The Philippine architecture reflects the country’s complex cultural identity.

The
country was first colonized by Spain, then Japan and finally America which made Filipinos
joke about spending four hundred years in a convent, five in a prison camp, and forty-five in
Hollywood. This complexity finds its creative expression in the work of these eight post-war
and contemporary Filipino architects, whose vision simultaneously captured the country’s
history while looking towards the region’s future.

The aftermath of World War II brought major destruction in the Philippines especially
in the capital city of Manila and a time of rebuilding ensued by the help of the country’s most
renowned Filipino architects such as Andres Luna De San Pedro, Franscisco Manosa, Ildefonso
Santos Jr., Juan Arellano, Juan Nakpil, Leandro Locsin, Pablo Antonio and Tomas Mapua.
Their talents, skills and passion help Philippines stood again after the devastating occurrences
which led to the detachment of the country’s architectural concept from the bondage of
traditional forms. These architects helped on rebuilding and reshaping the country while
regaining the traditional Filipino architectural style and designs using indigenous materials
with modern materials.

Contemporary architecture is a common style that was used among these architects.
Despite of having their own style in designing, they integrated modern architecture, a popular
architectural style during their time, and vernacular architecture to preserve and persist the
cultural characteristics of the country and national identity. These changes also greatly affect
Filipinos by enhancing their contemporary life.

Talking about having different architectural styles, these master builders have a defined
personality in designing their own masterpiece. Ildefonso Santos Jr. who was known for being
the "Father of Philippine Landscape Architecture" created some of the best-loved urban spaces
such as the landscaping of Manila Hotel, Paco Park, Rizal Park and Nayong Pilipino.

Francisco 'Bobby' Mañosa devoted his life’s work to creating a Filipino identity in
architecture. Inspired by traditional vernacular forms such as the bahay kubo and the bahay na
bato, Mañosa combined traditional forms and indigenous materials with modern building
technology to create structures he felt were best suited to the Philippines’ tropical climate. He
used materials such as coconut lumber, rattan, shell thatch and even indigenous textiles with
hypermodern materials such as metal, glass and concrete. One of his notable works is the
Coconut Palace. The palace is shaped like an octagon, while the roof is fashioned like a
traditional Filipino hat. It showcases the numerous uses and versatility of the coconut which
best represents Filipino identity and culture. His work also has the best example of biophilic
design- an innovative way of designing that seek connections with nature and other forms of
life. This best described the San Miguel Corporation Building. He integrated the Banaue Rice
Terraces into the design concept of the building taking to consideration a sense of being
Filipino in presence of having modern materials. The concept complements the greenery that
surrounds the building that looks like the Hanging Gardens of Bablyon with lush greenery and
flower bushes adorning the eight-story building.
 Juan Arellano and Tomas Mapua, two of the Pensionados, use Neoclassical, Art Deco
and Modernism as their architectural style. Pablo Antonio, the pioneer of modern Philippine
Architecture, after studying at the University of London came back to revolutionize popular
architecture in the Philippines, eschewing the fashionable neo-classical style for his own
version of art deco. Buildings such as the Galaxy Theatre, the Far Eastern University, and the
Manila Polo Club display practical innovations such as natural ventilation systems and
sunscreens, all of which are rendered in Antonio’s signature style: clean lines, strong shapes,
and simplicity. For him, “Every line must have a meaning, a purpose. Function comes first
before elegance and form.”

Andres Luna De San Pedro is a Filipino architect who first built the first air-conditioned
building in the Philippines. He designed modern buildings like the Crystal Arcade. It was
designed in the art deco style, a style prevalent in the 1920s to the 1940s. It was to be one of
Luna's masterpieces, with the building finish resembled that of a gleaming crystal. He infused
the sleek and streamline art deco design with crystal-like glass in his design for the building.

Leandro Locsin was in some ways a quintessential Renaissance man. He uses

vernacular form of modernist architecture. Despite the wide range of buildings Locsin created,
all of them have one thing in common: concrete. His ability to make this most monolithic of
materials appear weightless, and to elegantly combine Western brutalism with vernacular
elements, led Locsin’s peers to dub him the “poet of space.”

Juan Nakpil was committed to the belief that architecture built in the Philippines should
reflect its culture and people. He uses traditional Filipino architectural style with natural and
modern materials. He took inspiration from traditional stilt houses, remaking them in
cantilevered concrete on a mammoth scale. His own holiday home was designed along these
lines, combining traditional nipa roofing with a poured concrete base.

The Art Deco movement made a great impact on the Philippine urban environment.
This wave of architecture was a result of the homecoming of the second generation of Filipino
architects from their studies overseas. With their return came the influence of the new decadent
style of the Jazz Age, leaving the neoclassical movement and paving the way for Art Deco in
the Philippines. This architectural movement was curtailed by the outbreak of World War II. It
can be understood both as the imposition of power by the coloniser and the demonstration of
resistance of the colonized. The result was an intermingling of cultures, a hybrid Art Deco style
that came to represent what the people of the Philippines brought to the table, rather than a
simple imposition of its colonisers.

Art Deco influenced almost everything during the 1920s from hairstyles, clothing, film,
illustrations, furniture, and of course, architecture. The key elements of Art Deco were
abstraction, simplification, and stylization embodied in simple, streamlined, geometric,
rectilinear lines and forms, and the utilization of mass produced materials such as aluminum,
bakelite, formica, chrome, steel, concrete, and stained glass. The recurring motifs in Art Deco
ornaments included spirals, sunflowers, frozen fountains, steps, zigzags, triangles, hexagons,
fragmented circles, and nautilus shells. Metropolitan Theater, Far Eastern University and
Capitol Theater are examples of Art deco and all have common features and materials used.

During the rise of the cinema in the Philippines as a form of recreation, several theaters
were built in the 1930s and 1950s in the art deco style. The most famous art deco theatre in the
Philippines is the Manila Metropolitan Theater that was designed by architects Juan and Otillio
Arellano. The theater is endowed with bronze sculptures depicting female Philippine
performers. The theater also has a stained-glass mural mounted above the main audience
entrance, and relief woodcarvings of Philippine plants found in the interior lobby. Art deco
designs played an important role in our art; it reminds us of the past and makes us look forward
to our future. Truly it is eclectic, yet it time warps the past and the future into our present.

Architecture in the Philippines today is the result of a natural growth enriched with the
absorption of varied influences. It developed from the pre-colonial influences of our
neighboring Malay brothers, continuing to the Spanish colonial period, the American
Commonwealth period, and the modern contemporary times. As a result, the Philippines has
become an architectural melting pot– uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the occidental. During
three hundred years of Spanish colonialization, the Philippine architecture was dominated by
the Spanish influences. During this period, massive Spanish colonial churches, convents and
fortifications with their heavy “earthquake baroque” style arose. Examples are Intramuros and
Fort Santiago.

After the Spanish American war, the architecture of the Philippines was dominated by
the American style. In this period the plan for the modern city of Manila was designed, with
many art deco buildings, by famous American and Filipino architects. During the liberation of
Manila by the Americans in 1945 large portions of Intramuros and Manila were destroyed. In
the period after the second world war many of the destroyed buildings were rebuilt. At the end
of the 20th century, modern architecture with straight lines and functional aspects was
introduced. During this period many of the older structures fell into decay. Early in the 21st
Century, a revival of the respect for the traditional Filipino elements in the architecture
returned.

Relatedly, Iloilo City is also famous for its old churches and buildings mostly with a
striking feature- the Baroque-Renaissance architectural style. Miagao Church was built from
1787-1797. Its facade is a composite of medieval, baroque and local plasteresque elements.
Over 200 years old, it is one of the few remaining old churches in the country. It has survived
the revolution against Spain, the Japanese occupation, a fire, an earthquake and the harshness
of time. After World War II, the Jaro Cathedral built in 1864, one of the major examples of a
colonial church, has undergone design transformations. Although the edifice was spared major
damage during the hostilities, post-war renovations and additions have changed its character
significantly. The façade is Filipinized baroque architecture in configuration. During the
American period, the opening of the Iloilo School of Arts and Trades, now Western Visayas
College of Science and Technology (WVCST) in La Paz, Iloilo City, marked the historical
beginning of the technical skills training among the Ilonggos. The Iloilo Trade School was
established by the American Civil Government under the then Bureau of Education in 1905.
Today, Iloilo is embracing a contemporary architectural style. Iloilo Convention Center is one
of the prominent buildings in Iloilo with neo-modernist style. It was designed to meet the past
and the present. It is a sail-like design structure, representing the Iloilo Paraw Regatta while
the glasses will be etched with drawings of Dinagyang warriors, hence making the convention
center one of the symbols of Iloilo.

In our lesson about urban design product type, I have observed many districts/ precincts
and infrastructures in the third film about Philippine Architecture. One of them is the
Intramuros in Manila. It is also called the Walled City during Spanish Colonial Period. It was
a defensive wall to protect the city from foreign invasions. Drastic changes happened in
Intramuros during World War II. In 1945, during the fierce Battle of Manila between American,
Filipino and Japanese forces, Intramuros was almost completely destroyed. Instead of
rebuilding on the same site, many of the religious orders and educational institutions that once
resided in the walled district packed up and moved elsewhere. Although steps were taken to
protect the city's historic character, vague laws and poor enforcement led to many unsightly
modern buildings being built upon the ruins of the old. In 1979, the Intramuros Administration
was established, and stronger measures introduced to preserve what was left.
 AR431

DESIGN 7
COMMUNITY ARCHITECTURE AND
URBAN DESIGN

SUBMITTED BY:
AUTAJAY, FAYE MARIELLE G.
ARCH 4A

SUBMITTED TO:
ARCH. MARC V. R. ZARA
DESIGN 7
AUGUST 2, 2018