Iloilo City hosts World Day of Architecture

By: Eric L. Demingoy

THE national celebration of the World Architecture Day 2019 will be held at the Iloilo Convention Center in Iloilo City today, Oct 7.

Also known as World Day of Architecture, this global event is held annually on the first Monday of October.

It started in 1985 as a celebration of architecture and professional holiday of architects around the world and was inaugurated by the International Union of Architects.

It was originally celebrated on the first Monday of July, until it was moved to the first Monday of October in 1996 to coincide with the celebration of the United Nations’ celebration of the World Habitat Day.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) is an international NGO and a global federation of national associations of architects in 124 countries and territories. It is composed of 1.3 million architects.  The international organization was established in 1948 with the purpose of uniting architects around the world.

WAD 2019 is themed “Architecture… housing for all”.  It focuses on how architects can contribute to the program of affordable housing for all, the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and the realization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), specifically Goal 11 which is “to make human settlements safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable”

The United Architects of the Philippines, together with its 166 strong and active Chapters, will spearhead the national celebration in Iloilo City.

The event will highlight the importance of architecture in building safe and secure communities through symposia, exhibits, housing design competitions and other activities.

This event also aims to facilitate the matching of the housing needs of local government units (LGUs) with housing providers.

Expected to grace the occasion is UAP National President Benjamen K. Panganiban Jr. and other national officers.

This is first time in the history of UAP that the national WAD celebration will be held outside Metro Manila and Luzon area.

This year’s celebration is hosted by UAP Area C-4 composed of local chapters in Panay Island under District Director Ramon Duena of UAP-Aklan Chapter.