Design Paradigms

We are using 5 design paradigms that define what will be a successful answer to the project objectives. These paradigms are constantly being questioned by the team to ensure that they provide an optimum response to all the stakeholders’ needs. 

Buildings Resilience

The project will not be a one-time picture but an entity that will be serving its purpose for decades. While the design and construction process can be controlled, the future use and maintenance will be left to the Ancillae Christi Sisters. Their funds, skills and maintenance regime are difficult to predict.

Consequently, the design needs to maximize life expectancy of all the components, while minimizing the cost and complexity of future maintenance. For those elements that will require regular maintenance, the necessary regime and skills must be properly communicated and life-cycle cost considered to assess their suitability.

Efficient Construction

Moving from the concept design to construction and post-occupancy phases, the capacity of applying changes decreases while the cost of variations increases. When the project leaves the drawing table to start the physical transformation of the site the capacity of control of the Design Team will be reduced drastically.

To ensure the designers’ intent is properly translated to the ground and to limit the risks of failure, the construction process needs to be kept in mind during the concept and design phases. Designing for the use of local materials and techniques, available skills, repetitive elements, elimination of unnecessary steps in construction and logistics, etc, are paramount for the successful implementation of the project.

This should not be confused with blindly adopting the design of most buildings in the area, but calls to apply the designers’ creativity to transform and enhance locally available resources and skills into an optimum response to the project objective.

Functional Aesthetics

For each of the buildings and the overall project to best fit its purpose, the facilities must be designed to enhance its functionality. At the same time, aesthetics plays an important role for the users’ subjective feelings towards the facilities that should not be ignored.

Consequently, functionality and aesthetics must be combined in such a way that one enhances the other and never diminishes it.

Anticipatory Design

The future life and use of the buildings cannot be predicted without uncertainty. While at this point in time the functionality and design assumptions may be deemed optimum, time and users experience may require adapting the facilities.

Designing for potentially changing conditions will allow the buildings to address the stakeholders’ future needs. Thus, the design of the buildings and master plan must allow, to the extent possible, their adaptability in terms of use, spatial distribution, expansion, new technologies, etc.

Responsiveness to Environment and Site Hazards

The adequacy of the project relies on its adaptation to the surrounding environment and its response to the risks associated to the specific project site.

The design should incorporate the physical and environmental characteristics of the site rather than fight against them. This contributes to the long term sustainability of the project and limits maintenance efforts.

The transformation process must also quantify and mitigate the risks arising from the site location and conditions, protecting the users and assets.

Sustainability Strategies

The project adopts a holistic approach to sustainability considering social, environmental and economical aspects.

Materials: Bamboo

Bamboo is inarguably one of the most sustainable construction materials in the Tropics. We have partnered with BASE, a social enterprise developing low-cost housing using bamboo as structural material. This system poses multiple benefits:

Light weight

Limiting the dead weight of the structure reduces the structural requirements of the buildings. This is particularly important in this context due to the earthquake risks in Bohol. Furthermore, bamboo’s flexibility helps to dissipate the earthquake loads without risking the structural integrity of the building.

Durability

Non-toxic natural treatments prevent bamboo from being attacked by insects and prolong its useful life.

Local availability

Bamboo is available locally in the Philippines what will reduce purchasing costs and does not require external expertise for later maintenance.

Easy to assemble

BASE uses a system of prefabricated panels that can be assembled together in a matter of days.

Comfort

The light weight and low thermal mass of the system, high ceilings help to dissipate the heat during the day and the building remains cool during the night.

Master plan and building orientation

The weather and environmental characteristics of the location have been considered while developing the master plan, specifically, the movement of the Sun during the whole year and the prevailing winds.

During the hotter months of May to September, the prevailing wind comes from South-South West while October to April it comes from the North East. The Sun path is East to West with a 56° South inclination at the Winter Solstice and a 76° North inclination at the Summer Solstice.

Consequently, the master plan has adopted an East-West alignment of the longer axis of the main buildings. Each of the buildings will be provided with large overhangs at the North and South façades. This presents two major benefits:

1. Providing openings at both sides of the narrower direction of the buildings the prevailing winds are unobstructed and natural ventilation will cool down the facilities

2. Morning and evening Sun does not heat up the major façades and large overhangs at each side prevent the north and south façades from being exposed to the sun

Furthermore, ample outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces have been provided. These are meant to be adaptable and can be used as common areas for recreational, gathering, dining and educational purposes.

Energy saving solutions

The two major sources of electricity consumption of housing and educational facilities are electrical lighting and cooling. Consequently, the design of the buildings aims to minimize these expenditures by maximizing natural lighting and passive cooling.

Natural light

Large openings at North and South façades have the double purpose of natural light and ventilation. Moreover, the use of clerestory windows at the Northern side allows natural light to travel deep inside the classrooms without heating up the spaces.

For areas and rooms where large openings are not an option, alternative natural lighting systems will be considered, such a solar tubes or a “litre of light” system.

Passive cooling

The function of the different buildings has been considered to determine which buildings will be natural ventilated and which ones will be provided with air conditioning. The proposal is that only the hotel buildings will be air conditioned and the rest will benefit from passive cooling.

The design has also considered the adaptability of the buildings in the long run and in the future any of the buildings can be easily changed to be air conditioned.

To achieve an adequate level of comfort in the non-air conditioned buildings the main principles of tropical architecture have been considered:

High ceilings

All the buildings will have one side sloping high ceilings to dissipate the heat upwards

Operable openings

The narrow footprint of the buildings along the prevailing winds and operable openings at both sides will allow controlling the breeze intake and heating outtake from the buildings. Clerestory windows will also be operable to exhaust the heat accumulated in the upper levels of the buildings.

Cool-down effect of vegetation

Preserving as much vegetation as possible has a double benefit in this matter: First, it blocks the solar radiation from directly hitting the buildings; second, the evapotranspiration at the tree leaves cools down the surrounding environment and, consequently, reduce the temperature of the wind coming inside the buildings.

Additional measures

In the detailed design two additional passive technologies will be considered: eco-coolers, bottle cones that cool down passing air by compressing it; and roof turbines, cylindrical devices that exhaust hot air from inside the building by means of wind rotation.

Ceiling fans will be provided at all the naturally ventilated spaces for added comfort during the hotter periods.

Furthermore, non-air conditioned buildings with high occupancy, such as classrooms, offer the advantage of a more salubrious environment due to constant air renewal without wasting cooled down air.

Vegetation

Respecting the native environment where the development will be located is a major contributor to the overall sustainability of the project. Biophilic design has been adopted following two main approaches: 

Preservation of nature

The disposition of the buildings will respect and integrate the most iconic trees in the area and those located strategically to protect the buildings from the environment through shading.

Organic edible garden

At the Eastern side of the plot a large space has been allocated for the implementation of an edible garden which will be designed based on the principles of permaculture, organic farming and composting.

This section has three main beneficial aspects for the overall sustainability of the project:

– It will play an educational role as the students can participate in the process of cultivation and become familiar with how food is produced.

– It will contribute to the revenue generation as the products can be used for the restaurant, increasing its market value, and sold in the shop attached to it.

– In the aesthetical dimension it will contribute to the colour and diversity of the landscape.