AN Italian architect who grew up in a country infamous for its frequent earthquakes and old Roman structures has opined that, following the deadly tremor in the Visayas, local architects and builders should now fully incorporate earthquake-proof principles when building structures in the country.
“Italy and the Philippines have many similarities when it comes to natural calamities, particularly volcanic activity and earthquakes, which is why the two countries can learn from each other in terms of construction,” said Romolo V. Nati, executive chairman and CEO of the Italian-Filipino firm Italpinas Euroasian Design and Eco-Development Corp. (ITPI).
“For Italians, building quake-proof structures is not just an option. Every time we design in Italy, we have to consider that we are building something in an earthquake-prone country,” said Nati, who took up architecture and graduated summa cum laude from La Sapienza University in Rome.
Nati now calls the Philippines his home, having set up ITPI, which is an affiliate of the renewable-energy firm Constellation Energy Corp., with business partner and ITPI President Atty. Jojo Leviste in 2009. They also started building a 10-story condominium in Cagayan de Oro City—Primavera Residences, which is the first and only sustainable building in Mindanao.
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Featured on Business Mirror, 6 November 2013
