How Julianna's drawing inspired Lucy and Richard to build a school

MANILA, Philippines - Who’d think that a child’s drawing and a mom’s love for pretty things and happy colors would make for an award-winning architectural design? But yes, that is what happened to the school building that Julianna drew and her mom Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez gamely colored with bright yellow and blue while on a plane trip to Ormoc.

A child’s concept and a mom’s keen eye for “happy” colors were the cornerstones of the design of the yellow and blue school buildings that have since been constructed at two sites in Ormoc City, and hopefully soon in the rest of the 4th District of Leyte, which was recently cited as “Best Civic Involvement Program” under Group 1 during the recently concluded United Architects of the Philippines annual convention. 

“Serendipity” is how architect Carlo Gianni Bustos of the United Architects of the Philippines-Diliman Chapter describes the chance occurrence of their group’s coming to know Richard and Lucy T. Gomez that developed into a happy and memorable event.

Bustos, together with a team of architects from their chapter, professionally converted a child’s drawing into a multi-functional school building.

In the paper brief titled “This Is What I Signed Up For” that Bustos submitted to the UAP, he describes why they are nominating their school building design for the award. He recounts the “accidental” events that led them to design the building powered by the infectious enthusiasm of “accidental” Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez. They titled their project “Building Blocks and Stepping Stones: The Architect’s Contribution to Higher Learning.”

Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez and Richard Gomez present Julianna’s drawing to the United Architects of the Philippines Diliman Chapter.

However, he missed telling that when he and previous UAPD president architect Markel Luna, together with officials of their group, met with Richard and Lucy Gomez in a restaurant, the congresswoman had a piece of slightly crumpled paper with Julianna’s drawing on it.

Lucy, who proudly and lovingly showed Julianna’s drawing to them and a computerized simulation of it on Richard’s MacBook, said she’d love to have a school building that is not only functional but also pretty, so that students would be inspired to come to school every day.

She also wanted it inexpensive to maintain, using natural elements like the sun and wind to save on power and floors that are sturdy and easily cleaned. She’s been told that oftentimes, utility bills are imposed on the parents, an additional burden for underprivileged families. And most importantly, she added, it must be low cost and must have an adequate number of comfort rooms.

And the award goes to: The Best Civic Involvement Program Award went to the National High School Building, Lilo-An, Fourth Congressional District, Ormoc City, Province of Leyte. The Architect’s Contribution to Higher Learning (UAPD Civic Involvement Program 2011-2012)  for this fiscal year, the United Architects of the Philippines Diliman Chapter (UAPD) concentrated its efforts on a socio-civic program that fully utilizes the architect’s talent and expertise.

Lucy was able to ask Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile for a P5-million budget then, and she wanted to have a six-classroom building built with the funds.

Tall order

It was a tall order, yes, but Bustos and company were unfazed. It was a familiar challenge to them, Bustos said. “Architecting,” he says, requires the necessary variables, “a client, a site, a problem, a plan, a budget and limitation, a design.” But what made them nearly fall out of their chairs was when Lucy and Richard told them they needed the complete architectural design “in two weeks” because it was already up for bidding and the design had yet to be approved by the Department of Education.

Even as the timeline seemed daunting, they did not shrink from the challenge. “The task was to propose a design for a six-unit classroom in Liloan, Ormoc, Leyte as Congresswoman Lucy Torres-Gomez’ project intended to alleviate the condition of the students in that barangay. It landed on our laps like serendipity, when architect Markel Luna unknowingly sat beside the good Representative’s right-hand man, Clement Carrasco, during one fateful plane trip. Architect Luna then presented the project to the current executive committee led by architect Albert Rosel, the chapter’s president. Eventually an appointment was scheduled and the power couple — Rep. Lucy with husband, the iconic Richard Gomez — met with the executive committee to give the details of the project,” Bustos states in his brief.

But Bustos admits “the deadline of two weeks to submit a design with its architectural drawings posed some difficulty.” Yet, together with the others, they presented the design to the Ormoc team, an ad hoc committee of the Diliman chapter created specifically for the project.

The team was composed of architects Teodorico Salud and Micheal Yago as construction consultants, who were both in charge of estimating the cost of the project; Nap Ibañez as plumbing consultant; Markel Luna as the account executive; their chapter president Albert Rosel who coordinated the meetings with Clement Carrasco; and Bustos who took on the job as designer.

Bustos says Lucy’s school building design (or should it be Julianna’s?) is “simple, appropriate, yet quite unique and remarkable… Orientation was greatly considered and the applications of tropical design concepts were well met. A simple shed roof was properly placed, its apex positioned towards the northeast and its base facing southwest. Eaves are long enough to protect the structure during the time of the day when the sun’s rays are harshest.

“Adequately spaced, the classrooms are equipped with large windows to permit natural light and breeze to give the users comfort yet secured with a creative grill design,” Bustos continues. “Each unit has two doors for entry/exit.”

The UAP Diliman members donated their time and technical know-how to come up with architectural plans, specifications, and bill of materials for a proposed National High School Building in Lilo-An, Fourth Congressional District, Ormoc City, Province of Leyte. The school was completed on Nov. 23, 2011.

The school building can also become one big function room, when necessary. The partitions are movable: a blackboard on one side, and lockers on the opposite side.

After two months, he said, “We heard of the project’s developments. We finally got word that the construction had been started and soon after, the committee was invited to visit the site.”

“There, I felt my purpose in the UAP solidified,” Bustos recalls with personal satisfaction. “During the time that we visited, they were already done with the shell. And after a month, the project had been completed and now was being used by the community,” Now, there are two yellow and blue school buildings in Ormoc that Bustos and his team have designed for Ormoc City and the 4th District. The first one is in Brgy. Liloan and the second at EVSU-Ormoc (Luna campus), funded by Sen. TJ Guingona. Its simplicity and functionality has even cut the usual working days for a six-classroom construction from 160 calendar days. The building contractor of the EVSU project was able to turn over the classroom to DPWH lock, stock and barrel, in a mere 69 days.

Bustos attended the inauguration of the second building and lauded Ormocanons for choosing a Representative who not only takes her duties to heart, but makes sure every centavo allocated for government projects is well spent.