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An international institute for rice research 31My report at the annual meeting of the IRRI Board of Trustees on 5 February1962 included the following description of the quality of the specifications forthe buildings:“The new materials used have been chosen for durability and lowmaintenance costs. The exterior surfaces of the research center buildings,for instance, require no painting. Floors are covered with vitrified,unglazed tiles noted for their wearing quality. All wood is termiteproofed(Wolmanized). The aluminum frames and mullions are anodizedto prevent surface oxidation. The extra cost of such features asthese should prove an economy in the long run.The staff houses were designed for efficient and convenient livingand, above all, for permanence. Though the houses will require painting,the quality of the construction is as high as that of the Institute’s sciencebuildings.”Although at the time that statement was made the buildings were new, ingeneral the materials selected proved to have the lasting qualities desired.After some time, however, there was evidence that further reductions inmaintenance costs might have been made. For example, rustproof pipes (thatis, if indeed they were known at the time) for the water system, particularly inthe humid tropics, would have saved money and labor, for within 5 years someof the underground pipes in the housing area had to be replaced. Similarly, therepainting of house exteriors was a major continuing expense that could havebeen avoided. Profiting from that experience, I suggested, when I helpeddesign the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan in1972, that all exterior walls be constructed of reinforced concrete and brick(which was then covered with glazed tile), requiring no maintenance whatsoever.On the other hand, the design of the IRRI structures proved lastinglysuitable and advantageous. In the research center, the administration andlaboratory buildings provided useful flexibility in the arrangement, and laterrearrangement of the rooms (whose uses and sizes changed considerably evenduring the early years). Being independent of the roof, which rested on a seriesof reinforced concrete columns, the interior walls were non-supporting andcould be changed in position as needed. The service building offered similarflexibility within its structural steel framework. (As a matter of record of theoriginal use, as at early 1962, of the interior space of the buildings mostmodified in that respect, the floor plans of the administration, laboratory, andservice buildings are shown in Appendix 9.)Construction of the physical plantThe staff housing and the research center construction projects were handlednot only by different architects but by different contractors and subcontractors.Therefore, they are discussed separately here.The staff housing area. Obviously, the first operation after making thetopographic survey and map was to develop the site and build the roads.
32 History of the International Rice Research InstituteArchitect Arguelles and the DCCD Engineering Corporation prepared a landgrading plan that would place each house on a terrace with the screened porchfacing Laguna de Bay, thus providing a good view of the lake for all but twoor three houses at the lower end of the sloping street. (Today, because of theluxuriant growth of the trees in the intervening years the lake cannot be seenfrom most of the original houses.)Concurrently with the preparing of the site, a water supply for the housingarea had to be found. It was thought originally that a well could be driven atthe present pump station and sewage disposal plant. Engaged to drill a testhole 5 cm in diameter, the Shamrock Well Drilling Company (somehowlacking the luck of the Irish) went down 255 m in solid andesite rock withoutencountering an aquifer. Therefore, it was necessary to get permission, readilygiven by Dean Umali of the College of Agriculture, to drill a well at the lowerend of the College campus and to pipe the water up the hill. The well wasdrilled in November 1960 and yielded about 1,100 liters/minute. A boosterpump, which raised the water to a 113,500 liter tank behind the director’shouse, was installed near the entrance to the housing area.The lots for the two-story (really split-level) houses were graded to providea large, lower ground level for general living quarters and a top floor for thebedrooms with a smaller ground level between for main entrance and carport.The exteriors of both the one-story and the split-level houses are shown in theaccompanying photographs.At the time that the residential site was selected, the so-called national roadto the 1959 Boy Scout Jamboree area traversed the grounds. Part of the sitedevelopment contract called for moving the road to the west side of the tract.In addition, to avoid serious erosion the creek alongside the road was straightened.(Sections of the national road have been moved twice since its firstrelocation, to accommodate additional IRRI housing.)The contract for the site preparation and road grading work was awardedto R.F. Sugay & Co., Inc., which began work on 3 August 1960 — and finishedby January 1961, when house construction started. Between August 1960 andMay 1961, contracts or subcontracts for the remaining preconstruction workwere let. They included the underground electrical system to the DeltaEngineering Corporation; the storm drainage and sewer system to J.C. Bongco;and the pump house and sewage treatment plant to R.F. Sugay & Co., Inc.,which also laid the pipeline from the IRRI well at the lower end of the adjacentcampus to the housing area. In addition, numerous agreements were signedwith local suppliers for such specialized services and materials as plumbing;aluminum roofing, windows, and sliding doors; exterior and interior painting;interior electrical work; wooden sash and cabinets; and terrazzo floors.The principal landscaping at both housing area and research center washandled by Gertrude Stewart. To assure variation in the furnishings andgeneral decor of the houses, four Manila interior decorators were hired, havingbeen carefully selected from among many firms. Mel Gana did the guesthouse;the residences were divided more or less equally among Berenguer-Topacio,Phyllis Harvey, and Cancio Associates, Inc. The decorators submitted to IRRI
Page 2 and 3: An Adventurein Applied Science:A HI
Page 4: ContentsDedication viiAbout this pu
Page 10 and 11: About this publication . . .In 20 y
Page 12 and 13: xiname, and release varieties. Thus
Page 14 and 15: PrefaceThe International Rice Resea
Page 16 and 17: CHAPTER 1An international institute
Page 18 and 19: An international institute for rice
Page 64 and 65: CHAPTER 2Developing and staffingthe
Page 66 and 67: Developing and staffing the program
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Developing and staffing the program
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Developing and staffing the program
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86 History of the International Ric
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Princess (now Queen)Beatrix of theN
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Establishing administrative policie
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In the early years, IRRIused its ow
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Chapter 4Early Researchand training
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Early research and training results
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CHAPTER 5Financing of IRRIThe purpo
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Financing of IRRI 149foreign assist
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156 History of the International Ri
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Creation of other international cen
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Creation of other international cen
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Aerial view of IRRI in1981.However,
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IRRI today 181neering Department: K
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IRRI today 183In spite of this high
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IRRI today 185turn, received geneti
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IRRI today 1871. Research to assist
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Appendices 189materials could readi
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Appendix 2OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTINTER
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Appendices 193ate to concentrate on
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Appendices 195estimates for buildin
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Appendices 197(4) Development of pr
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Appendices 199was approved for the
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Appendices 201association, or perso
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Appendices 203b. To pass upon the b
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Appendices 205Article VIIMISCELLANE
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