a dose from the Corteses

I dreamt of dungeons and dragons before, I remember how girls during my childhood fantasize about princes in their magnificent castles. In all its majesty and elegance, a castle symbolizes an edifice for the rich and powerful, for kings and the royal families. So in a third world country like the Philippines, it is uncommon to see castles built.

But farfetched the idea maybe, I have stumbled online about a proposal to have a castle erected in the Philippines.

We require someone who is able to design a real castle, complete with towers, secret/hidden passages, medieval features, non-symmetrical layout.

CONCEPT

This building will be a top destination for events and high-profile individuals in Palawan, and will be known throughout the Philippines for its appearance and unique-ness. It is a fantastic opportunity for an architect or designer to add to his portfolio and make his name known.

Most architects think in terms of boxes. Box-shaped rooms, box-shaped houses, box-shaped buildings. That is absolutely what we don't want. We need someone who can "think outside the box" -- not necessarily an architect, because initially we require the *concept*. Without a good concept, there is nothing.

Although modern materials can be used, they will not be visible. The building will appear *as if* it was constructed 500 years ago, using 500-year-old technology such as arches, very thick walls, smaller arched windows.

The modern trend in architecture is towards the space age: glass, stainless steel, plastics, bright colors and so on. We need the complete opposite, namely architecture of the middle ages: Stone, wood, metal, tile, whitewash (non-oil-based white paint) inside. No visible plastic, no modern paints, no large glass windows.

Like how a kid eagerly plays building castles in the sand, I got interested in submitting my own design.