Modern Filipino Architecture

Today, architects like Leandro V. Locsin and Bobby Manosa are the leading figures in architecture. They stress the understanding of ones culture and history and its roots in design. I am happy for their success and thankful for the doors they have opened for us Filipinos in architecture.

Leandro V. Locsin, born in the Philippines, has built 5 churches, over 30 office buildings, over 70 residences, and a major landmark of the Philippines in the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In his early career, he worked for the biggest firm in the Philippines, the Ayala and Co. In 1959, Locsin came to the United States to tour U.S. architecture. The visit was marked by meetings with Eero Saarinen and Paul Rudolf.

Upon his return, Locsin had found the inspiration for Filipino Architecture in the modern age. He saw the current architecture being erected in post-war Philippines to be a copy of other forms from different contexts with little thought behind them. Locsin felt that the lessons of the past and the building traditions were best suited to the context of the Philippines. The use of native materials, the roof emphasized as the dominant form, wide overhanging eaves, massive supports, interior lattices and trellises, ornamental detail contasted with simple forms, and spacious interiors.

Locsin, who died in November 1994, saw his work as a link between the past and the future of Filipino architecture. The Filipino architect Francisco "Bobby" Manosa agrees. With projects in Saudi Arabia, Europe, and the United States, Bobby Manosa stresses awareness of one's history and the traditions of the past. Also an awareness of the psyche of one's people, and the different levels of one's society to guide the architect.

Bobby Manosa and Leandro V. Locsin have contributed so much to the understanding and spirit of modern Filipino architecture.