Speakers ’ Profile
53
SEMINAR 10
Accounting,
Finance, and
Taxation for
Architects
Cecile
Marie C.
Recio
An architect who decides to start
his own practice has the options to
organize a single proprietorship, a
partnership with other architects
and professionals, or a corporation
comprised of different people and jobs.
Each organization will have its own set
of requirements for set-up, for financial
reporting, and for tax responsibilities.
We will look at these different
requirements to help us evaluate and
decide “which is the right ‘fit”’ for our
own requirements.” We will also be
introduced to basic financial tools that
will contribute to the sustainability
of our business endeavors, namely
Budgeting, Cash Flow Projections, and
Cash Flow Monitoring.
Wife to local starchitect Jose
Pedro Recio, Cecile was gainfully
self-employed handling her own
enterprises for over 12 years when
she took the reins as Comptroller of
Recio + Casas Architects from 1996
to 2007. Then in 2008, after 20 years
as a partner in his former firm, Arch.
Recio established RCHITECTS, INC.
which has quickly established itself as
a firm that continues its expertise in
design and project management. Also
in the same year, Cecile studied at the
Asian Institute of Management taking
up Masters in Entrepreneurship and
graduated with Distinction of Superior
Performance. So, from 2009 up to the
present, she has been the firm’s General
Manager and has been a formidable
force in turning RCHITECTS, INC into a
modern-day success story.
SEMINAR 11
Meaning of Community
Design: A Personal
Experience Through
Architecture
George Kunihiro,
FAIA
Architecture is a wonderful profession. We serve our clients
in their happiest moments, providing services to realize their
dreams and goals of building shelter of many scales and
uses. We create, for our clients, spaces and tools to enhance
their activities. What if we can take our professional skills in
serving communities in ways which will transform their status
quo environment? Since my days as an architecture student
in the US, I have volunteered my services in both professional
and community organizations. I would like to tell you my
story of some of the ways to serve our community through my
experience in the professional organizations, community design
group, as a commissioner of an international architectural event,
an academic and most of all, as an architect.
George Kunihiro, FAIA, is a noted architect/educator. He is a
Professor of Architecture at the Kokushikan University in Tokyo,
Japan. Professor Kunihiro received his Master of Architecture
from Harvard University Graduate School of Design and his
Bachelor of Arts from the University of California/Berkley. In
1980, Professor Kunihiro began his private practice in San
Francisco. Subsequently, he opened his office in Los Angeles
and New York and design numerous projects in the United
States and in Japan. In 1997, he moved his base to Asia. Since
his arrival back in Tokyo, he has maintained an international
architectural practice, and as an academic, continues his
research on the modern heritage in the contemporary Asian
society. Professor Kunihiro has received numerous international
recognition including the Presidential Medals from the
American Institute of Architects (AIA) and from Federacion de
Colegios de Arquitectos de Mexico in recognition of significant
contribution to the field of architecture. He was also selected
to the 11th Annual Space Design Review in 1992, and received
the Japan Commercial Environmental Design Award in 1993.
In 2008, “2@5”, a residence in Tokyo, was selected in the JIA
Architect of the Year Annual. Professor Kunihiro has been active
in promoting the profession and research in Asia. From 2011
to 2012, he served as the President of the Architects Regional
Council Asia (ARCASIA), an organization of 18 national institutes
of architects in Asia. He is currently the Vice Chairman of mAAN
(modern Asian Architecture Network), an organization working
to conserve and revitalize the 20th Century Asian heritage.
With mAAN, Professor Kunihiro has organized international
workshops on cultural and industrial heritage in China, Indonesia,
and Turkey. In 2009, he was elevated to the College of Fellows
of the AIA and in 2011, he was appointed as Visiting Professor
at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he was
a Senior Visiting Scholar in 2013. He has also been a member of
various international juries and has lectured widely on the subject
of modern architecture, heritage revitalization and urban design.
Professor Kunihiro currently serves on the National Board of the
AIA as the International Director.