#arkitek

I grew up living in a one-storey provincial residence, above a three meter high cliff near the shore, prone to rain, high tide, earthquake, flood and storm, without electricity, under a tumble-down roof, having five siblings, a sickly mother, and a father that quit his job that I had no idea why. The spaces in the house were a huge clutter and very limited, knowing that there were eight occupants living inside. It was at that point when I realized, “We deserve more than this. I want our lives be better.” 

Just by observing my mother, I have learned the art of organizing and decorating spaces, and how it directly affect one’s mood. I was in awe by just seeing a messy table in the living room filled with my father’s books and used cigars can make me feel uncomfortable and angry; and by how seeing the living room arranged by my mother during Saturdays can make me happy; how indoor plants can make me calm; and how windows are important for the flow of air and natural light. 

I also sensed that we probably need another storey, so I convinced my father, and he asked for his friends’ help to build another storey for us. I enjoyed every day by just observing the construction process--- how the cement was mixed with water and aggregates, the beauty of pouring concrete, and the splendor of massing. When it was finished, I was disappointed how it did not turn out the way my parents wanted. I realized that we were in a financial crisis, that’s why the materials that they used were in low quality, and the standards were not met because we could not hire an architect.  

Every riser in our staircase has a height of more than 200 millimetres, which is so high from the design standard, that my little sister and my cousin got an accident. They fell off and injured their legs. The foundation is not strong, too. After years, the ceiling on our ground floor had cracks and some of them would fell off the ground. Our floor is eventually sloping down from the movements of the sea waves during typhoons. During a stormy weather, raindrops would fall from our roof. It was a nightmare. Although I appreciate that finally, we have our separated bedrooms for girls and boys, I still feel that our house must be renovated one day.  

The last semester of high school came, and unexpectedly I was called to leave the class, because my father was in the hospital, due to bone cancer. Before he died, I made a promise that one day I will make his dream house come to life. It is his legacy that he wanted to pass on me. So after high school I took the architecture entrance exam in EVSU and passed.  

College made me fall in love with architecture even more, and it helped me expand my views from my instructors, peers, travels, and researching. It keeps me desire more in renovating our house one day. Architecture is such a broad subject. It has different meanings, as much as we have different architects that changed our world. But more than anything, architecture for me, is a tool to make our lives better.  

Super-typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) came and we lost our roof. Our house is ruined. I have to become an architect as soon as possible.   Now that we are in a pandemic, I believe that architecture is the solution, or if not, is one of the solutions, to help us live comfortably, safe and sound in the new normal. Architects are constantly finding ways. 

I admit, I failed the pass board exam, and it still kills me to the bone. It’s embarrassing and frustrating. But as my mentor had always told me, “failure is never final.” He, too failed his first board exam. He is a top-notcher the following board exam he took. Because of him, I still have this vision to help my family and other people. Being an architect is the way, and I want to become like him one day. 

Why do I want to become an architect? The answer is simple: To make people’s lives better. 

I have a passion for people, as much as buildings and environment. It’s a topic where you can ask: How are people different? How do they live differently? How are people affected by geography and climate? How do religion, economics and personal beliefs change how people interact with their surroundings? Architecture is a never ending topic of fascination. 

How humans interact with the buildings and the spaces around them is what makes it so exciting. My hunger for this idea has encouraged me to explore as much as I can. I have learned that architecture is principally about design. And design is about making decisions. Architects actively enjoy the decision making process in all areas of their lives. Moreover, their decisions are always for the people and the environment. 

In conclusion, all these personal experiences, all the things I learned in college, from the wisdom that I got from my mentor during my internship, and the variety of ideas and information that I got from different people and places, have proven that our lives can be better through design, planning and rational ways of making a home and building a safe environment.  

Anthony 

I grew up in a one-story provincial residence, perched above a three-meter high cliff near the shore. Our home was prone to rain, high tide, earthquakes, floods, and storms. We lived without electricity, under a tumble-down roof, with five siblings, a sickly mother, and a father who had quit his job for reasons unknown to me. The spaces in the house were cluttered and very limited, considering there were eight occupants. It was at that point I realized, “We deserve more than this. I want our lives to be better.”

By observing my mother, I learned the art of organizing and decorating spaces and how it directly affects one’s mood. I was amazed by how a messy table in the living room, filled with my father’s books and used cigars, could make me feel uncomfortable and angry. On the other hand, seeing the living room arranged by my mother on Saturdays made me happy; indoor plants made me calm, and windows were essential for airflow and natural light.

I also sensed that we probably needed another story, so I convinced my father, who then asked his friends for help to build it. I enjoyed observing the construction process—how cement was mixed with water and aggregates, the beauty of pouring concrete, and the splendor of massing. However, when it was finished, I was disappointed that it didn’t turn out the way my parents wanted. I realized we were in a financial crisis, which is why the materials used were of low quality, and the standards weren’t met because we couldn’t hire an architect.

Every riser in our staircase had a height of more than 200 millimeters, which was too high from the design standard, causing my little sister and cousin to fall and injure their legs. The foundation wasn’t strong either. After a few years, the ceiling on our ground floor developed cracks, and parts of it fell to the ground. Our floor eventually sloped down from the movements of the sea waves during typhoons. During stormy weather, raindrops would fall from our roof. It was a nightmare. Although I appreciated that we finally had separate bedrooms for girls and boys, I still felt that our house needed renovation. All these alarming concerns in our house were wake-up calls, signaling a high calling of something greater than myself.

In the last semester of high school, I was unexpectedly called out of class because my father was in the hospital with bone cancer. It was indeed a surprise because my older siblings were so good at hiding my father's situation from me and my little sister. Before he died, I promised to bring his dream house to life. This was his legacy to me. After high school, I took the architecture entrance exam at EVSU and passed. In fact, I was third in rank.

College made me fall in love with architecture even more, expanding my views through my instructors, peers, travels, and research. It fueled my desire to renovate our house one day. Architecture is a broad subject with different meanings, shaped by various architects who have changed our world. But more than anything, architecture, for me, is a tool to make our lives better.

A year passed, and I am now a sophomore architecture student. Super-typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) came, and we lost our roof. Our house was ruined. I knew I had to become an architect as soon as possible. But thank God my family was all safe. But it is still a long way to go to rebuild the house that built me.

I believe architecture is the solution—or one of the solutions—to help us live comfortably, safely, and soundly.

Why do I want to become an architect? The answer is simple: to make people’s lives better.

I have a passion for people, buildings, and the environment. It’s a topic that raises questions like: How are people different? How do they live differently? How are people affected by geography and climate? How do religion, economics, and personal beliefs change how people interact with their surroundings? Architecture is a never-ending topic of fascination.

How humans interact with buildings and spaces is what makes it so exciting. My hunger for this idea has encouraged me to explore as much as I can. I have learned that architecture is principally about design, and design is about making decisions. In my experience, architects I worked with actively enjoy the decision-making process in all areas of their lives. Moreover, their decisions are always for the people and the environment.