Architect and Urban Planner Felino “Jun” Palafox, Jr. is set to represent the Philippines in two major events in China and Russia this September 2014.
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), a Chicago-based professional organization, has invited Palafox to the CTBUH 2014 International Conference in the Grand Hyatt Jin Mao in Shanghai, China from 16 to 19 September 2014. He will be presenting a case study entitled, San Juan City, Sustainable Smart City on the Rise. Palafox will also be a moderator for a session on Urban Community.
Before being named as a CTBUH Fellow in 2013, Palafox has been serving as the organization’s Philippines Country Representative since 2009. He has actively participated as a speaker in three CTBUH international conferences in India, South Korea, and China.
The CTBUH is the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings. It is a non-profit association of 40 years standing with a dual mission to disseminate multi-disciplinary best practice information on tall buildings, and facilitate business exchange amongst its international network. It is also the body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s [or Country’s or City’s] Tallest Building”.
The CTBUH Country Representative for Russia, Elena A. Shuvalova, has also invited Palafox to attend the 100+ Forum Russia in the Hyatt Regency in Yekaterinburg, Russia from 24 to 26 September 2014. Palafox will be a featured speaker in three sessions covering topics on Architecture, Urban Planning, and Real Estate Development. He is also set to meet students, architects, and developers in Russia.
The 100+ Forum Russia is an international forum and a professionally oriented exhibition, a contact point of design, construction, financing and operation activities with regard to tall buildings of any purpose. It aims to bring together local and foreign specialists to create and adopt a “roadmap” of measures necessary to set and improve the quality/safety standards of high-rise construction in the Russian Federation.
Palafox is the Principal Architect-Urban Planner of Palafox Associates and President of Palafox Architecture Group.
He led and managed Palafox Associates in carrying out more than 1000 projects in 38 countries, including the master planning of over 16 billion square meters of land area and the architecture of more than 12 million square meters of building floor area. In 2012, his firm was ranked no. 89 in the list of top architectural practices in the world and no. 8 in leisure projects, according to the BD World Architecture magazine of London.
He holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Santo Tomas, a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines, and a diploma in Advanced Management Development Program in real estate from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. As President of the Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners (PIEP) for 2013 and 2014, he takes a stand in protecting and enhancing the environment. He is also an international associate/member of international organizations such as the US Green Building Council (USGBC), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Urban Land Institute (ULI) and American Planning Association (APA).