COLLEGE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Luis Maria Bo-ot, PhD. is the current Vice-Chancellor for Community Affairs and the Dean and head of the Building Science Studio Laboratory of the UP College of Architecture. He finished his undergraduate in Architecture from UP Diliman. He then took his MS in Physics from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow and PhD Physics at the National Institute of Physics in UP Diliman. Professor Bo-ot has been a faculty member in the College of Architecture since 1994. He has Fellowship in the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy and in the National Institute for Fusion Science in Toki City, Japan. He has undertaken various residential design and construction projects both as an architect and a consultant. His publications and other professional work are centered on heat, fluids, as well as acoustics.

Jose Dan V. Villa Juan is an Assistant Professor, handling both undergraduate and graduate courses of the Landscape Architecture program in the UP College of Architecture. He finished his degrees in Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and Master of Tropical Landscape Architecture from the same college and is currently doing his PhD studies in the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning. His research interests revolve around vegetation analysis and the impact of the geomorphology of riverine-riparian systems on the design of adjacent landscape spaces. As a licensed Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner, he has provided consultancy services to corporate clientele as well as public service through various institutions and agencies.

Marie Edraline B. Belga is an Architect by profession. She finished both her BS Architecture, and MA in Urban and Regional Planning degrees from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). Prior to joining the academe, she was part of the Human Settlements and Development of TAO-Pilipinas, Inc., a women-led technical service non-government organization that assist marginalized communities on housing, and security of tenure issues using participatory community development processes. Having roots from the Cordillera Region of the Philippines, she initiated several studies that focused on closely documenting the landscape sustainability factors of the Batad Rice Terraces. Currently she is an Assistant Professor, a member of the Building Science Studio Laboratory, and the College Secretary of the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). Her research interests lie on sustainable tourism development planning, and traditional construction methods.

Maria Vio Bianca C. Fernandez is a research analyst at the Institutional Shareholder Services – Environment, Social, Governance (ISS-ESG) focusing on the business ecological accounting of the energy and extractives industry. She is also a part-time Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines – College of Architecture, teaching courses on environmental ethics, natural resource management, and landscape theory and design. She completed her MSc in Forests and Livelihoods in Developing Countries from the University of Copenhagen and MSc in Environmental Management and Policies for Tropical Forests from AgroParisTech. In the completion of her Master’s thesis, she worked as a researcher for the Chaire Comptabilité Écologique (Chair of Ecological Accounting) in France. She has also conducted research projects on community forestry in Nepal and tropical forestry in French Guiana. Prior to graduate studies, she previously worked in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – National Capital Region under the Planning and Management Division and Conservation and Development Division.

Nicolo Precioso C. Del Castillo has degrees in BS Architecture and Master of Architecture from UP Diliman, and a PhD in Sustainable Architecture from Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He has been a registered and practicing architect since 1991. His research publications touch on sustainable technologies and practices in architecture, climate-responsive design, as well as people-environment relationships. His extension works span from giving public lectures on sustainable architecture, accessibility & universal design, to providing policy and design inputs to local government projects and non-government organizations’ projects. He has served as Campus Architect of UP Diliman from 2000 to 2005. He has also served as College Secretary and Undergraduate Program Director. He has also served in University Council Committees – the Committee on Student Organizations, Activities and Welfare, and most recently in the Committee on Campus Policies and Issues. He led a team that was awarded second place in the 2011 Futurarc Prize, an international design competition on green architecture. He also led a team that garnered third prize for the 2008 Millenium School Design Competition, an international design competition for school buildings in developing countries located in the tropics. He is the recipient of the UP Diliman Centennial Faculty Grant for 2021. He is currently the head of the Environmental Architecture Studio Laboratory.

Ruby Teresa M. De Leon is an Architect by profession. She earned her BS Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from the University of the Philippines. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus) and serves as the Graduate Program Director for Master of Architecture (M. Arch) and Master of Arts in Architecture Studies (MAAS), the Secretary of the College Academic Personnel Committee (CAPC), and a member of the College Committee on Student Admissions, Progress, and Graduation (CCSAPG). In the past, she had also served as Student Relations Officer, Undergraduate Program Director for BS Architecture, Architectural Communication Studio Laboratory Coordinator, Gender and Development Focal Person, and Mental Health Focal Person. She is a Fellow of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) and works as a Senior Associate Architect at F.L. Hong Architects and Associates, a private firm in Quezon City specializing in architectural design, planning, and construction management. She is currently a member of the Architectural Communication Studio Laboratory, and also handles courses under Urban Design, Practice and Governance, and Building Science Studio Laboratories.

For over 15 years of teaching stint at two government-run higher education institutions, Prof. Madonna Danao has provided motivations and optimism to hundreds young aspiring students. Earning both her bachelor’s (BLA) and master’s degree (MTLA) in the UPD College of Architecture, she is now pursuing her doctorate degree at UPLB School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM). Her research focuses on ecological resource management, adaptation, and management measures using land suitability analysis. Her competence, excellence and commendable track record have earned her a four-year membership in the technical working group for landscape architecture under the Commission on Higher Education ( CHED) that has set the policies and standards for landscape architecture as a specialized baccalaureate program in higher education in the Philippines. As a faculty , her goal include inspiring her students to be life-long learners connected to their environment through embedding sustainable landscape architectural knowledge and action. She was recently given the Haligi ng Dangal Award 2022- Merit Citation on Landscape Architecture by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) acknowledging her project that exemplify and express Filipino cultural identity in design.

Cathe Desiree Nadal is an Assistant Professor (UP College of Architecture) and a Landscape Architect (PALA, IFLA-APR) with a demonstrated history of working in the academe, landscape research, and landscape architecture practice. A Landscape-based strategy planning volunteer and workshop facilitator who spearheaded some PALA projects and events including the PALA-NCCA Luntiang Pook Project as its coordinator from 2013-2015. Also doing landscape research as a PhD candidate (University of Edinburgh) evaluating the peri-urban landscape as the venue of a proposed landscape characterization system for the Philippine planning framework.

Nappy L. Navarra is from Mambusao, Capiz, Philippines. He finished both his BA Political Science, and B in Landscape Architecture from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). He completed his Master in Tropical Landscape Architecture degree in the same institution. He proceeded to take his Doctor of Engineering Major in Environmental Planning and Design from the University of Tokyo. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). Aside from handling teaching loads, he is the present Coordinator of the Integrated Graduate Program and the head of the Environmental Landscape Studio-Laboratory, sitting as member of the Executive Board of the said college. Aside from his practice in the academe, he is involved in design consultancy and projects in landscape planning and design that aim to create positive impact to the environment and to the people.

Sarah M. Moussavi is an Architect by profession. She received her BS in Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas and earned her Master in Tropical Landscape Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus) and currently, she is taking her Ph.D. at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture under Environmental Landscape Studio laboratory. She is a senior lecturer, and member of the Architectural Communications Studio Laboratory in the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines. She is a registered architect in Iran and has practiced in Tehran. She is also a member of the Tehran-Iran Construction Engineering Organization. Her research interests lie on Indigenous knowledge systems and practices as sustainable forest resource management.

Richard Martin E. Rinen graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1998 with a B.S. Architecture Degree and became a registered architect in 1999 by placing 5th highest in the Architecture Licensure Examination. In 2013, he finished his Master of Architecture, Major in Architectural Design (Healthcare Design) and Minor in Architectural Science at the University of the Philippines. He is currently a PhD in Architecture and Architectural Engineering Candidate at Kyoto University in Japan under the Disaster Prevention Research Institute. He has worked on Residential, Commercial, Institutional, Religious and Healthcare (Hospital) projects. He is currently the Managing Architect of HAN Architectural Design Studio and the Vice President of AMC International Administrative and Construction Services Corporation, a Taiwan based company, while teaching full time at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture as an Assistant Professor.

Gerard Rey Lico is a Professor and Director of the Research Office at the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines Diliman. He practices architecture as a heritage conservation professional and designer of institutional buildings. He is a prolific author of publications on Filipino architecture and cultural studies, curator of architectural exhibitions, and director of documentaries on Philippine architecture. He has been involved in the conservation of landmarks such as the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, and the core buildings of the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman. He also served as a consultant of conservation planning initiatives for other local and national heritage sites across the country. Apart from presently serving as Consulting Architect for the City of Valenzuela, he heads a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented design consultancy practice.

Johannes Vincent F. Chua is an assistant professor in the UP Diliman of College Architecture. He has nine years of teaching experience, handling Architectural Design, Building Science and Environmental Architecture courses. Also, he has been a practicing Architect for over twenty years handling residential, institutional and commercial projects. He is a member and past coordinator of the Environmental Architecture Studio Laboratory. His interests are reflected on the courses he handles: climatic approach to design, the application of critical thinking in the design process, and the potential and capability of structures, light, and sound to express form and meaning.

Nappy L. Navarra is from Mambusao, Capiz, Philippines. He finished both his BA Political Science, and B in Landscape Architecture from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). He completed his Master in Tropical Landscape Architecture degree in the same institution. He proceeded to take his Doctor of Engineering Major in Environmental Planning and Design from the University of Tokyo. He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). Aside from handling teaching loads, he is the present Coordinator of the Integrated Graduate Program and the head of the Environmental Landscape Studio-Laboratory, sitting as member of the Executive Board of the said college. Aside from his practice in the academe, he is involved in design consultancy and projects in landscape planning and design that aim to create positive impact to the environment and to the people.

Dolores Cecilia T. Madrid is a licensed architect with years of experience in tourism infrastructure and estate planning, general construction and project management. She holds the position of Assistant Professor VII at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture (UPCA) and heads its Practice and Governance Studio Laboratory. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Architecture from UPCA and her master ‘s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from UP SURP. She is currently under the doctorate program in the Designed and Built Environment in UPCA with focus on disaster resilience.

Richelle Rhea Reyes Baria took her Master of Architecture in the College of Architecture University of the Philippines (UPCA) and has been an Assistant Professor since 2004. With expertise on Architectural Lighting, Architectural Design and Urban Design, her interests focus on perception, experiential nature and meanings of spaces. How the layers of urban lighting, the nuances of environmental acoustics and the dynamics of human activity, interaction and movement, among others, create the richness of space, contributing to placemaking and sustainability functions. Integrating the scientific processes with the flair for the qualities of the urban and architectural realm is driving force and inspiration of her designs and researches. Initiating the studies and conceptuals for urban design for the tourism of Legazpi City and other cities in Albay are what keeps her pre-occupied these days. She is currently the head of the Urban Design Studio Laboratory of UPCA.

Gerard Rey Lico is a Professor and Director of the Research Office at the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines Diliman. He practices architecture as a heritage conservation professional and designer of institutional buildings. He is a prolific author of publications on Filipino architecture and cultural studies, curator of architectural exhibitions, and director of documentaries on Philippine architecture. He has been involved in the conservation of landmarks such as the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, and the core buildings of the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman. He also served as a consultant of conservation planning initiatives for other local and national heritage sites across the country. Apart from presently serving as Consulting Architect for the City of Valenzuela, he heads a multi-disciplinary, research-oriented design consultancy practice.

Leonido M. Gines, Jr. (Jun) finished his BS Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines College of Architecture (UPCA) and his MA Anthropology degree from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where he is also currently pursuing a PhD degree. As a professionally licensed architect, he specialized in museums and exhibitions design and was a corporate partner of TAO Management Inc., a cultural resources development firm. As an academic, he taught at the De La Salle – College of St Benilde (DLS-CSB) for over 15 years. His academic (PhD and teaching) research focuses on the issues surrounding urban volatile realities through methodologies that intersect urban and cultural studies, design, ethnography, and sensorial studies. He received several research grants including the University of California’s Pacific Rim (PacRim) Research Grant in 2008. He authored an essay for the catalogue of the Philippine Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2018 curated by Edson Cabalfin, PhD. In 2020, he was co-editor of a volume on contemporary design and sustainability for Art Archive 3, a publication by the Japan Foundation Manila Office. He is currently a guest editor of a forthcoming volume on cinema and space, a book about architects responding to the films of Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, to be published by the DLS-CSB’s Center for Campus Art.

David Xander Lacson completed his BSc. Architecture degree in 2008 with magna cum laude honours at the University of the Philippines. In London, Xander received his MSc. in Built Environment: Sustainable Heritage in 2017 with distinction from the Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources at UCL. In the early days of his career as an architect, Xander finished second in the country in the Architects’ Licensure Examination of 2010 in the Philippines. After a brief stint with Archion Architects, Xander joined Leandro V. Locsin Partners wherein he gained extensive experience in residential villas and hotel and resort planning and design. From there, he moved on to private practice focusing on interiors, fit-out and construction. Currently, Xander specialises in providing consultancy for sustainable strategies in managing heritage property and for environmental and heritage impact assessments. His research work is rooted in sustainability and conservation, specifically with obsolescence, life cycle analysis and the adaptive reuse of architectural heritage. He plans to expand his academic research to urban planning and urban regeneration through heritage conservation. Xander is a lecturer for the Architectural Communications Studio at the UP College of Architecture.

Maureen Anne L. Araneta is faculty of the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She has degrees in Architecture (Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude) and Urban and Regional Planning (Master of Arts), with on-going studies in Anthropology (Doctor of Philosophy), all earned from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Her publications touch on several interests, including architectural and pre-historic Philippine heritage, and campus planning and management. She has also written several reviews of books, and presented at international conferences, both on architecture and anthropology. She has served in several administrative positions in the University and in the College, including her current involvement in the Technical Working Group for Biodiversity Management convened by the Office of the Chancellor.

Karen Therese F. Lopez is an architect by profession. She finished her bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas and her master’s degree in Architecture from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus). She received an Outstanding Thesis award for her undergrad thesis and was consistently a University Scholar for her master’s degree. She worked for one of the country’s top architectural firms: Aidea Inc., where she primarily did modeling, documentation, and clash detection of architectural and engineering models using Building Information Modelling (BIM). Her BIM and architectural software skills were further enhanced when she worked for an Australian firm: Ridley & co., wherein she tackled facade modeling and the creation of complex parametric families or components in BIM. She co-founded Arkalo, an architectural firm, and has worked on residential, commercial, and hospital projects. Currently she is both a principal architect for Arkalo and an Assistant Professor who is part of the Architectural Communication and Building Science Studio Laboratory in the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus).

Markel Cesar A. Luna is an Architect specializing in Architectural Heritage Conservation. He attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture and a Master of Architecture Degree in Architectural Heritage Conservation at the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Architecture, where he currently teaches. Having been a consistent University and College Scholar, he was inducted as a member of the International Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Maintaining a private architecture practice, Markel Cesar A. Luna has been active in uplifting the Architecture profession as a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Philippines and the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), where he was elevated to Fellow. He has served in UAP National Committees for over a decade, and is currently the UAP A4 District Director (Fiscal Year 2021-2022). An Architectural Heritage Conservationist, Ar. Luna has been involved in Conservation Projects, with the Paco Park & Cemetery being the latest that has been completed. Moreover, he has produced Research Work presented and published in the Philippines and Europe. A member of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Inc. (FILSCAP), Ar. Luna is also an Award-winning Songwriter in the Philippines and abroad.

Jo Jerico Manalang is an Architect from Naga City, Camarines Sur. He finished his undergraduate degree in BS Architecture from the University of Nueva Caceres and his Master’s Degree in Architecture from UP Diliman. He placed 8th on the 2015 Architecture Board Exam. His experience from being a Junior Architect for ADCE Builders Corp and Jonathan O. Gan and Associates, Design Architect for Visionarch, and Senior Architect in Nordheim Development, Inc., gave him extensive experience in designing subdivision masterplans, office buildings, and high-rise condominium developments. In pursuit to form a business, he, together with his partner, established their private practice called Arch83 in 2019. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer for UP College of Architecture.

Cathe Desiree Nadal, PhD is an Assistant Professor (UP College of Architecture) and a Landscape Architect (PALA, IFLA-APR) with a demonstrated history of working in the academe, landscape research, and landscape architecture practice. A Landscape-based strategy planning volunteer and workshop facilitator who spearheaded some PALA projects and events including the PALA-NCCA Luntiang Pook Project as its coordinator from 2013-2015. Also doing landscape research as a PhD candidate (University of Edinburgh) evaluating the peri-urban landscape as the venue of a proposed landscape characterization system for the Philippine planning framework.

Edric Santos graduated with a BS Architecture degree (Cum Laude) from the University of the Philippines in 2002 and became a licensed Architect in 2003. In 2007, he earned his Master in Business Administration degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States and upon returning to the Philippines in 2011, started a company with his wife concentrating on design and build services. Teaching various Design, Architectural Communications, Building Science, and Practice & Governance courses in the UP College of Architecture since 2013, he is currently the Architectural Communications Studio Laboratory Coordinator of the College. Interests include Architectural Education and Human Behavior.

Sarah M. Moussavi is an Architect by profession. She received her BS in Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas and earned her Master in Tropical Landscape Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus) and currently, she is taking her Ph.D. at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture under Environmental Landscape Studio laboratory. She is a senior lecturer, and member of the Architectural Communications Studio Laboratory in the College of Architecture, University of the Philippines. She is a registered architect in Iran and has practiced in Tehran. She is also a member of the Tehran-Iran Construction Engineering Organization. Her research interests lie on Indigenous knowledge systems and practices as sustainable forest resource management.

Maria Faith Y. Varona is an Architect and Environmental Planner by profession. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and her master’s degree in Urban Management and Development (Housing Specialization) from the Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies – Erasmus University, the Netherlands, and Housing Development and Management – Lund University, Sweden. She is a founding member of TAO-Pilipinas, Inc., a women-led technical service non-government organization that works with poor communities on housing and security of tenure issues using participatory community development processes. She has been into urban poor housing and community development work for more than a decade before she joined the academe. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the College of Architecture in the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus), and is pursuing a PhD in the Designed and Built Environment from the same institution.

Maureen Anne L. Araneta is faculty of the College of Architecture of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She has degrees in Architecture (Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude) and Urban and Regional Planning (Master of Arts), with on-going studies in Anthropology (Doctor of Philosophy), all earned from the University of the Philippines Diliman. Her publications touch on several interests, including architectural and pre-historic Philippine heritage, and campus planning and management. She has also written several reviews of books, and presented at international conferences, both on architecture and anthropology. She has served in several administrative positions in the University and in the College, including her current involvement in the Technical Working Group for Biodiversity Management convened by the Office of the Chancellor.

Richard Martin E. Rinen graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1998 with a B.S. Architecture Degree and became a registered architect in 1999 by placing 5th highest in the Architecture Licensure Examination. In 2013, he finished his Master of Architecture, Major in Architectural Design (Healthcare Design) and Minor in Architectural Science at the University of the Philippines. He is currently a PhD in Architecture and Architectural Engineering Candidate at Kyoto University in Japan under the Disaster Prevention Research Institute. He has worked on Residential, Commercial, Institutional, Religious and Healthcare (Hospital) projects. He is currently the Managing Architect of HAN Architectural Design Studio and the Vice President of AMC International Administrative and Construction Services Corporation, a Taiwan based company, while teaching full time at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture as an Assistant Professor.