UP Task Force Arki
UP TASK FORCE ARKI (UP TFA) is the UP College of Architecture's only service-oriented student organization. Established in 1986 at the height of martial law and student-led activism, its founders were compelled to action by the worsening urban housing crisis and sought to attract like-minded design students to nurture patriotism and social awareness.
About the organization
UP TASK FORCE ARKI (UP TFA) is the UP College of Architecture's only service-oriented student organization. Established in 1986 at the height of martial law and student-led activism, its founders were compelled to action by the worsening urban housing crisis and sought to attract like-minded design students to nurture patriotism and social awareness.
Today, the organization aims to explore and implement architectural and design solutions that respond to the community and various societal issues in order to uplift and empower Filipinos in all levels of the society. It achieves its goal through various activities such as talks and symposiums, research projects, joint building projects, community outreach projects, among others. UP TFA is a university-wide organization with members from Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Design, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Journalism courses among many others.
History
UP Task Force Arki was an offshoot of the Community Design Service Extension Program of the UP College of Architecture. It began in 1986 at the height of martial law and student activism with a volunteer group of 8 students who were inspired by their professor, Architect Manahan “to uplift the worsening urban housing situation of the time”.
Its members have worked conscientiously with other organizations that are also involved in providing assistance to our less fortunate countrymen who aspire for better living standards. Being students of architecture, they share acquired knowledge so that everyone will have not only an affordable home but also a quality shelter.
However, aside from giving other people a chance to live better lives, they, as an org also build each other. The camaraderie and the good repertoire that they have, help members through everyday in the college, which at times could be so trying and difficult. Having been founded in a year of political revolution, UP TFA proves to be a revolution itself. It is a modification on how people should view the members' present status, and future profession, which is being an architect.
Goals and Principles
SEC 1. The Guiding Principle of the UP TFA shall be "Building an environment that builds people."
SEC 2. The UP TFA is primarily a service-oriented Organization that responds to the basic needs of the Filipino people using architectural and design solutions, and promotes the upward development of Philippine society.
SEC 3. The UP TFA dedicates itself to the upliftment of human dignity, the pursuit of truth and freedom through critical thinking, the achievement of social justice, and the promotion and practice of the democratic system.
Declaration of Principles
Sec. 1 The UP TFA shall develop the level of awareness of the studentry and the sectors of society regarding the urban poor, housing situations and other related current issues through:
Disseminating information through exhibits, symposiums, lectures and the like; Holding workshop seminars wherein the issues are tackled; and Providing exposure trips to the areas of concerns.
Sec. 2 The UP TFA shall equip the members with the necessary knowledge and skills to become more capable as architects and planners by:
Providing supplementary education through group discussions, tutorials and lectures by invited guests; Holding workshops for personality development and leadership training; and Practicing the knowledge and the skills gained in the organization’s programs and projects.
Sec. 3 The Organization shall give assistance to under-serviced, depressed and blighted areas that need the services of architectural students and practitioners, and other sectors by:
Undertaking researches on the analysis of housing programs for the urban poor and giving active support to that which is consonant to the organization’s principles; Tapping government agencies, community organizations and other resources to give assistance to the problems of the urban poor; Giving seminars or lectures to the urban poor on community planning and organizing, housing maintenance and other practical skills in housing or other related subjects; and Actively participating in the architectural services to be rendered to the community.
Sec. 4 The UP TFA shall uplift the level of architecture as a discipline by:
Promoting and practicing responsive and responsible architecture in the organization’s programs and projects; and Developing a holistic view of architecture through interactions with the other disciplines concerned.
Sec. 5 The Organization shall promote and defend the rights of the studentry.
Awards and Achievements
"Natatanging Samahan ng mga Iskolar ng Bayan"
- UP Task Force Arki: Para sa kanilang pagbuo ng mga arkitekturang Filipino na tumutulong sa paghubog sa kamalayang panlipunan at pangangalaga sa kalikasan.
"Outstanding Youth Organization"
- President's diploma for Outstanding Youth Organization
"Makatao Award"
- Steering Committee for the Urban Poor Solidarity
"Most Promising Research into Organized Building Production Techniques"
- Certificate of Merit as the Most Promising Research into Organized Building Production Techniques. Liguma International Technology for Development of People Genoa, Italy.
"4th place in the RIBA: British Award in the International Project for Students in Architecture"
- 1987 Royal Institute of British Architects: British Award in the International Project for Students in Architecture
Executive Board
UP TFA Executive Board 2015-2016
Standard Bearers
Chairperson: Celine Marian Mesina
Vice Chairperson: Kazia Pacia
Executive Secretary: Augusto Miguel Vega
Committee Heads
Education & Research Committee Head: Faith Gloria
Finance & MarketingCommittee Head: Dianne Daway
Membership Committee Head: Arvin Dimalanta
Projects Committee Head: Micah Milante
Publicity & Creatives Committee Head: Mikes Jetigan
Vice / Assistant Heads
Education & Research Committee Vice Head: Jan De Leon
Finance & Marketing Committee Vice Head: Noelle Cacayan
Membership Committee Vice Head: Mac Villanueva
Projects Committee Vice Head: Jo Lyle Guerrero
Publicity & Creatives Committee Vice Head: Erma Cobico and Ciara Gascon
Members
UP Task Force Arki has five (5) standing committees which include the Projects Committee, Publicity and Creatives Committee, Finance and Marketing Committee, Membership Committee, and the Education and Research Committee.
Projects and Events
Eskwela Caravan
Eskwela Caravan is a program spearheaded by UP TFA program that aims to engage students in learning activities about Zero Waste Management and Sustainable Designs in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Interior Design. This school-to-school project, a first in many years, is the organization’s answer to addressing the current social issue of Global Warming by information dissemination, and igniting action among the youth in various elementary schools in the Metro. This is dome through talks, workshops and creative activities that teach the students the value of Zero Waste Management.
This year, as part of the goal to increase the awareness of the public on the importance of architecture and the allied fields, UP TFA will now hold career talks and workshops with high school students that shall introduce them to the fields of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design. This would involve a workshop on creating presentation materials to express their design concepts.
Halina't Maglikha
An art workshop for kids of the Masagana community, that is currently assisted by Technical Assistance Organization – Pilipinas (TAO-Pilipinas), an NGO with most of its members being alumni of UP TFA. This was held last October 2013 and February 2014 together with the kids of the Masagana Community in Angat, Bulacan.
The workshops involve teaching basics in drawing and coloring, do-it-yourself activities that include recycling and reusing, visualizing, interpreting and expressing through career orientation workshops, along with harnessing the kids’ respective aspirations in preparation for their future. This reinforcement anchors their anticipation of a brighter future onto a more concrete plan, which will hopefully give them a sense of direction as they grow up.
As budding architects, our utmost objective is to contribute in paving the way for the realization of these sprouting dreams. Monitoring and surveys will be conducted on, before or after the workshop to formulate conclusions on the specific needs of the entire community. This project is open to all volunteers.
Community Architects Network Workshop
The Community Architect Network [CAN] is a program under the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights [ACHR] based in Bangkok, Thailand. The ACHR is a regional coalition with members in 17 Asian countries was established in 1988 by non-government and community-based organizations, professionals and individuals actively involved in housing concerns of the urban poor.
The mission of CAN is to create a platform to link architects, engineers, planners, universities and community artisans all over the world, who work with communities and believe that poor communities should play a central role in planning their communities, and in finding solutions to build better settlements and more inclusive cities. CAN initiates various activities for the different groups to support each other’s work and to share and exchange experience knowledge amongst network members.
For the past CAN Workshops, UP TFA has served as participants and as a secretariat committee.
Habitat for Humanity Build
This activity is a collaborative housing project of the Habitat for Humanity Philippines with the other organizations volunteering to help build of houses where members of the poor and informal settling community in a specific area can relocate and live. Members and applicants of UP TFA eagerly volunteer to engage themselves with the manual labor on the construction of these houses. These builds help Habitat for Humanity to lessen costs in construction but beyond that, these hands-on experiences highlight the value of our collective actions as part of our social responsibilities.
Volunteer Design Work UP TFA did volunteer work by helping with the completion of the architectural and engineering drawings for the renovation of seven housing units in Tondo, Manila that qualified for the Appropriate Housing Program of the Samahan para sa Angkop na Pabahay ng San Pablo Apostol (SAPSPA).
Talks and Symposiums
As part of UP TFA's initiative to promote the importance of having a safe and livable shelter for all and the value of architecture and its allied fields, TFA invites resource speakers from agencies that work towards the same goals to impart ideas and share their experiences.
UP TFA also hosts talks that aim to open the members and students to the various societal issues that surround them.
KDCC Project
The KDCC Project is a Volunteer Design and Construction Project spearheaded by the UP Task Force Arki for the benefit of the Kalinga Day Care Center (KDCC) located in UP Diliman. The KDCC, a project of the UP Center for Women's Studies, is in need of help in the redesign and restoration of its areas that were damaged by typhoon Lando last 2015. The goal is to help out in the design and construction of the landscaping of KDCC.
Punla: Planting Seedlings of Hope Punla is a tree planting project by the UP Task Force Arki aimed at contributing to the Philippine environment.
UP TFA WEEK
UP Task Force Arki was founded on July 2, 1986. The organization celebrates its anniversary week during the week of the World Habitat Day which is on the first week of October. UP TFA Week consists of talks, exhibits, internal and external activities, and alumni dinners among other events.
Contact
Address: UPCA Building 1, Epifanio Delos Santos Street, University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
E-mail: uptaskforcearki.tfa@gmail.com
Website: www.uptfa.com
Facebook: www.fb.com/uptaskforcearki
Twitter: www.twitter.com/up_tfa
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/UPTFA