Climate Resilience in Philippine Office Design: Strategies for Developers and Landowners

Building offices and public spaces resilient to the environment has become a necessity in this side of the world, what with the Philippines consistently ranking first among 193 countries in the World Risk Index due to the country’s “exceptionally high exposure to hazards.”

The indoor acts as a buffer against the outdoors, noted the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A resilient building, its July 6, 2021 report said, meets the occupant’s needs and provides for a safe, steady, and comfortable use in response to changing conditions outside.

“Planning [for resiliency] is always before - and not after - the problem,” said Paulo Alcazaren, an architect and urban planner with a background in landscape architecture, and also the editor-in-chief of BluPrint, a sister publication of The Business Manual.  

“Retrofitting utilities afterwards is not planning. The infrastructure should be planned and built before complexes are put in.”

In a June 11 interview, he discusses strategies for landowners and developers aiming to incorporate climate resilience in their buildings.

These include:

• orienting buildings properly to reduce cooling loads, 
• using natural ventilation, 
• integrating solar and micro-wind energy, and 
• implementing rainwater harvesting systems to prevent flooding in surrounding areas.

Buildings can stay cool without air conditioning by paying attention to where and how they're built, per UNEP. These include facing the right direction, keeping a compact shape, and clustering with other buildings to share shade.

Overhangs sized to block the sun, louvered screens, and reflective roofing also work to help keep heat from reaching a structure's windows and walls, according to the UN authority.

“Make sure to orient your building so you don’t get the sun into your main windows,” Alcazaren said. “Use local materials as much as possible” to reduce carbon footprint [the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an activity, product, or entity].”

One of the challenges going into the circular economy, he told The Business Manual, is that most materials are from China.

“We have cement, of course, but we have to import all othe building materials,” he said. “You have small initiatives that recycle plastic into boards, but we lack government support and subsidies for all these to thrive.”