A Building as a Tool for Education

By Susan de Guzman

SDA Building

With its commitment to promoting a dynamic and innovative learning community in all its member schools, De La Salle Philippines makes a compelling statement in support of the creative industries with the launching of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde's School of Design and Arts campus.

Located along Pablo Ocampo Street in Malate, Manila, the 14-storey academic complex created by Lor Calma Design, Inc. is the most advanced DLS-CSB building to date and undoubtedly one of the most progressive college grounds in Asia.

“This is probably the first building of its kind that manifests the multi-disciplinary teaching approach of the school,” says design principal Eduardo Calma. “The building takes its form from the spirit of design creativity; nothing was pre-conceived. This way, it would provide a much more stimulating learning environment compared to the usual box with corridors and flat lines.”

Envisioned as a home for a new generation of artists and designers, Calma explains that the structure is a “vertical campus” which establishes visual interest with a sophisticated façade done in aluminum cladding, full glass curtain walls and intricate, multifaceted details. The interiors are bathed in natural light, with huge glass windows providing ample ventilation throughout the hallways – features that also help the building cut down energy consumption. The spacious corridors double as exhibition spaces, while the glass-paneled classrooms are marked by distinctive folded walls.

SDA Building Facade

It is also the first building in the country equipped with 10-G technology, breaking down temporal and spatial barriers with its ability to hook up to ongoing arts-related events, anywhere in the world, in real time.

“If you have a place that already teaches you a vocabulary of space, then you already establish a kind of language for design and arts,” avers Calma. “That makes the building a tool for education.”

“The concept of the building encapsulates the unique features of the school,” agrees Br. Edmundo Fernandez FSC, Chairman of the Board of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. “We have signature programs not offered as degree courses anywhere else. Our facilities and laboratories are governed by new technology. Our students have both professional educators and expert industry practitioners as mentors, keeping our curriculum abreast with the latest trends in the creative industry. We really invested in this school. I don't think there's any other academic institution in the country that has put as much outlay or confidence in the field of design and arts. We just did.”

Following the learner-centered approach in education, the SDA building is replete with exhibition spaces, performances venues and studio facilities to enrich the student's hands-on experience. These include the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, the SDA Cinema and film archive room, sound recording and production studios, workstations for animation and video production, studios for filmmaking and photography, a Black Box performance space and two ballet studios with fireproof costume rooms, among others.

SDA student lounge

However, the most eye-catching structure is the 558-seat Theater, cantilevered about four stories above the ground and hanging intriguingly over the entrance driveway – stylishly providing both an iconic image for the design school and a dynamic façade for the entire building.

The school currently caters to 12 programs that offer degrees in Animation, Arts Management, Digital Filmmaking, Fashion Design and Merchandising, Multimedia Arts, Music Production, Photography, Production Design, Technical Theater, Industrial Design, Performing Arts major in Dance (in consortium with the Ballet Philippines dance program), and Interior Design (in consortium with the Philippine School of Interior Design). With these and other innovative courses that will be made available soon, the DLS-CSB administration is convinced that graduates from their School of Design and Arts will easily find productive work in the creative industry, one of the fastest growing sectors with a yearly contribution of some US$1.5-million to the global economy.

For more information, please contact the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Marketing Communications Office at telephone number 536-6752 loc. 121 or email mco@dls-csb.edu.ph.