Post War Period

In the Philippines
HOA 4 Lecture Series

Prepared by Jcoo
Presented by Ar. Boggs
Post War Period
• The aftermath of World War II brought major destruction especially in the
capital city of Manila and a time of rebuilding ensued.
• In 1946, the independent Philippines expressed its identity by
implementing Modernism through the utilization of reinforced concrete,
steel and glass, the predominance of cubic forms, geometric shapes and
Cartesian grids, and the absence of applied decoration.
• In 1947 a corps of architects and engineers were tasked to study the
modern US and Latin American capitals and formulate a master plan for
Manila.
• Post-war austerity meant straightforward and no non-sense architectural
forms.
• Modernism – Rejecting ornament and embracing minimalism,
became the single most important new style and philosophy of
architecture and design of the 20th century.
• Associated with an analytical approach to the function of the
buildings, a strictly rational use of new materials, structural
innovation and the elimination of ornament.
• Also known as International Modernism or International Style.
• Characterized by an emphasis on volume, asymmetrical compositions,
and minimal ornamentations
• Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier were the pioneers of the movement.
Post War Period
• The post-war doctrine was “form follows function” professed by the “3rd generation” architects,
namely:
• Federico Ilustre • Otillo Arellano
• Cesar Concio • Felipe Mendoza
• Angel Nakpil • Gabriel Formoso
• Alfredo Luz • Carlos Arguelles
• Designs are based purely on the building’s purpose. It is common to find asymmetrical
compositions and the use of geometric forms, often with flat roofs, linear elements and
projecting cantilevers.
• “Less is More” Buildings have clean and crisp lines with minimal or no ornamentation. Included
the absence of mouldings and a tendency towards white or neutral palette.
• Tropical Modernism, known for its wide open spaces, increased ventilation, a focus on local
resources and building materials with cooling factors was introduced.
3rd Gen Architects

• Federico Ilustre, consulting architect from

the 1950’s to 1970’s, worked on the
building of the Elliptical Road in Q.C.
• He started his career as a draftsman for
Juan Nakpil.
• He graduated from Mapua Institute of
Technology and passed his licensure
examinations in 1937.
3 rd Gen Architects
• Cesar Concio • Angel Nakpil
• First University Architect of the University of the Philippines. • Nakpil was a nephew of architect and national artist of the
When the University transferred to Diliman from Padre Faura in Philippines Juan Nakpil.
the late 1940’s, Cesar Concio was tasked to continue what Louis • He received his secondary education at De La Salle University and
Croft has started. then studied architecture at the University of Santo Tomas ,
where he received his 1936 bachelor 's degree earned.
Insular Life Bldg.
The former Lopez Museum and Library
Building
National Press Club (NPC)
at Intramuros, Manilaat Pasay City, Philippines
Palma Hall, ,
UP Diliman
Church of the Risen Lord,
UP Diliman
3 rd Gen Architects
• Alfredo Luz
• The gifted architect of the complex was Alfredo J. Luz, brother of
National Artist for Sculpture Arturo J. Luz.
• AJ Luz’s architecture embraced the form and line of modernism
but adapted it to the tropical climate of the Philippines. He used a
lot of passive sun shading made from aluminum in his projects.
World Health Organization
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
• Otillo Arellano
• Born in Manila on 1916,He rose into the Architectural Profession
during the 50s to 60s, becoming the one of the architects
representing the Philippines in some International Expositions
• He was also chosen by Imelda Marcos to restore the Metropolitan
Theater, his uncle’s Art Deco masterpiece.
Philippine Pavilion 1964, New York
NBI Phil.
3 rd Gen Architects
• Felipe Mendoza • Gabriel Formoso
• His work includes original and innovative examples of many • formed GF and Partners, Architects, a professional partnership
different building types, including offices, churches, schools, composed of committed architects. The firm combines aesthetic,
hotels, and transportation terminal (air and sea) technical, and economic aspects of design with human and
• But his prime architectural output remains to be the Batasang functional considerations
Pambansa, currently the house of the Philippine House of
Representatives. GT Tower Manila Peninsula

BSP
3 rd Gen Architects Manila Hilton Hotel

• Carlos Arguelles
• His designs have a distinct international style which must have
been honed during his schooldays in the University of Santo
Tomas (UST) and later at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology where he obtained his Bachelor in Architecture in Holiday Inn
1941 and Masterate in Architecture in 1946.

Philam Life Bldg.

 World Health Organization Bldg.
UN Ave. Manila

Dominant Architectural
Elements
Glass Walls
• glass that is used as a building
material.
 Meralco Bldg.

Dominant Architectural
Elements
Brise soleil (sun breakers)
• An architectural feature of a building that
reduces heat gain within that building by
deflecting sunlight.
• It became a favorite feature which
defined the Plain international style; used
for headquarters of big companies and
regional offices.
 BIR Bldg.

Dominant Architectural
Elements
Pierced Screens
• Extensively adapted in Manila 1960s
• Functioned mainly as diffuser of light and
decorative layer for the exterior.
• Materials: perforated concrete or
ceramic block, pre-cast concrete or
aluminum bars with various ornamental
punctures.
 Church of the Holy Sacrifice,
UP Diliman

Dominant Architectural
Elements
Concrete Shells
• Also commonly called thin shell concrete
structure, a structure composed of a
relatively thin shell of concrete, usually
with no interior columns or exterior
buttresses. The shells are most
commonly flat plates and domes, but
may also take the form of ellipsoids or
cylindrical sections, or some combination
thereof.
Space Age
• The 1950’s also witnessed Space Age
aesthetics and Soft modernism, which
experimented with the sculptural
plasticity of poured concrete to come up
with soft and sinuous organic forms with
the use of thin shell technology.
• Examples are:
• Space Age- Victor Tiotuycos’s UP
International Center and Jose
Zaragoza’s Union Church
• Soft Modernism: Church of the Holy
Sacrifice, and Phil Atomic Research
Center.
High Rise Fever

• In the 1950’s the height of buildings was

limited to 30 meters by law. With the
amendment of Manila ordinance No. 4131, a
high-rise fever redefined Manila’s skyline.
• Angel Nakpil’s 12-storey Picache Building,
considered as the 1st skyscraper in the
Phils.
• Cesar Concio’s Insular Life Building, the 1st
office building to surpass the old 30-meter
height restriction
• The modern era dawned on Philippine architecture using the simple
straight lines of the International Modern Style as a chief mode of
expression.

• By the 1980s the country’s architectural idiom was swept by the tide
of Post Modernism, a hearkening back of some sort to classical
architecture.

• Today, architecture in the Philippines continue to be vibrant and with

the country opening up to the world, more first rate architecture is
pouring in.
 • end
Please watch
Philippine Architecture 05 Video