Bringing pride and national recognition to the University of Northern Philippines, the groundbreaking thesis of College of Architecture and Built Environment (CarBE) student Jovi Anne Haduca was hailed as the UAPSA Thesis of the Year during the national awarding ceremony held on May 17, 2025 in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

The recognition places Haduca among the country’s finest emerging architectural researchers and designers marking a remarkable achievement in undergraduate architectural innovation and excellence.

Her winning thesis, titled “An Integrated Barangay Resource Center at Barangay Puro, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur: A Design Response to Spatial Stagnation,” proposes a new model for civic architecture that responds to both climate vulnerability and evolving community needs.

The thesis reimagines the conventional barangay hall as an integrated and adaptive civic complex that consolidates administrative, cultural, economic, and public functions within a single community-centered facility. Conceived as both an everyday public space and an emergency refuge during flooding and extreme heat events, the proposal earned additional national citations for Highest Innovation and Originality and Highest Social Relevance.

Central to the project is the principle that “if the water rises, the people should rise with it, and if the heat becomes excessive, the people should remain under shade.” Through a time-based spatial framework and a rib-and-spine massing system, the design explores how architecture can accommodate shifting environmental conditions while sustaining functionality, passive protection, and public accessibility.

Following her national victory, Haduca is set to represent the Philippines at the ARCASIA Thesis of the Year competition in Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi, India. She succeeds fellow UNP architecture student Bnn Anjelo Tadeja, who also represented the country in the same international platform last year. The thesis was developed under the mentorship of Ar. Charles Angelo Andrada of the UNP-CarBE.