The Rockwell community was designed by urban planner Felino A. Palafox Jr., who has published a book entitled 'Architecture, Planning & Design: Palafox Associates The First Twenty Years.'

In our culture where a book publication is not exactly de rigueur when a company celebrates a milestone, it’s heartening to see that a few of them manage to come up with handsome, coffee table-worthy collections that show their history and how it resonates with that of the country. It’s admirable that they even soldier on, considering that book publication doesn’t promise a return of investment and a reading public is terribly lacking.

While definitely welcome, the few coffee table books on architecture, however, need more vitality in their pages. Most of them simply offer startling photographs of houses and interiors without offering real information, such as an insightful commentary on the creative process, actual sketches serving as germs of inspiration for already-built structures and a statement of vision for future projects they want to see jutting out in the urban landscape.

This is why the publication of “Architecture, Planning & Design: Palafox Associates The First Twenty Years” is something to herald because it finally answers the call for a substantial volume on Philippine architecture. Though other countless men and women are contributing to the enrichment of the field, Archt. Palafox is one of the few who have brought our brand of architecture to international attention. His eponymous company has consistently ranked in the list of the best architectural firms by the World Architecture Magazine. Seven million square meters of building area, 11 billion square meters of masterplanned land and 800 projects in 33 countries are behind Palafox Associates’ revered status.

One of the firm’s reasons for success is its visionary excellence. The project that can readily exemplify this is Rockwell—a live/work/play community that is now copied across the country. What was once the site of a mothballed power plant beside a stink of a river is now one of the most dynamic communities in the region, characterized by sprawling greenery, glittering residential and commercial columns and sites for entertainment and relaxation. “We aim to become trailblazers in the country,” says Archt. Palafox. “We are never afraid to deviate from what is considered as standard or tradition in the industry if it means adhering to our highest standards of architectural excellence.”

What has animated the success of the firm is the architect’s sterling character. With yearly billion-peso architectural projects at stake, it is not easy to be untainted: compromise, bribery and corruption are common, if not exactly routine. Archt. Palafox is not one to bend over to the powers that be. He let go of a $1 million project because he was not comfortable in cutting down century-old trees and displacing an indigenous community. He was the only urban planner who called the Ondoy tragedy a “virtual massacre,” claiming that the massive destruction of lives and properties could have been avoided if plans had been implemented from as early as the 1960s.

If any, the book is a veritable blueprint to anyone who wants to follow the footsteps of Archt. Palafox. Karima Palafox, an urban planner, the book’s project head and the architect’s daughter, says that the “The First Twenty Years” narrates “our successes and the things we could have improved on.” Other people have warned them that they might reveal their trade secrets in the process but withholding important anecdotes, data and architectural sketches would run counter to what they intend the book to accomplish, which is to “inspire real estate practitioners, leaders, architects, planners, designers and engineers by example that the Filipinos can really make a difference.”

Such generosity is indicative of Archt. Palafox desire to create a metropolis that is healthy, vibrant and world-class, a feat which can’t be done by just one man, or one firm. One of the projects of his life is the rejuvenation of the Pasig River. Rather than drawing current data in addressing its manifold problems, the architect envisioned what it would look like 20 years from now and created blueprints which he calls “postcards from the future.” Only after imagining Pasig River—its waters swimmable, jetties by the banks and futuristic bridges arching over it—would he collect the data. Such is what you call ingenuity and “making things happen.”