Design Against the Elements was a global architectural design competition meant to find a solution to the problems presented by climate change. Spurred by the devastation wreaked in the Philippines by tropical storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and driven by a powerhouse multidisciplinary group of organizations from the private, institutional, and government sectors, the project aimed to draw together the most innovative minds in the fields of architecture, design, and urban planning to develop sustainable and disaster-resistant housing for communities in tropical urban settings.
The winning design will be built as a prototype disaster-resistant and livable eco-village in Quezon City, while all the entries will be compiled into an encyclopedia of architectural solutions that will be implemented for sustainable, environment-friendly civil works.
The competition was co-sponsored by the United Architects of the Philippines, MyShelter Foundation, Philippine White Helmets and the Climate Change Commission.

OUR ENTRY: CORAL CITY
“CORAL CITY”, designed in partnership with ITA Project, was chosen among almost 300 entries from all over the world, and awarded with the special ENERGY AWARD (category professionals). You can find the complete list of winners here.

A PREMISE
City as a projection
The form of our cities is nothing more than a projection on the ground of our society (constituted of human activity, values, principles, economy, culture, religion, etc) on one side, and the response to specific geographical conditions (climate, orography, atmospheric agents, etc) on the other side.
In an ultimate analysis, the form of our city is a result of a higher level of interactions between people, and between them and the existing natural environment.
Then, why are our cities often so chaotic, disordered, polluted, dirty, in a few words not sustainable? Maybe because the values and the principles of our society today are not properly sustainable?
This might be an answer.
So, as architects, what can we do in order to design sustainable (and beautiful) cities?
If the form of the city is just a projection on the ground of a society created by human values, is it possible for us to design more livable and eco-friendly cities starting from their form (hence starting from the end of the process just mentioned)?
Is it possible to activate a “backward” process?
Can we change the society and its values with the power of design?
Our proposal wants to prove that architecture and urban planning can design sustainable cities only if they start from different and more responsible values.
A conscientious development is the main challenge of our generation, the only way to achieve a sustainable world.

THE CONCEPT
Architecture as a metaphor
We think that architecture is a metaphor of nature.
Looking from this perspective, our “role model” has to be found in the natural environment, which contains an infinite number of complex living structures.
Natural structures, better than any human achievement, can help us find a way to design a new sustainable community.
For this reason, our conceptual mainframe for the DAtE competition was the study of “corals”, which can be easily compared to our cities (because they have to satisfy similar requirements).

Coral is the formal and behavioral inspiration for our design, a self-organizing living system which is highly capable of reacting and smoothly adapting to changes and external influences.
Corals are marine organisms in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual “polyps”. (Wikipedia)

A Voronoi tessellation diagram, which smartly adapts to the geometry of the lot, proliferates throughout the area and subdivides it into optimal cells.
Coral colonies form the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters. (Wikipedia)

Individual buildings consist of clusters of modular living units (similar to each other but at the same time subtly varied to adapt to local conditions) which coherently work as a whole.
A coral “head,” which appears to be a single organism, is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps. (Wikipedia)

Buildings have a proper ring-like shape which allows optimal structural performances in relation to stresses caused by earthquakes and typhoons.
Coral reefs are also useful as a protection against hurricanes and other extreme weather. (Wikipedia)

Cells are permeable and perforated. This minimizes the opposition of buildings to strong winds and allows them to pass through and flow away from the inner courtyards.
Corals can be perforated and have porous skeletons. (Wikipedia)

Precipitations are collected and drained out through an interconnected system of canals, in order to minimize the effects of heavy rains and flood.
The polyps interconnect by a complex and well developed system of gastrovascular canals allowing significant sharing of nutrients and symbiotes. (Wikipedia)

Buildings and main distribution paths are detached from the ground, on piles, in order to still offer a safe and enjoyable environment in case of massive flooding.
Perforated corals allow water to flow through them. (Wikipedia)

Roofs and parking areas are massively covered with pv panels, which assimilate solar energy and offer a sustainable and eco-compatible way to self-finance the construction process.
Most corals require sunlight and obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular algae called zooxanthellae. (Wikipedia)

A GREEN MASTERPLAN
In our zoning 50% of the total available area will be green.
There will be parks inside the development and green courtyards inside the buildings.
Cars will have no access inside the development (except for emergency purposes), they will be parked in dedicated areas along the external perimeter. From there, circulations will be assured by electric buses, bicycles, pedestrian paths etc.
This way, pollution will be dramatically reduced.

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
The project master plan aims to guarantee and stimulate social relations between tenants in different layers.
Inner courtyards = First level of socialization
In these areas, people living in the same building will be able to gather. Small social activities can be promoted, increasing the outdoor action of the kids as of the other age’s people. The inner courtyards are dedicated to the socialization of people who share the same building, assuring a certain level of security and privacy. They are not accessible by unauthorized people.
Parks/streets = Second level of socialization
A big percentage of areas are dedicated to open green parks, accessible by people who live in the neighborhood but also by people from other parts of the city. A landscape design will make these areas very enjoyable, with a not polluted air due to the absence of cars. The internal streets (between the different buildings) are intentionally designed quite narrow to promote physical relations between people. Small indoor and outdoor markets, “sari-sari” stores, shops, a pharmacy, banks, restaurants, will face the streets creating a vivid and lively atmosphere. This vibrant ambient is a main theme of our approach, we learned it from the Filipino Barangay, where life is lived most of the time outdoors. This “easy-way” of living will improve spontaneous public relations and will create a vivid micro economy due to the domestic consumption.
Public buildings = third level of socialization
Structures like school, church, city hall etc, represent more elaborate socialization areas.All the activities related to the organization of the town, will take place inside these buildings.
The design of these structures is purposely “user friendly”, to welcome the citizen. In a familiar environment, the users will feel part of a community and for this reason they will actively participate in the organization of their town. A good integration between different people is a warranty to achieve a safe, clean and well maintained community.

STEEL STRUCTURE
Steel is a green material because its production has a lower impact on the environment (compared to other construction materials), and also because it’s easy to recycle and dismantle.
It is also affordable in terms of price, easy to assemble, light, easy to move and optimal for a clean and accurate onsite construction.
In addition to that, its good structural performances under different solicitations and its capability to be used and combined with other kinds of materials (like wood, concrete, glass etc) make steel our ultimate choice for structural purposes.

PANELLING
For external and internal walls prefabricated panels, produced using recycled and local materials, will be used. There are good products available already on the market, with a reasonable price and very high performances (thermal and acoustic insulation capacity, reduced weight, easy installation, etc).

CLADDING
Both residential and public buildings will have facades partially covered with Bamboo.
This material is natural, local, cheap, largely used in rural construction in the Philippines and hence very familiar to the Filipinos.
We used bamboo to create shades, to filter air and increase ventilation through the buildings. We used it also to characterize the public buildings (the city hall, the church etc).
Bamboo is the right choice to create an affordable, natural and elegant architectural environment.

AIR COOLING and SHADING COOLING SYSTEM
The green inner courtyards, together with big holes opened through the building masses and facades (gaps between some units), will increase the natural ventilation. In addition, cross ventilation in every unit will increase air velocity to reduce inner temperature.
Shaded surfaces (with extensive roof tops and shelters) will dramatically reduce direct sun radiations.
During the hottest hours of the day, the sun never hits directly glazed surfaces (for internal temperature decrease). These 2 strategies will ensure a 30% decrease of energy consumption compared to the standards.

WATER MANAGEMENT and WASTE MANAGEMENT
An interconnected system of canals is created in order to minimize the effects of heavy rains or floods. This drainage system, in an average situation (with no natural calamities) will also optimize water resource management. The water will be accumulated in the “water management facility”, where it will be treated and re-injected into the buildings for domestic and public use.
A similar procedure is going to be used for waste management. Garbage segregation will be facilitated in order to collect and deliver it to the “waste management facility”. This facility will relocate the different materials to main public “waste collecting buildings” where garbage, already divided, will be properly reconverted.

PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS
Roofs and parking areas are massively covered with pv panels.
About 1.600 sq/m of pv panels will produce power which will be sold to the grid, generating this way an impressive stream of revenues. This approach will at first reduce the production of Co2 and then offer a sustainable and eco-friendly way to self-finance the construction phase.
The entire development could be assimilated to a “solar power plant”. This concept can be easily replicated to develop new “power towns”, completely self-sufficient under both energetic and financial point of view.

COST-EFFECTIVENESS
Knowing that the “financial sustainability” of a “public housing plan” is a unavoidable aspect, the economic profitability of the entire project has been the platform to our design proposal.
The parking solar farm
The implementation of Coral City will start with the realization of a “parking solar farm” with a capacity of around 3200 kw/hour/day, which will generate a gross profit of 1,600,000.00 pesos/month. These revenues will be used partially to finance the “site development” works. After this phase will be completed, the construction of the residential buildings will start.
The building solar farm
The second phase will be the construction of the building structure up to the roof and the installation of the “building roof panels”. This way, every building will produce energy that will be sold to the grid (taking advantages from the Fed in Tariff).
A portion of the revenues generated by this process will finance the construction of public areas. This way, the site development and the public buildings construction will be completely paid by this stream of revenues.
This approach will produce multiple economic benefits like:
- The production of renewable energy will finance substantially the site development works and the construction of public facilities.
- Final prices of units could be maintained extremely low.
- Production of renewable energy will help to satisfy the demand of energy (which in the Philippines is very high at the moment).
- Another stream of revenues is represented by the “carbon credits“.
- International organizations like ADB or The World Bank are financing construction of solar farms.
- A dramatic reduction of pollution will be achieved, with innumerable benefits for the entire community and, if the model will be replicated, the country could proudly become the ASIAN leader in the new “green energy revolution”.

IMPLEMENTATION
The overall site development will be implemented in the 6 general phases, as follows:

Phase 1 – development of site parking lots, building yard organization works and parking solar farm installation

Phase 2 – primary site preparation works

Phase 3 – initial construction of buildings A-B-C: bearing structures, roofing and PV panel installations

Phase 4 – initial construction of buildings D-E: bearing structures, roofing and PV panel installations; completion of buildings A-B-C


Phase 5 – initial construction of buildings F-G: bearing structures, roofing and PV panel installations; completion of buildings D-E

Phase 6 – completion of buildings F-G; completion of community services buildings

FINANCIAL VIABILITY
The project is expected to generate revenues mainly from the sale of the housing units and sale of energy. Over a 7-year period, expected revenues will total to P 944.6 Million (US$ 21.97 M, at P43 = $1 FX rate), while direct costs will total to PHP 700.4 Million (US$ 16.3 M) leaving a gross income of PHP 244.2 Million (US$ 5.7 M).
The continuing revenue stream from the sale of power is expected to be sustained in 20 years, or more. With an average income of P 40 Million (US$ 93,000) per year, the solar farm facilities will potentially generate additional revenues of PHP 520 Million (US$ 12M) by the end of 20 years.
This simply proves that the project is truly a self-sustaining community.

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PROJECT INFO
TITLE: Coral City
TYPE: competition
SIZE: 3 ha
LOCATION: Taguig – Metro Manila, Philippines
YEAR: 2010
STATUS: Energy Award
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CREDITS
GOMMAdesign + ITA Project
DESIGN TEAM: Francesco Bagni, Vittorio Menna, Gabriele Settimelli, Francesco De Luca, Paolo Gori, Romolo Nati, Valentina Murgia, Matteo Parigiani
COLLABORATORS: Chiara Giunta, Ilaria Merola