For Joineen M. Estevez, architecture was never just about walls, roofs, or floor plans. It’s about rebuilding what disasters often take away—but blueprints can help restore: dignity, purpose, and a way forward.
Her thesis, “A Family Recovery and Livelihood Development in Bacolod City,” began not in a classroom, but in the heartbreaking aftermath of typhoons, fires, and floods—events that left families displaced, not only physically but emotionally and economically.
“I’ve seen what it’s like when families are relocated but left with no jobs, no structure, no support,” Joineen shares. “I knew that shelter alone wasn’t enough. What they need is a second chance at life.”
And so, she designed exactly that.
The project is not a temporary shelter—it’s a community in recovery. With vocational training centers, community gardens, and livelihood hubs woven into the design, Joineen offers a place where learning trades, growing food, and rebuilding skills are just as important as having a roof over one’s head.
But the emotional landscape matters too. Parks, play spaces, and green zones are intentionally placed—not as afterthoughts, but as essential parts of healing. “People need room to breathe again, not just survive,” she says.
Designing for both therapy and sustainability wasn’t easy. She had to find that sweet spot where cultural familiarity, affordability, and real-world practicality meet. So, she turned to Filipino architectural values—bayanihan-inspired shared spaces, open-air planning, and structures grounded in empathy and community engagement.
More than anything, this thesis asks a powerful question: What if architecture could become a bridge—not just to shelter, but to strength?
Joineen’s answer is clear: it can. And it should.
“This project is my small way of saying that architecture must care,” she says. “We don’t just build. We listen. We uplift. We help people stand again.”
In a world of blueprints focused on profit and prestige, Joineen M. Estevez dares to draft something else: hope.
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