Philip Recto awardees off to Singapore, China for training

MANILA, Philippines - Six top graduates from the University of the Philippines College of Architecture have left for Singapore and China recently to begin their practicum training under the Philip Recto Design Excellence Award program.

Gloria Anna Mae Valenciano, Frances Candelaria Pacheco, John Ian Fulgar and Jamela Isabelle Figueras, officially started their training at the renowned architectural firm of Architects 61 in Singapore last June 1; while Danica May Cariño and Jamile Gabionza, both landscape architecture graduates, also started their training last Aug. 8 at SRT (S&P) Architects Ltd. in Shenzhen, China. This is a big Canadian-Chinese urban design, architecture, interior and landscape design firm.

Established in 2000, the Philip Recto Design Excellence Award recognizes outstanding architecture and landscape architecture theses, and also assists top awardees in obtaining overseas training in foreign architectural firms in countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. To date, there is a total of 128 awardees, 29 of whom have been trained abroad.

Founded in 1974, Architects 61 has designed many landmarks in Singapore, among them are the Raffles City Complex, the Merlion Park, Singapore Exchange Center, One Raffles Quay and the Marina Business Financial Centre. The firm also has offices in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Shanghai.

SRT (S&P) Architects Ltd. is an 80-man design firm in Shenzhen with head office in Hong Kong. It has its origin in Canada and currently has major projects in more than 30 different geographical locations in China.

Architect Recto himself started his professional career in Singapore where he was the architect-in-charge of International Plaza, the first 50-storey building in Singapore. His architectural firm is now well-known for designing elegant and efficient high-rise structures, the latest of which is the 54-storey One Corporate Centre at the corner of Doña Julia Vargas Ave. and Meralco Ave. in Ortigas Center.