History

At the turn of the new millennium, the University embarked on an academic expansion never seen before in terms of providing more academic programs to ensure the foothold it has created in the country’s academic scene, as well as its vision and mission come into play. New colleges were created to pursue the vision of varied course offerings affordable and accessible to the masses, its prime clientele, thus, the College of Architecture and Fine Arts was born on February 22, 2000, along with other colleges in our university. On hindsight, the Architecture program started first as a course offering way back in the year 1987 under the tutelage of the newly created College of Engineering and Architecture under the helm of Dean Herman Padua. His vision of turning the Institute of Technology which is offering courses in Engineering then, into a full-blown college was realized with the creation of the new Department of Architecture thereby, turning the Institute into what was known then as the College of Engineering and Architecture. At the onset, the first faculty members of the department were architect-faculty members who were already teaching engineering drawing subjects in the Institute. Emerging thus, the College of Engineering and Architecture carried itself through the years envisioning to produce competent graduates to support our country’s efforts to bring about progress through cutting-edge professionals in technology, construction and design to compete following global practices and standards. Its achievement internally and externally went well on track to the path of excellence.

The first Chairperson of the Architecture Department in 1987 was Archt. Teodosio Mallari who led the new academic unit until 1990, when he opted to migrate to Guam. Before that, in the year 1989, the new Dean of CEA was the liberal thinking Engr. Estelita del Rosario who envisaged the need to improve the roster of faculty members. She opened new teaching positions in the various departments of the college including Architecture, thereby, absorbing new faculty members who are graduates from leading schools of architecture like UST, UP and Mapua.  Archt. Mallari was closely followed by Archt. Lucille Floresta Fainsan, spearheading the department until 1991 when she left for the United States. At this point, the Architecture Thesis Program done by Archt. Ted Villamor G. Inocencio as requested by Archt. Mallari, was already in place as an answer to the forthcoming needs of the first batch of graduates it was hoping to produce by 1992. The third Chairperson of the Department was Archt. Ben Hur A.Graycochea who served from 1991-1992. He was followed by Archt. Ted Villamor G. Inocencio as Department Chair from 1992-1994, a period when CEA transferred to its new home in the newly constructed, spanking and technology-driven Engineering and Architecture Building in the university-acquired NDC Complex. This was an exciting year since the new facilities contained state-of-the-art equipments donated by JICA, considered that time as the most advanced in Metro Manila. It was also during Ch. Inocencio’s term that the 1994 curriculum was adopted for the BS Architecture program.  After Archt. Inocencio’s term, he was followed by Archt. Gloria B. Teodoro who served the post from 1994-1998. Then, Archt. Vilma M. Pabello  was appointed Department Chair from 1998 to 2001, when the Architecture program submitted itself to the first survey for AACCUP Accreditation where it gained an Accredited status (Level I). This period also saw the separation of the department from the College of Engineering and Architecture in the year 2000 to become the new College of Architecture and Fine Arts with a course in Fine Arts majoring in BS Interior Design as a new program offering. Archt. Gloria B. Teodoro became its first Dean and helped much in overcoming the birth pains of a newborn and fledgling college. At this point, it could be aptly said, that Archt. Pabello became the transition Chairperson as well as the first Chairperson of the newly created Department of Architecture and Interior Design. As Archt. Pabello ended her term, the baton of the Chairmanship of this new department was passed on to Archt. Ma. Rodora M. Argamino who headed the post from 2001-2004, it was characterized by the institutionalization of several academic policies such as the Architecture Qualifying Examination, Architecture Thesis Program Enhancement, Comprehensive Examinations for graduating students and Departmental Examinations through the support of the CAFA administration, the faculty and the students themselves. After her, came the leadership of Archt. Jocelyn A. Rivera-Lutap as the new Department Head from 2004-2006. The epitome of her leadership can best be exemplified by enhancing research and extension programs of the college and renewed student involvement in activities in and outside the portals of the university that gained more recognition for the school not only here in the Philippines but in other countries as well through participation in worthwhile competitions, conferences, congresses and fora. In the year, 2006, Archt. Ted Villamor G. Inocencio became the second Dean of the college up to the present. On his first month of the deanship when together with Archt. Lutap and the support of the faculty and students, the Architecture program convincingly submitted itself to a re-survey for AACCUP Level II Accreditation where it gained the much-needed Re-accredited Status, and setting the stage for Level III Accreditation come 2010. It is also on this term as Archt. Vilma M. Pabello re-assumed the Chairpersonship of the Architecture and Interior Design Department, when the college reaped numerous awards in national design and art tilts that on a single year, it won all the major national art competitions in the country enhancing more the respect and recognition the college is already  getting in the realms of Architecture and Fine Arts academic scene.

In the area of Accreditation, our Architecture program successfully hurdled the following levels, in 1999- the First Survey for AACCUP for Level 1; 2002 – Level II – Accredited Status and 2006- Level II – Re-accredited Status. This is the  only state university whose Architecture degree program has been accredited to this AACCUP Accreditation level. Our board examinations performances is phenomenal and has gone a long way since we produced our first graduates and from whose ranks came what was to become the first registered Architect the institution has ever produced by the name of Ronnie R. Yumang, as he belonged to the maiden Architecture Batch1992. Archt. Yumang also taught for sometime in his alma mater and the first alumnus to become so. Since then, we also produced the following topnotchers in the Architects Licensure Examinations, Archt. Andres C. Butel – 3rd Place; Archt. Leo Carlos – 4th Place; Archt. Natalie Flores – 10th Place; Archt. Rico Almeyda – 10th Place and Archt. Joseph Agustin – 10th Place. We are also figuring so well in the top three performing schools nationwide in the architecture board examinations. This can be exemplified in the survey done by PRC for the board examination performance of Architecture graduates and their schools from 1994-1998 to where PUP  stood proud to garner 3rd Place with 56% passing percentage from among schools with 100-99 examinees spread out in the observation period and coming from a field of 40 schools of architecture nationwide. In the same survey done for 2001-2003, PUP Architecture graduates registered a 46% passing percentage to take 4th Place among schools with 20-49 examinees grouped together where there are 16 schools noted in that category and from a total of 66 schools of architecture nationwide. As we have the first batch of graduates for the Interior Design course in 2004, our eyes are focused on the board performance of our product. In the Licensure Examinations for Interior Designers in 2007, our maiden batch of examinees tested the water and came out triumphantly as we produced a topnotcher by the name of IDr. Rachel Dimaliuat – 4th Placer and our school came out 2nd Place among the top performing schools in that board examinations from a field of 21 schools of Interior Design nationwide as we posted a high 67% passing percentage as against the 50% National Passing Percentage . The following year, we repeated the same as we produced another topnotches again in the person of IDr. Heidi Salvador – 5th  Placer. in the board examination, where PUP also emerged as 4th Place among the best performing schools of Interior Design nationwide from a field of 20 schools as we registered a 50% passing percentage against the National Passing Percentage of 42%.

Our college has student organizations catering to activities of our students whether curricular, co-curricular or extra curricular. These are the Architecture Students Association of PUP (ASA-PUP), the oldest, being founded in 1988; Interior Design Association of Students (IDAS); United Architects of the P Philippines Student Auxiliary (UAPSA-PUP); Philippine Institute of Interior Designers Student Auxiliary Body (PIID-SAB-PUP); and, the CAFA Student Council (CAFASC).The students came out with two publications, The Planner for Architecture and ID Tales for Interior Design, while, the college has its own journal called Angles and Edges that has its maiden publication in the year 2006. In the offing is the CAFA Research Journal entitled, The Pureza Review, where it is expected to publish researches done by the faculty members as we successfully hosted the first CAFA Research Colloquium in 2006 and in 2007, the ACARE 7, a national conference of architectural researchers and educators participated by delegates from all over the country. numerous local, regional and moreover, national design and art competitions were won by our CAFA students creating a hallmark for our college not only in PUP but in the national academic landscape as well.

During the 170th Regular Board of Regents Meeting held on September 16, 2020, the College of Architecture and Fine Arts was renamed as the College of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment (CADBE).

Truly, the College of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment is doing its share to contribute to the growth and dynamism of our beloved PUP towards a comprehensive and epistemic community in an epistemic community, as it moves cautiously by benchmarking its vision for the future from its collective accomplishments and achievements through its existence, and the story continues...