The Four Storeys of Innovation
On May 24, Benilde will officially bless the newest addition to the growing campus. The Peter D. Garrucho Innovation Institute (PDGii) is an act of faith by Mr. Peter D. Garrucho — faith not just in Benilde, but faith in the ingenuity of the youth.
The PDGii has 4 storeys, each carefully thought of and designed to deliver on the different stages of an innovation process and improve the work life of people using the space.
Lobby and Mezzanine: The Commons
The beautiful lobby is an open area for people to come together, converse, and share stories. It offers a common ground for Benildeans and our partner local communities to interact and nurture a sense of community. The lobby provides an open space for dialogue, presentations, public talks, community meetings, film screenings, and more.
The mezzanine is an open balcony that’s within the secured area of the campus, overlooking the lobby and the street of Pablo Ocampo. The mezzanine provides a perfect area for social startups to display their products/services, entertain walk-in guests and explore further opportunities to engage the public. The space also serve as an elevated viewing area of activities happening in the lobby, encouraging a more imaginative and participative use of the presentation space.
2nd Floor: The Bright Space
The Bright Space contains the main office space of HiFi and will also feature a number of rentable seats for social startups looking for safe, comfortable, collaborative, and creative work spaces to grow and increase productivity. The Bright Space is designed to encourage ideation and collaboration among people and brands who contribute to the growth and happiness of every member in the shared space.
3rd Floor: The Maker Space
The Maker Space is a place where members are encouraged to work together, build and make tangible their ideas. The space is built on the premise that we learn by doing and we understand further as we build and make. The space provides basic makerspace tools, materials, and training to support in prototype development.
The 3rd floor also contains private rentable office spaces with access to a common pantry and dining area. HIFI opens this to organisations and social startups aligned with the innovation for inclusion vision and mission.
Roofdeck: The Evergreen
The roofdeck doubles up as the breathing space, garden, and event hall which allows members to share relaxed conversations, reflect, synthesise ideas, and pitch to ecosystem partners for possible scaling and social impact support. The roofdeck not only provides beautiful al fresco space but is carefully designed to host events and presentations in a multi-dimensional manner.
All 4 storeys are designed to enhance creativity, collaboration, and productivity, while at the same time aim for carbon neutrality. The campus facade is covered in glass louvres that can be opened to welcome fresh breeze and natural light, reducing the need for power hungry electrical air-conditioning during cooler days and months. The campus also features solar panels which may provide for 100% of the lighting and computing requirements of the building. Through the space design HiFi encourages members to make planet enriching decisions in their daily lives.
The Peter D. Garrucho Jr. Innovation Institute (PDGii) is more than just a physical structure; it is an ecosystem of change agents working, connecting, and growing together in a fertile and creative space. It is home to the Hub of Innovation For Inclusion (HiFi), a social innovation space in Benilde and beyond. And since schools are the logical place to grow enlightened, empowered, and compassionate citizens who shall become the seeds of social transformation, Benilde has sharpened its efforts to achieve this through HiFi and its programs.
