1/25/2014

East by Southeast Vol.1-1 - Lindy Locsin - A Contrary View

25 J a n 114

LOOKING AND SEEING

I ssue No. 1

FO RGI NG LI NK S EDU C A TI NG EDI TH P RA SA RT'S P A TRI M O NY

LINDY LOCSIN -- a contrary VIEW

B y F. S io n il Jo se

The passing of Lindy Locsin has removed from our cultural firmament a good man, a very decent man the likes of whom we may have difficulty in finding today. I beg to disagree, however, with the encomiums paid to him as an architect and as an artist; as such, I think he is o v e rra te d . First, the Cultural Center complex. Maybe that was what Imelda Marcos wanted but an architect with artistic integrity can always say no. T he Cultura l Ce nte r is a fa c is t b uild ing a s is the Fo lk A rts T he a tre a nd the Co nv e ntio n Ce nte r. The Cultural Center is not democratic. populist, in keeping with the avowed nature of this country --"warm, open hearted." Built in the tradition of the 18th and 19th century opera houses in Europe, it has boxes for the elite and royalty. T he ra mp tha t le a d s to it is a g ro s s e xa mp le o f its e litis m; wha t a b o ut tho s e p e d e s tria ns who ha v e no c a rs ? It is also not fuel efficient in keeping with the climate. As for the technical shortcomings, let the theatre people themselves elaborate on them. The airport terminal, also a Locsin design, is copied from the airports of the sixties. Had the architect consulted with a Filipino cultural anthropologist, he would have designed a terminal with a huge reception area to accomodate the thousand Filipinos sending off and welcoming their kababayans. As it is, it defines clearly the difference in social status. People who do not have cars are forced behind grilled enclousres where they must wait with great difficulty for incoming relatives. I do not know how Lindy was involved in the design of Makati. It is obvious that this elite district is badly designed too. First, the buildings have no air spaces between them. There is no housing, no restaurants for the lower classes who service Makati's denizens. Worst of all, the business center is dead at night, much like the business districts of Wall Street and Manhattan. The modern city is a live the whole day, like the cities of Japan. Makati was patterned after the urban movement in the US after World War II. By the time the Americans recognized their mistakes, it wa s to o la te fo r the Filip ino s who ha v e a p e d the m to c ha ng e -- the structure have already risen here, permanent and in concrete. The architects who have "made it" who can afford to do so, should engage in the design and propagation of low cost housing to dignify their reputations and their ego trips. T he re is no g re a t a rc hite c t to d a y who ha s wo rk e d with c re a tiv e ima g ina tio n to b ring fo rth wha t s ho uld b e " mo d e rn Filip ino a rc hite c ture . One reason for this is the elitist nature of many of our cultural workers -- it is a cliche but it is still very true, mo s t a re a lie na te d fro m the ir o wn c ulture , from their own people. Planning at the top is when this truism is fully understood and reversed that, perhaps, we may witness the possibility of a Filipino cultural renaissance.
The author received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in Literature in 1980. He teaches Philippine Culture at the La Salle University Graduate School. Article reprinted from the The Philippine Star.

YA NGO N SU RP RI SE O P EN HO U SE I N B A LI LA ND O F A M I LLI O N RI C E FI ELDS REFU GE O F RI C E GO DS I FU GA O RI C E GO DS RI C E A ND RI TU A LS K NO W YO U R RI C E

A SI A N EXP ERT

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C D RO M LA U NC H W I LW A YC O 'S EXHI B I T

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