The Newton-UST Research Team, headed by Ar. Assoc. Prof. Leah P. Dela Rosa and composed of the members of the Research Center for Culture, Arts & Humanities (RCCAH), College of Architecture, Faculty of Arts and Letters, and Graduate School, continues to partner with international institutions to encourage exchange of knowledge and foster stronger relationships.
In January of this year, the team organized various forums in cooperation with other organizations to expand knowledge of their audience about the built environment, the public spaces and the way people respond to them. Newton-UST is currently working on an institutional link research project with the University of Reading, United Kingdom titled “Eco-Social Surveying, Mapping the Social Assets, Urban Greenery, and the Connections Between them in Rapidly Changing Cities.” This research is supported by the British Council Philippines, Newton Fund, and the Commission of Higher Education.
International forums at UST
Prof. Ho Puay-peng, Ph.D., of the National University of Singapore and Prof. Hisham Elkadi, Ph.D., of the University of Salford, Manchester, England, were in Manila on January 20, 2020 to meet students of the UST College of Architecture. The students also formed part of Prof. Ho’s audience when he delivered a lecture titled “Narrative and Identity: Language of Modernism and Construction of Nationhood.” The lecture, organized by the Newton-UST Research Team in cooperation with student organizations Heritage Conservation Society – UST Youth Chapter and Arkitrato-UST: Architecture + Photography, was held at the Beato Angelico Audiovisual Room.
In his talk, Prof. Ho, presented the various buildings built in the Modern style while highlighting the parallelism of the architecture and design of those constructed in Singapore and the Philippines. He ended his talk with his praise of Filipino architects with the way they designed the buildings he mentioned, inspiring the students to design in context with their environment, identity and culture.
In the afternoon of the same day, Prof. Elkadi talked in a forum titled “Assessment of University-Industry Partnerships” at UST Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC). The event was organized by the British Council Philippines, in partnership with the Newton-UST Research Team, and was attended by representatives from various academic institutions in the country such as Polytechnic University of the Philippines–Manila, and University of Santo Tomas. It gave the participants an opportunity to understand the trend in the higher education in the United Kingdom and an opportunity to learn the possibilities of partnership with UK universities.
These works were supported by an Institutional Links grant, ID 332241573, under the Newton Fund UK – Philippines partnership. The grant is funded by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Commission for Higher Education (CHED) and delivered by the British Council. More information could be found at .
International Research Conference at Santa Rosa, Laguna
On January 17, 2020, the Newton-UST Research Team held an International Research Symposium with the title “Make Places: Discourses on Urban Eco-Social Values” at Technopark Hotel, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna. The conference looked into the common and public spaces of cities where people interact – thereby building relationships and community identity. Furthermore, the conference aimed to understand how people develop these rich public spaces and identify the social and ecological values they place on them.
The event was attended by participants from various institutions from the Philippines and abroad. Keynote speakers were National University of Singapore Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment Head Prof. Ho Puay-peng, Ph.D., and University of Salford Architecture, and the Built Environment Dean and Chair Prof. Hisham Elkadi, Ph.D.
Conference papers were presented by researchers from various institutions such as Chung Hua University of Taiwan, National University of Singapore, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Technological Institute of the Philippines – Manila, Santa Rosa City Hall, and the University of Santo Tomas.
