Among the strategic action plans of the Department of Education to achieve its mission to provide quality basic education that is equitably accessible to all is the effective and efficient delivery of quality educational facilities, and to explore best designs and improved technologies in school building construction.

Quality educational facilities simply mean functional and safe buildings and sites that are conducive to learning especially among the young children.

The United Architects of the Philippines, on the other hand, in its bid to strengthen its ties with national and local government units and agencies, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DepEd for the design of the UAP school building prototype that will be used in the construction of 10,000 public school classrooms nationwide.

In order to generate new ideas and technologies, the UAP World Day of Architecture Committee launched the Bayanihang Pampaaralan Design Competition whose winners were awarded during the World Architecture Day last October.

Three promising fourth year architecture students of Saint Louis University won first place in the competition under the student division II category particularly for a one-storey two-classroom type building that is appropriate for coastal areas.

The team of Jenik Leonardo, Jeremiah Marco Bildan and Aristotle Mamangun together with their faculty-adviser architect Dulthe Carlo Munar produced an award winning design that topped all other entries from different architecture schools nationwide. SLU was the only university north of Manila that received an award.

Calling their entry A+, they said that “simple and practical solutions were applied but the end product surely has a big positive impact in creating a good learning environment.”

“Uniqueness, sustainability, innovativeness, a faster way of construction and cost-effective building techniques were our winning edges,” they added.

The competition was in close coordination with the DepEd and the Philippine Business for Social Progress in order to get the support of private sector partners.

In evaluating the entries, the judges considered the structural resiliency, innovative design and technology, constructability and cost-effectiveness and adaptability to other sites.

The design followed the DepEd module which measures seven meters wide and nine meters long. The classroom configuration addressed factors such as hygienic requirements and distances at which a normal child can read script and understand words spoken in an ordinary tone of voice.