by Weber Amores (Far Eastern University)
This is my winning speech in UP which made me represent the Philippines in London, for the internationals of the English Speaking Union. I got to deliver it in five minutes as required and was able to defend it in two minutes, because in the ESU mechanics, after delivering a speech, you must defend it in two minutes. Defend in a sense why your piece has to be the winning idea.
I’m twenty years old and in two years time I will become an Architect. One who dreams to be a National Artist or the next Pritzker Prize Awardee, the highest international award an Architect could ever get in his lifetime.
But my ambitions face various challenges in today’s dynamic Earth. The task of urban planning and architecture has transcended aesthetics, utility, and tenacity. A good architect today is a dedicated environmentalist as well.
The world’s dynamism is not only manifested in the globalization of capital, culture, politics, and humans. Climate changes have recorded unprecedented damages to man. The tsunamis in South Asia, hurricane Katrina, strong earthquakes in Iran and Japan, widening hole of ozone layer, and newfound strains of viruses like bird flu and SARS are but just few examples of Mother Nature’s wrath.
As an architect, I’d like to contribute to healing the wounds of Mother Earth. It is my responsibility to make sure that whatever skyscraper, house, or structure that grows on Earth will manifest environmental preservation, conservation, and respect.
I shall reuse recyclable and environment-friendly materials in development and construction I shall advocate the use of solar panels as part of house roofs to maximize the use of the sun’s energy. I shall use operational and conservatory systems or designs that will aid passive cooling especially in suburban and rural areas to lessen humidity. If Baltimore has glassphaltz or roads made of a mixture of pounded glass bottles, I will promote ceiling panels made of mixed aluminum foil and other recyclable materials. We can emulate Japan’s use of titanium oxide to coat the paint of buildings, which have saved millions of dollars because instead of repainting, the titanium oxide cleans naturally through ultraviolet rays thus making the paint glow anew. Urban planning needs to encourage pedestrianism where demand for vehicles and gas is substituted by walking or cycling. Urban planning must require planting of trees and greeneries to provide not just a relaxing ambiance but a contribution to saving what is left on Earth and what’s already there. We call that Green Architecture.
Ladies and gentlemen, I know that leaving the comfort zones of our luxurious lifestyle is not easy. The rich can say, “Why should I be economical when I have the capacity to spend millions and billions?” The point is not the amount of money to spend, but what to spend for especially that the Earth’s state is now alarming. Like Howard Roark in Ayn Rand’s the fountainhead, I am sure I will have a hard time encouraging my clients to believe in my environmental cum architectural philosophy but I am willing to take the risk because what is at stake is the very foundation of why we have a place to build our houses and families-Mother Earth. We only have one option left: We need to be dynamic in the way we think and feel about Earth. Because a dynamic Earth known for its capacity to self-heal and provide resources can only be attained through a dynamic mindset.
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Click the link below to see ESU Philippines’ website:
To Speak English, Maybe in London by Alfred Yuson (Philippine STAR)
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Thanks Weber for your contribution. Continue to inspire people, and continue to fulfill your dream in healing the wounds of mother earth!!! Great post.
