Design Guidelines for the Flower Shops for the Redevelopment of Dangwa Flower Market,

Manila

Submitted by: Carlo P. Gulapa

Research Methods in Architecture
AR401
January 19, 2016

I.

Background and Rationale

With the Philippines tropical climate, a huge variety of flowers and ornamental
plants are to be found. These flowers are used by Filipinos as a means of expressing
feeling in different occasions. Highlands of Benguet and Tagaytay are some primary
sources of a diverse range of floras that contrasts from color, sizes and fragrance are
circulated all over the country.
The Dangwa Flower Market in Manila is one stop of the central market when it
comes to floras in Metro Manila. But before reaching the streets of Dangwa, the floras
needs to run across the extreme north of Luzon down to the National Capital Region for
hours before reaching their destinations. The Flower Market has been the central market
of such plants for a long period of time now in the metro, residential streets were
converted to commercial ones forming a long strip of shops and stalls. It is about
designing and formulating a street system with a one united flower shop design that
would engrave Dangwa as a symbol of floras in Metro Manila.

II.

Statement of the Problem

The research is to come up with a set of design guidelines for flower shops for the
redevelopment of Dangwa as the central market and an architectural symbol of floras in
Metro Manila

III.

Theoretical Framework
The framework of the design will be based on one of Marc-Antoine Laugier's seminal
essays core theme Return to Nature. The proposed redevelopment will focus more on

the organic features of construction, this is to in fuse the architecture to the product, the
ornamental plants. Minimal amount of hard elements such as concrete and metals will be
utilized and will dwell more to the softer fields of architecture like the use of bamboos.
IV.

Conceptual Framework
The structure of the proposed redevelopment of Dangwa Market will be a symbol
of ornamental plants trading in the Philippines, it is projected to also hold events related
to the field not only as a commercial establishment and showcase Filipino products. One
value in specific is the organic simplicity of the type of architecture reducing the hard
elements yet giving that sense of comfort and safe work place.

V.

Review of Related Literature

A good reference of the research would be the A Living Architecture by Frank
Lloyd Wright and Taliesin Architects. It discusses what organic architecture is and its
main purpose is to acquire the idea of this type of architecture and not the style of any
architect on organic architecture.