact, the Santaromana is gaining recognition for his sustainable buildings, like the De La Salle Zobel Sports Pavilion that placed first in the commercial design category of the recently held “EcoArt, EcoWatch, EcoBuild” design competition.

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