By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez
TO craft a blueprint for an effective urban renewal strategy aimed at changing lives—that’s the dream of every student of industrial design and architecture in the world. And every day these students strive to create an archetype that will not only promote healthy and sustainable living, but also build products that will be useful in a green environment.
But constructing program designs that will help ensure comfortable living for the people without compromising resources for future generations is one of the foremost challenges faced by most scholastic institutions today, the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Design and Arts included. The search for an effective urban plan to share with the students is, and remains to be, a top priority of the school.
As a member of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, Benilde was presented with an opportunity to present and explore the Copenhagen Solutions.
The Copenhagen Solutions, which was first presented by the Danish Embassy to the DLS-CSB, is an urban renewal project applied to the City of Copenhagen in Denmark. This project helped resolve the city’s urban problems by administering solutions to water- and air-pollution problems, finding alternative energy sources, proper waste management/disposal and practicing other solutions to known issues faced by modern societies today.
Sample initiatives and projects behind the idea of the Copenhagen Solutions are presented at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts (SDA) Amphitheater. Launched on June 23, this open exhibit is on view until August 27. A series of presentations and lectures sponsored by the Danish Embassy will also be held throughout the exhibit. For the month of July, there will be discussions hosted by different representatives of manufacturing companies from Denmark’s leading firms. Rick Holland of Grundfos, the world’s largest pump manufacturer, will share his best practices on July 6; Allan Almendrala of Danfoss, manufacturer of valves and fluid handling components, will be leading the discussion on July 13; Jacob Rasmussen of Vestas, a global company dedicated exclusively to wind energy, will speak on July 20; and Renel Ramos of Maersk, a worldwide conglomerate operating in international trade, shipping and energy, will lead the lecture on July 27. These talks will take place at the SDA Amphitheater from 1 to 2:30 pm.
In conjunction with the Copenhagen Solutions design, the exhibit showcases individual and collective works of the SDA students. Works presented during the April 2016 Manila FAME is also featured in a side gallery. In celebration of the World Industrial Day, and marking the 25th year of its Industrial Design Program, the DLSU-CSB, through its Center for Campus Art, has proposed a collaborative project between CSB Industrial Design and Architecture students and the local government, which will help rebuild communities from within the campus’s 2-kilometer radius. This project will be under the supervision of Jim Caumeron.
The Copenhagen Solutions will serve as the primary inspiration for the project, with the view of incorporating a “strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, and builds business success that will lead to a better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services and experiences.” Arch. Gerry Torres, director of the Center for Campus Art and the curator of the exhibit, said the urban-planning proposal is informed by a sense of inclusivity. It promotes an effective and efficient relationship between the students and their chosen communities. By participating in this project, Torres added, the students will be able to see firsthand the problems faced by the communities surrounding the school so that they can see what they can do to help resolve these problems.
Torres further explained: “The students of Architectural Design 4 have sought an alternative in the scenario where they and the school are truly active in the development of the neighboring community and descended from the glass and concrete towers of exclusion.” The project will not only serve the communities but also help the students hone their skills by showcasing the creativity of Benildean talents, especially in industrial design, architecture and multimedia.
So far, Benilde’s initiatives in developing this project continue to receive good feedback from the Danish Embassy.
Louie Angelo Cruz, visa and cultural affairs officer of the Royal Danish Embassy of Manila, shares with the BusinessMirror his hopes that the exhibit, as well as the project, will inspire students to work for an urban-planning formula, which promotes green and sustainable living for the communities that they will choose. n