Rising from the ashes

For my last post about the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program, I am featuring a product that is very different from everything else that I've posted this past week. Envirobloxx are concrete masonry units (better known as cinder blocks in the U.S. and hollow blocks here in the Philippines) made of cement, lahar (volcanic ash flow—we still have lots from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption) and rice hull ash. The result is a cheaper, lighter block that does not compromise on strength. I also like Envirobloxx's interlocking design, which should make wall construction easier. This is a product which I hope construction companies, architects, civil engineers and hardware stores will pick up fast. My husband and I have no need for hollow blocks right now, but you can be sure that I'm keeping their brochure and business card for the day when we do need them.



Envirobuilders Construction Supplies Inc. developed and markets Envirobloxx. They can be emailed at envirobuildersinc@gmail.com.

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The AY 2010–2011 SOMBA Program has more groups than the seven that I was able to feature. The complete list of companies established this academic year can be found at jgsomba.tk. And to all the students in the program: you have such fantastic ideas and products, and I love that you all care about the environment and the less privileged of our countrymen so much. I wish your companies much success and I hope that all your products fly off the shelves!

Looming

I remember Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City when a three-story building was hardly to be seen in its entire length. Now it has several twenty-plus-story residential condominium buildings and the highest ever yet, 35 stories the last time I looked, is under construction. I really hope that the students of the three universities along Katipunan don't end up facing a solid wall of these in the future.




Just a short note to all Filipinos who get to read this post: Please remember that it is your district councilor, aside from the city mayor, who gives approvals for any changes in land classification and use. It is not just the candidates running for national government positions that you should care about—please study your local candidates carefully too. Vote wisely this May.

Empty isn't always bad

Bonifacio Global City in the City of Taguig is one of the fastest-growing mixed-use land developments in Metro Manila. It still has large tracts of empty land but almost everywhere you look, you'll see high-rise buildings going up. BGC is named such because the land used to be the location of Fort Bonifacio, the home of the Philippine Army. That in turn was named after Andres Bonifacio, one of the leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spanish colonial rule in the late 19th century.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page and tour the skies of our beautiful world.

Across another street

A view of the front of the Quezon City Hall compound from inside the Quezon Memorial Circle. I call this 8-lane road the wild, wild west (imagine trying to cross it!) and is the reason why I love Mayor Sonny Belmonte for creating the pedestrian underpass which links city hall with the memorial park. Of course, there's no way to hide that huge eyesore of an unfinished building behind city hall. Architect Reena of Reena's Thoughts said that she heard that the developer has a pending case in court over this building because Quezon City has a law which states that no structure at a given area around the Quezon Memorial should be taller than it. I've looked at the memorial, city hall and the eyesore from afar and I think she's right. City hall's tallest building is shorter than the memorial but the unfinished building is definitely taller than the memorial. Now I want to know who in city hall gave the developer a permit to build in the first place.

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I recently found out that My Manila made it as a finalist in the Best Photo Blog nationwide category of the Philippine Blog Awards! Whether I win or not, I'm just happy to have made it that far, especially considering the fact that many of the finalists are professional photographers or serious hobbyists. For me and my itsy-bitsy camera to be counted among them is a great honor.

I hope you can visit all the finalists but if you only have time for one, then I highly recommend the blog of Dennis Villegas, my favorite among the ten (yes, including mine—if I were a judge, he'd be the winner). I don't know who he is or what he does but his photo essays are an amazing, though very gritty, look at Manila.

Siesta time

Because of the Philippines' hot and humid weather, taking a siesta after lunch is common practice especially if your work requires laboring under the sun. What made me smile about these construction workers is the fact that they were building a new library in the Ateneo de Manila University. When I was still a student, a friend and I would always take noon naps in the library. We never got caught.