When calamities strike, the name “Palafox” resurfaces in the news. TV anchors have always pictured him to the public as a visionary architect and urban planner the government won’t listen to. Palafox has often lamented about a poorly-planned metropolis and the dire consequences. Most of the time, he’s right.

From seminary to construction sites

Architect Felino Palafox Jr. attended high school in Christ the King seminary to prepare for priesthood. But his interest in the arts, math and science took him to a different field. He studied architecture in the University of Santo Tomas. His interest in architecture was inspired by his visits to the construction sites of his late uncle who was also an architect. Later on, the young Palafox finished his master’s degree in environmental planning from the University of the Philippines as a UN scholar and Advanced Management Development Program for Real Estate at Harvard University.

A sterling resume

Mall and retail tycoon, Henry Sy, got the services of Palafox as a consultant for various SM properties. He was also the architect and urban planner for Ayala Land real estate projects. Other developers from abroad have also sought his services. In Dubai, he headed a department that transformed the dessert land into a vibrant community that we see now. He was also involved in rebuilding projects in tsunami-stricken areas like Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Today, his company, Palafox and Associates, has become the top architectural firm in the country and in Southeast Asia. His company also made it to the top 100 architectural firms in the world as compiled by the World Architecture magazine.

Answers to a calamity-prone Philippines

Palafox has been sending the Philippine government copies of his proposal “Urban Planning, Architecture and Engineering to Address Hazzards: Towards Safer Towns, Cities and Communities”. But somehow the government has shown less to zero interest as we all continued to be hammered down by worsening climate and environment.

In an interview with Jessica Soho in light of the recent earthquake in Japan, which was the biggest to strike them in 130 years, Palafox told how, in his latest conference in Mumbai, the government of India now plans to demolish 32,000 of its poorly-constructed buildings. He also outlined how unprepared and unreliable the Philippine government is when disaster, like a major earthquake, strikes the country. Metro Manila is densely populated with 14M residents squatting on every square inch and sits on the Marikina Valley Fault Line. Palafox estimates that “of the two million buildings and residential structures in Metro Manila, down to informal settlers, 25 percent would be vulnerable to earthquakes, liquefaction due to earthquakes, flooding and tsunamis at the waterfront.”

Below is a copy of his proposal “Urban Planning, Architecture and Engineering to Address Hazzards: Towards Safer Towns, Cities and Communities”. Read on while I’m out sourcing for jewelry making supplies.

Palafox Associates: Urban Planning, Architecture, and Engineering to Address Hazards