Nikko Sale Regalado , an architecture student from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, School of Design and Arts, has proposed a rehabilitation project for Divisoria through a new tower dubbed The Cube.
The Cube was designed in consideration of the numerous traders who may have lost their livelihood due to the continuous clearing projects and the pandemic.
The Cube was recognized with the Best Colour Choice Award in Architecture at the Nippon Paint Asia Young Designer Award, the Philippine edition of the prestigious Asia Young Designer Awards which aims to motivate interior design and architecture students to be more innovative, creative, and socially involved in design implementation.
“Design needs to be inclusive and should not exclude,” Regalado stressed. “The Cube encourages our urban setting to become a more people-oriented community where we provide merchants with a dignified space through proper planning.”
Regalado designed the tower as a public platform wherein individuals from different backgrounds can interact. The edifice features gaps in between the hubs to facilitate accessibility, proper lighting and terracing, as well as distorted volumes for proper ventilation.
The building is structured to foster natural rainwater collection and distribution to reuse the water, as well as lessen the flooding in the area. It is equipped with solar panels and strips at the south and west sides to counter and absorb high thermal inertia.
To reduce carbon monoxide emission in the dense market, Regalado suggested the utilization of algae technology. He explored its human ratio production and put forward the possibility of placing a tube in the most populated public spaces to absorb the carbon monoxide.
The proposal was complete with site development plans that featured fly ash as an alternative to asphalt and concrete to likewise contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission.
Regalado also recommended the proper color coding of each area so that the consumers can easily navigate through the hubs as well as easily locate their needs, from fabrics and garments, shoes and bags, toys and gadgets, fruits and veggies, ready-to-wear long gowns and wet market goods.
