 Behind the walls of notable high rise structures and residential communities is a homegrown Filipino company, reaping the rewards of success engineered in less than 20 years.
Palafox Associates, a choice architect, urban planner, environmental planner, and designer fornumerous project developments all through-out Asia, Middle East, Africa, and North America is raising the Filipino flag for excellence in its field.
From humble beginnings, Palafox Associates has worked up the ladder to gain global reputation. Headed by Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr., founder, managing director and principal architect, Palafox Associates is now considered one of the world’s best as consistently listed in BD Magazine’s World Architecture Top 200 in the World.
The recognitions awarded by distinguished organizations are very telling of Palafox Associates’ master class. Most recently, noteworthy are honors such as Architectural Design Excellence Award by Hunter Douglas Philippines, International Patron’s Award by Shell Flintkote Philippines and BCI Asia’s Top 10 Architects in the Philippines – those to add a long list of “wins” in international design competitions including Grand Prizes for Norfolk Court in Vietnam,and Al Khobar Complex Center in Saudi Arabia, and in 30 other countries.
Partner in excellence
Carrying a full-range of services from urban and environmental planning, landscaping to overall architecture and engineering, Palafox Associates finds great aid and support from technology that allows fast and efficient delivery of clients’ highly sophisticated requirements.
Of greatest help is Autodesk’s line of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) solutions particularly, the world renowned AutoCAD, which Palafox says he has been using since the 2.2 version.
“More than twenty years back when I was employed as architect-urban planner of a well-known multinational, I introduced AutoCAD to my colleagues, then at its 2.2 version,” he shares.
“Eventually I decided to put up my own company, and of the first things I did was to get for my business a licensed copy of AutoCAD 2.2. To be honest, I needed to sell my car in order to afford a license.” He furthers, “But looking back and seeing my company now, I can very much
tell it was money well spent and invested.”
Palafox added that he found in Autodesk the most critical elements his company needed right from the very start. “I’m happy that they keep on upgrading. It is for this very reason why we try to get hold of Autodesk’s newest releases of AutoCAD and Autodesk Civil 3D. So far, Autodesk
has not failed in equipping us with the most relevant tools that best allows a harmonious synch between our various units.” adds Palafox.
Secret to success
Palafox Associates believes that strict adherence to its corporate core values brings thecompany its remarkable success. It cites that above all, the mix of honesty, innovativeness, agility and versatility is most critical in its line of business.
In specific, Palafox Associaties puts a high regard on respect for intellectual property, saying “We are an idea-company. More than anything, we sell ideas. Therefore, we perfectly understand the value of respect for intellectual property.”
Technology is likewise an important tool for the company according to Palafox. “We make sure that all the software we use are fully license-compliant. We even allocate a considerable sum for software upgrade.”
True enough, Palafox Associates was found fully-compliant in Autodesk’s recent software audit, administered by IP Manila.
Determined to prosper his personal advocacy on intellectual property, Palafox is a proactive committee member of intellectual property for the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines. He says, “I want to elevate this advocacy to the next level and reach out to as many
Filipinos as I can”.
Planning and designing the future
Committed to providing the highest work quality for its worldwide clientele, Palafox Associates is the first Filipino company to earn certifications by TUV of Germany for integrated Quality and Environmental Management Systems (QEMS). The certifications are based on ISO 9001 (Quality Management) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) standards. Palafox’ current project, Postcards from the Future, is an ingenious idea whereby, famous places in the country are depicted the way Palafox Associates envisions them to be in the future.
One of their more famous renditions is the Pasig River, which through the years has deteriorated and became polluted as was made dumpsite by some factories and even residents in its vicinity.
“Technology is amazing now! It has never become this advanced. As Autodesk puts it, Experience it before it is real, which is very true especially in our Postcards from the Future project.”
Despite all the success, Palafox said that there’s still much for them to accomplish. “We want to provide more value to our country.”
Palafox Associates also understands that for software companies to continually improve on their products, time and money shall rightfully be invested for research and development. Palafox continues, “Autodesk helps us make highly satisfied clients. So it is just appropriate that we give them back what is due. That way, we perpetuate the cycle of helping each other grow and become more dynamic.”
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