Ar. Ferdinand de la Paz, also known to his students as Sir Nandi or Sir DP, had been teaching for almost 24 years. He started teaching at the University of Santo Tomas, where he graduated with a degree in BS Architecture. He went on to De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB) in 2014, and Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 2018.
For his years as an educator, Ar. de la Paz had also been continuously pursuing various master's programs, working various jobs outside of designing and teaching, and actively participating in cultural immersion and volunteer programs which resulted in a unique set of life experiences that only he, alone, could have.
Polymath
Under the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Program, Ar. de la Paz got the opportunity to experience Japan as the student's faculty supervisor. It is where he practiced his Nihongo lessons that he once took a course on in UST. A few years later, he got in on another cultural immersion program in Italy. For four weeks, they studied Italian in the morning, and the rest of the day was for applying the lessons by exploring the country. Moreover, during his early years in teaching in DLS-CSB, he also got the opportunity to learn Filipino Sign Language. DLS-CSB is the pioneer school in the Philippines for deaf studies, and being a faculty of the said school can learn how to sign for free. He would not miss out on the chance to learn how to sign, especially since he has a passion for people with disabilities.
"Ang dream namin is sana meron na kaming deaf student sa arki," he fondly shares the hope of he and his friend," To be able to welcome the deaf community in studying architecture kasi nga para mas maging inclusive and at the same time, marami kasi silang potential and its really opening up the opportunity for them."
Aside from his love for learning languages, Ar. de la Paz just loves to learn in general. He studied both Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning and Masters in Archaeology in UP Diliman, which he, unfortunately, did not complete due to thesis. Essentially, because of the things that Ar. de la Paz learned in his classes, he can deliver deeper discussions on his teaching subjects, like History of Architecture (HOA), to his students.
"Kung si Urban Planning, palagi siyang forward planning, anong mangyayari?, Archaeology naman [is] anong nangyari? It will really teach you the science of explaining history." he explains, "Mas naapreciate ko si HoA kasi nga, mas lumalalim 'yung explanation ko na hindi lang basta what you see above, but makuha nila yung story of below. 'Yung mga lost civilizations. It makes it more interesting."
The stories behind lost civilizations and ruins are what makes Archaeology interesting to him wherein he frequently asks the questions: "Bakit siya naging ruins? Ano' yung original state niya? Siya ba yung original o meron siyang hidden stories or buried stories?"
And now, he is currently studying Masters in International Business at DLS-CSB, a program that is at first-sight far from architecture, unlike the previous two master's programs.
Business in terms of Architecture
He got his first exposure to the other side of the architecture business at Palafox Associates, where he worked in various jobs from Project Architect, Technical Assistant, to Executive Assistant to the CEO. He mentions that architects usually enter as a designer and seldom it is that they got to do administrative work in an architectural firm. And for that, Ar. de la Paz is extremely grateful that he got t
he opportunity to work on the administrative side.
"Before lumabas itong consciousness natin sa business of architecture, nauna na sa akin yung learning through experience," says Ar. de la Paz on the importance of his experience at Palafox Associates, "Kakausapin ko sila, makikita mo yung mga ginagawa nila, re-reviewhin mo yung mga proposals nila and basically, you would really interact with them. Malaking tulong' yun dun sa naging experience ko so hindi lang basta yung nagde-design ka lang, kundi you get to really meet a lot people and through that, see how architecture is done by different nationalities."
This experience is one of the factors that led him to enroll in Master in International Business at DLSU-CSB. Another factor is the CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) last 2017 that requires higher education institutions offering BS Architecture to include two subjects of Business Management & Application for Architecture in their curriculum. Currently, Ar. de la Paz is preparing himself to teach students in this new subject as an architect with a business background.
"Kapag magtanong ka ngayon sa architects na nagp-practice, at tinanong mo tungkol sa business or the business side of running the practice, that's where you will discover na maraming mahina doon or hindi sila conscious na, importante 'yung aspeto na yun when running the practice," he explains the importance of teaching business in terms of architecture, "I think it is important especially to those who are still studying it na you have to remember na when you practice, you are going to run a business enterprise. Otherwise makaka-design ka nga ng magagandang projects pero kung nalulugi ka naman, parang walang saysay.”
His interests in business and the narrative of the future and past, prepared him for the opportunity to be part of the "A Contemporary of Inspirational, Influential, & Interdisciplinary Design(er)s" or ACIIID in short, in 2020. ACIID is a design platform that creates content focused on trends in a design setting.
“Wala namang masyadong nag aaral ng trends. And it's important to us, also in the design field, to appreciate and see the value in looking at trends. In fact, its just a terminology, eh tayo nagaaral naman tayo ng history pero ito ibang usapan kasi dito papasok si business," Ar. de la Paz highlights how relevant businesses are to the design industry, "Si business ang pinaka-common thread sa lahat kasi industry ang pinag uusapan so we are not merely talking about on what is to come na trend, hindi pwedeng mawala 'yung aspeto ng cost, business or industry. Yun yung pinakamahalaga
dun kasi nakikita yung value ng understanding the business side of everything especially since naka focus kami sa creative industry. We want to focus on business trends not just for business sake. It's about the balance of understanding business trends within the context of design."
Interdisciplinary learning and teaching
And while he is working in ACIIID and completing his master's degree, he left PUP, in the meantime, to focus on another opportunity: Coaching + Capacity Building Coordinator in the Center for Educational Technology at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Moreover, for the next fiscal year starting 2022, Ar. Ferdinand de la Paz is the incoming District Director for Area B3 of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP).
Ultimately, Ar. de la Paz seldom says no to an opportunity outside of his comfort zone, shown evidently from his time at Palafox Associates, to now in ACIIID and his future plans in UAP. There is always something new to learn, and as Steve Jobs once said, "You can only connect the dots looking backward. But you have to collect them going forward."
When Ar. de la Paz started, he surely did not know that years later, CHED would release a memo regarding the addition of business in the curriculum of BS Architecture or that he would be part of a design platform called ACIIID. But he went on where his interests and desires direct him, even if it's outside of what he usually does. And this is how, now, he can integrate various disciplines whenever he teaches and creates content. Most importantly, Ar. de la Paz contributes to society in many ways.
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