Design Against The Elements (DAtE)

by Samuel Mendenilla
Manila Bulletin

The war against the effects of climate change to human communities is on.

The Design Against the Elements (DATE), an environmental disaster preparedness initiative, launched its international architectural competition, which aims to produce housing designs in a tropical setting capable of withstanding the assault of calamities caused by climate change like typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana), which wrecked the country last year with its devastating floods.

Climate change is the statistical variation in weather distribution for particular time ranging to a decade or a million of years, which could increase an extreme weather occurrence and cause a rise in sea level.

The project, which was launched last March 5 at the Presidential Palace in Manila, was sponsored by the City of Taguig, Climate Change Commission, MyShelter Foundation, a non-profit organization which funds sustainable housing and community designs, United Architects of the Philippines, and the Philippine White Helmets, a joint government, civil, and private humanitarian organization under the Department of Foreign Affairs, which assist disaster stricken communities.

The competition is divided into two categories: The Open Category, which is open to registered architects worldwide and the Student Category, which is open to architecture students.

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