1st generation Architects government projects including the Philippine General

Hospital Nurses Home, Psychopathic Building

Tomas Bautista Mapua (National Mental Hospital) and
Toms Bautista Mapa
Born the School for the Deaf and Blind.
December 21, 1888
Binondo, He also designed the Manila
Manila, Philippines Central Post Office Building
in Ermita, Manila. Tomas became
December 22,
Died 1965 (aged 77) known for his great contributions
Manila, Philippines in the field of architecture.
Filipino
Nationality Around 1920, Mapua joined the
Cornell University competition for the design of the
Alma mater new school building initiated by
Architect the La Sallian Brothers. He won
Occupation the competition against nine other
Rita Moya entries and was awarded with a
Spouse(s) prize of P5,000.00. (The
Carmen, Oscar Sr., and building, St La Salle Hall, was the
Children Gloria only structure from the Philippines
Was an architect, educator and to be included in the coffee table
Juan Mapua and Justina
businessman from the Philippines. He Parent(s) Bautista book, "1001 Buildings You Must
was the founder and first president of
the Mapa Institute of Technology (MIT)
See Before You Die: The World's
together with Civil Engr. Gonzalo T. Architectural Masterpieces,"
Mapua Mansion, Librada
Vales as co-founder and founding dean Buildings Avelino Hall (Centro authored by Mark Irving and
of school and co-founder and founding Escolar University)[1] published by Quintessence Books
president of Central Colleges of the in 2007.)
Philippines, after he established the Manila Central Post
Design Office, St. La Salle Hall
school on February 25, 1925. He was
He was also one of the first
the first registered architect in the Philippines and first
worked at the Philippine Bureau of Public Works. He later councilors of the City of Manila. He co-founded and
established his own construction company, the MYT became one of the presidents of the Philippine
Construction Works, Inc. Institute of Architects. After retiring from public life, he
eventually went back to the private sector. Aside from
Mapua was born to Juan Mapua and Justina Bautista- MIT, he led his own construction firm called MYT
Mapua on December 21, 1888 in Manila. His Construction Works, Inc. His designs for private
education started at the Ateneo de Manila homes had also been adjudged as among Manilas
University and at the Liceo de Manila. In 1903, he beautiful houses before World War II.
was sent to the United States to complete his high
school education and college education as one of Works:
the pensionado students of the United States. The
1903 Pensionado Law awarded university St. La Salle Hall, St. La Salle University
scholarships to the US for Filipino
exemplary Filipino students. In exchange, they agreed
to work on local government construction projects. He
completed his secondary education at the Boones
Preparatory School in Berkeley, California and
obtained a degree in architecture at Cornell
University in Ithaca, New York.

Upon his return to the Philippines, he joined

the Bureau of Public Works where he initially worked
as a draftsman in the agency from 1912 to 1917. He
was later appointed as the supervising architect for
the Bureau from 1917 to 1928. He spearheaded many
St. La Salle Hall is an H-shaped four-storey structure
built in neoclassical style in the Philippines. It was
built from 1920 to 1924 to serve as the new campus
of De La Salle College (De La Salle University) due to
lack of space of the previous campus in Paco, Manila,
and to accommodate its increasing student
population. It served as the grade school and high
school building back when the college was still
offering those levels.

Originally built as a three-storey structure, a fourth

level was added in the 1990s for the residence of
the De La Salle Brothers. The ground floor houses Arcadio de Guzman Arellano
the College of Business. Meanwhile, the second floor
of the St La Salle Hall houses the Chapel of the Most
Blessed Sacrament, as well as the office of the De La (13 November
Salle Alumni Association in the south wing. 1872 20 April
1920) was a
The structure was severely damaged during notable architect
the liberation of Manila in World War II. Numerous who was
considered a
civilians took refuge in the building for protection. pioneer during
Restoration of the building after the war took two his time. He built
years and cost 246,883 (US$5,720). Retrofitting has famous edifices
undergone in the building since January 2011, and is and the
planned to be completed by 2012. residential
buildings of the
elite. In all his
The LaSallian, the official student newspaper of the works, he
university, identifies it as "DLSU's most historic departed from
building. It is the only Philippine structure featured in American and
the book 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You European
Die: The Worlds Architectural Masterpieces published designs and
by Quintessence Editions Ltd. in 2007. instead incorporated Filipino native plants and motifs.

Arellano was born on 13 November 1872

in Tondo, Manila. He was the third child in a brood of
fifteen children. His father, Luis Arellano, was a native
Librado
of Bulacan, Bulacan and was a builder himself. The
Avelino older Arellano built the Franciscan Church
Hall, at Pinaglabanan, San Juan, and was also a
Centro consultant to Don Juan Hervas, the Spanish
Escolar consulting architect, from 1887 to 1883. Arellano's
University mother was Bartola de Guzman.One of his uncles
was Deodato Arellano, the propagandist and first
president of the Katipunan.

He acquired his elementary education from schools

in Tondo. In 1892, he received his Bachelor of Arts
degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He took
further courses in business and maestro de
obras (construction foreman) from the Escuela de
Artes y Oficios where he graduated in 1895.

Philippine General Hospital, Nurses Home Works:

Mousoleo de los Veteranos
Mausoleum of the veterans of the Revolution
The Mausoleo delos Veteranos de la Revolucion
(Mausoleum for the Revolution Veterans) found inside
the Manila North Cemetery (Manila, Philippines) was
dedicated to house the remains of the heroic men
who fought the Spaniards and Americans during the
Philippine Revolution of 1896-1901.
Built in 1915 under the auspices of the Manila
government and the Asociacion delos Veteranos dela
Revolucion, the mausoleum was designed by Filipino
architect Arcadio Arellano, in the unique Hispano-
Filipino-American art style popular during the early
20th century. The memorial was inaugurated in 1920.
Generals Mariano Noriel, Licerio Geronimo, Tomas
Arguelles, and Pio del Pilar's remains are included
among the many veteranos who were interred here.
This is truly one of the interesting landmarks to visit
inside the Manila North Cemetery. There are actually
many other historical tombs and memorials inside the
cemetery, including the tombs belonging to Presidents
Ramon Magsaysay and Manuel Roxas, Senators
Claro M. Recto and Quintin Paredes, actors Fernando
Poe Jr and Sr., and the First Filipino World Boxing
Champion Pancho Villa.
A beautiful mausoleum built by Arcadio
Arellano (1872-1920) who was an architect who
served in the corps of volunteer engineers during the
Filipino-American War in 1898-1901. He was given
the responsibility to supervise the reconstruction of
the Barasoain Church which housed the Malolos
Republic in 1898.
The marker that elevated this edifice into a
"Pambansang Bantayog ng mga Bayani" or
historical monument of heroes.
The coat of arms of the Asociacion delos
Veteranos dela Revolucion, a brotherhood of
veterans of the Philippine Revolution led by
General Emilio Aguinaldo.
The list of the dead heroes interred in this
mausoleum.
Gota de Leche, Manila
(lit. A Drop of Milk[1]) is a foundation started by
Trinidad Rizal (sister of Philippine National Hero,
Dr. Jos Rizal) and Concepcin Felix on 1906 that
primarily aims to provide nutritional and medical
needs of indigent Filipino mothers and their children.
Founded by La Proteccin de la Infancia Inc., the
foundation continues to deliver daily milk rations to
Filipino infants
Its headquarters, the Gota de Leche building located
at 859 S. Loyota St., Sampaloc, Manila, Philippines,
designed by architects Juan Arellano and Arcadio
Arellano (founding father of Philippine architecture),
was awarded Honourable Mention by the UNESCO
Asia Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural
Heritage Conservation in 2003. This opened further
support from the National Commission on Culture and
the Arts.
The Gota de Leche Building was declared by
the National Museum of the Philippines as an
Important Cultural Property in August 2014.
Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano
(April 25, 1888 December 5, 1960), a Filipino architect,
best known for Manila's Metropolitan
Theater (1935), Legislative Building (1926; now houses
the National Museum of the Philippines), the Manila Central
Post Office Building (1926),the Central Student Church
(today known as the Central United Methodist Church, 1932)
the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol (1936), the Cebu
Provincial Capitol (1937), the Bank of the Philippine Islands
Cebu Main Branch (1940), Misamis Occidental Provincial
 Capitol Significant works:
Building (1935)
and the Jones
Bridge. Embassy of the United States in
Manila
Juan M.
Arellano was
born on April
25, 1888 in
Tondo Manila,
Philippines to
Luis C.
Arellano and
Bartola de
Guzmn.
Arellano
married Naty
Ocampo on May 15, 1915. He had eight children, Oscar,
Juanita, Cesar, Salvador, Juan Marcos, Luis, Gloria and
Carlos.
He attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and graduated
in 1908. His first passion was painting and he trained under The chancery of the Embassy in Manila was first constructed
Lorenzo Guerrero, Toribio Antillon, and Fabian de la Rosa. to house the United States High Commission to the
However, he pursued architecture and was sent to Philippines and was designed by the architect Juan M.
the United States as one of the first pensionados in Arellano. The building is built on reclaimed land that was a
architecture, after Carlos Barreto, who was sent to gift from the Government of the Philippines and sits on more
the Drexel Institute in 1908; Antonio Toledo, who went than 600 reinforced concrete piles that were sunk 60 feet
to Ohio State; and Toms Mapa, who went to Cornell. into the site. The site was originally designed as
a demesne along Manila Bay, which featured a revival-
Arellano went to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine style mansion that took advantage of the seaside vista. It
Arts in 1911 and subsequently transferred to Drexel to finish was insisted, though, that a federal-style building be built.
his bachelor's degree in Architecture. He was trained in
the Beaux Arts and subsequently went to work for George B. During World War II, after the Fall of Bataan, the property
Post & Sons in New York City, where he worked became the residence of the Commander-in-Chief of
for Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines. When the
Japanese-sponsored Puppet Republic was established in
He then returned to the Philippines to begin a practice with 1943, the building was repainted and refurbished and served
his brother, Arcadio. He later joined the Bureau of Public as the Embassy of Japan to the Philippines. During its
Works just as the last American architects, George recapture by Allied forces and Philippine guerrillas, the
Fenhagen and Ralph H. Doane, were leaving. He building was seriously damaged but its ballroom, among
and Toms Mapa were then named as supervising other rooms, remained intact.
architects. In 1927, he took a study leave and went to the
United States where he was greatly influenced by Art In October 1945, quonset huts were erected throughout the
Deco architecture. property and became known as The Courthouse, the center
of the Japanese war crimes trial in the Philippines, with the
In 1930, he returned to Manila and designed the Bulacan ballroom serving as the courtroom and the upstairs rooms
Provincial Capitol,Manila Metropolitan Theater, which was serving as holding cells.
then considered controversially moderne. He continued to
act as a consulting architect for the Bureau of Public Works On July 4, 1946, the Philippines was granted independence
where he oversaw the production of the Manila's first zoning by the United States and the building became known as the
plan. In 1940, he and Harry Frost created a design United States Embassy in Manila.
for Quezon City, which was to become the new capital of the
As a testament to its battle-scarred history, its flagpole was
Philippines.
never restored and still retains the bulletholes it sustained
during the war. The chancery has also been designated as
It was during that time that he designed the building that historic property by the National Historical Institute of the
would house the United States High Commission to the Philippines as well as being on the United States Secretary
Philippines, later the Embassy of the United States in of State's register of culturally significant places.
Manila. He designed a demesne along the edge of Manila
Bay, which featured a mission revival style mansion that took Supreme Court of the Phiippines
advantage of the seaside vista. The Americans instead
opted for a federal-style building that ended up overpriced
and uncomfortable.
During World War II, the Legislative Building and Jones
Bridge, were totally destroyed and the Post Office Building
was severely damaged. While these structures were all
reconstructed, his original designs were not followed and
were considered poor replications.
Arellano retired in 1956 and went back to painting. In 1960,
he exhibited his work at the Manila YMCA.
 one of the National Artists for
architecture. He also served as
the Dean of Filipino Architects.

He was one of eight children of

the Philippine
Revolution veterans Julio
Nakpil and Gregoria de
Jess (who married the former
after the death of her first
husband Andrs Bonifacio). He
died in Manila in 1986.

(Filipino: Kataas-taasang Hukuman ng Pilipinas; colloquially
referred to by the Spanish: Corte Suprema), is the highest
court in the Philippines. It is presided over by a Chief Justice
and is composed of fifteen (15) Justices, including the Chief
Justice. Pursuant to the Constitution, the Supreme Court has
"administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel
thereof".
The Supreme Court Complex, which was formerly the part of
the University of the Philippines Manila campus, occupies
the corner of Padre Faura Street and Taft Avenue in Manila,
with the main building directly fronting the Philippine General
Hospital. Until 1945, the Court met in Cavite.
He studied Engineering at
the University of the
Philippines and later, at
the University of Kansas, where he received his bachelor's
degree in Civil Engineering. He then studied Architecture at
the Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts in France upon the
recommendation of Jean Jacques Haffner, one of his
professors at the Harvard Graduate School of Architecture.
Nakpil worked at Andres Luna de San Pedro's architectural
firm (1928) and at Don Gonzalo Puyat & Sons, opening his
own architectural firm in 1930. Among Nakpil's works
are San Carlos Seminary, Geronimo de los Reyes
Building, Iglesia ni Cristo Riverside Locale (Now F. Manalo,
San Juan), Magsaysay Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol
Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino
Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University of the
Philippines Administration and University Library, and
the Rizal Shrine in Calamba, Laguna. He also designed the
International Eucharistic Congress altar and improved
the Quiapo Church in 1930 by erecting a dome and a
second belfry. He was hailed as a National Artist for
Architecture in 1973.

Significant works:
The Gala-Rodriguez Ancestral house
Manila Metropolitan Theatre
is one of
the Art
Deco hous
es that
flourished
in Sariaya,
Quezon
during the
pre-war era
in the
Philippines.
The house
most prominent features are the fan-shaped front entrance
glass canopy and the art deco relieves that decorates the
(Filipino: Tanghalang Pangkalakhan ng Maynila, or MET) is a
mirador of the house. The house features two receiving
Philippine Art Deco building found at the Mehan Garden located
on Padre Burgos Avenue corner Arroceros Street, near the Manila
Central Post Office. It was designed by architect Juan M.
Arellano and inaugurated on December 10, 1931.

2nd Generation Architects

Juan Felipe de Jesus Nakpil

May 26, 1899 May 7, 1986) was a Filipino architect,
teacher and a community leader. In 1973, he was named
 rooms, several bedrooms, two dining halls, a
prayer room, and an intricately designed
veranda. At the back is a terrace overlooking
a 15-foot-deep swimming pool and a private
garden with a gazebo.
Most of the fixtures and furniture inside the
house are of American and European
origins. The crafted wooden pieces of
furniture was designed and manufactured by
Manilas leading furniture atelier, Don
Gonzalo Puyat. Exquisite table wares are
also on display and large wall mirror greets
every visitor in the receiving area. A 19th
century grand piano is also in the receiving
area complemented by a vintage wooden
radio in one corner of the room.
According to Eric Dedace, a tour guide and
PRO of Sariaya Tourism Council, the real
charm of the house are the stories tied to this
historical house most especially during the wartime era
concerning Carmen, the beautiful daughter of Dr. Isidro. Her
stories are one of the highlights of a guided tour that gives a
picture of what life is in old Sariaya.
Minor Basilica of the black Nazarene in Quiapo
With its recent renovation, only the faade and the dome at
the transept retained the classic design.
The earliest church built by missionaries of the Order of
Friars Minor was made of bamboo for the frame
and nipa leaves as thatching. In 1574, Limahong and his
soldiers destroyed and burned the church. Formerly
a visita (chapel-of-ease) of Santa Ana, the Franciscan friar
Antonio de Nombella founded the church in 1588 which was
dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ.
It burned down in 1603 and the parish was temporarily
turned over to the Jesuits until secular clergy objected.
Governor-General Santiago de Vera initiated the full
construction of the church in 1686. On April 8, 1639, the
administration of the church was returned to the seculars
who had always taking care of the churchs welfare.
During the Seven Years' War, the British attempted to
destroy the church in 1762 as they invaded Manila. An
earthquake in 1863 destroyed the church and in its place a
temporary church was built. Fr. Eusebio de Len later
reconstructed the ruined church in 1879, completing the
structure in 1889 with the assistance of Rev. Manuel Roxas.
Roxas had raised the unprecedented amount of 40,000.00
from donations and lay contributions. On 30 October 1928,
the church caught fire again, in which the churchs wooden
ceiling and sacristy were destroyed.
In 1933, Fr. Magdaleno Castillo began the reconstruction of
the church from the plan prepared by National Artist of the
Philippines architect Juan Nakpil son of composer Julio
Nakpil. He added the church's dome and a second belfry to
balance out the faade. Architect Jos Mara Zaragoza later
enlarged the church and changed the design of the lateral
walls in 1984, retaining the faade and the dome.

(canonically known as Saint John the Baptist Parish and University of the Philippines
colloquially known as Quiapo Church; Filipino: Baslika Administration & Library
Menor ng Itm na Nazareno; Spanish: Baslica Menor del
Nazareno Negro) is a prominent Roman CatholicLatin-
rite basilica located in the District of Quiapo in the City of
Manila, Philippines. The basilica is famous home for the
shrine of the Black Nazarene, a dark statue of Jesus
Christ many claim to be miraculous. The parish is under
the Archdiocese of Manila and its current rector is Rev. Msgr.
Hernando Coronel.

Built in the Baroque style, Quiapo Church's faade is

distinctive with twisted columns on both levels.
The Corinthian columns of the second level has a third of its
shaft twisted near the base, while the upper portion has a
smooth surface. The topmost portion of the four-storey
belfries are rimmed with balustrades and decorated with
huge scrolls. The tympanum of the pediment has a pair of
chalice-shaped finials, and towards the end of the raking
cornice, urn-like vases mark the end of the pediment.
A quatrefoil window in the centre of the pediment was sealed
up in the late 1980s and replaced with a relief of the crossed
keys and tiara of the pope a symbol of its status as a minor
basilica.
More popularly known to UP students as
Quezon Hall, this 1950s building hosts the
boardof regents of the university. It is a
beautiful example of Nakpils post war
architecture and serves as a gateway- and
along with the famous Oblation sculpture-as a
grand entrance to all those who enter the
university.
Andres Luna de San Pedro y Pardo de
Tavera
(September 9, 1887
January 22, 1952) is
a Filipino architect who
built the first air-
conditioned building in the
Philippines, the Crystal
Arcade Building (now
present site of PNB
Escolta Building) that was
once located on No.
71 Escolta
Street, Binondo, Manila.
He was assigned as the
city architect of the City
of Manila from 1920 to 1924. His designs were modernist.
Some of them were lost during World War II.
Andres Luna y Pardo de Tavera was born on September 9,
1887, in Paris, France. His parents are Juan Novicio
Luna and Maria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera. He grew up in
Paris until he was six years old. His father shot dead his
mother and mother-in-law on September 22, 1892. He left
with his father after he was acquitted by a French court in
February 1893. After spending six months
in Barcelona and Paris, they travelled by boat along with his
uncle, Gen. Antonio N. Luna to Manila on May 24, 1894.
Works:
Lizares Mansion, Jaro, Iloilo
Built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife
Concepcion Gamboa and their two sons and three
daughters, the mansion has three floors, a basement and an
attic. It has a winding wooden staircase and big bedrooms
with floor and doors made of hardwood. It has 59 doors
which indicate the intricacy of its layout.
When World War II broke out, the family left for a safe hiding
place in Pototan, Iloilo. The mansion was then used as
headquarters of the Japanese army. It was believed that the
basement became a dumping ground for tortured Filipinos.
After the war, the family went back to live
in the mansion, but life was never the
same. In 1950, Don Emiliano Lizares
died and his widow left for Manila,
leasing the mansion to a businessman
who turned it into a casino. The city
mayor later ordered that the casino be
closed, claiming that it corrupted the
Ilonggos. After that, the mansion was left
to the hands of a caretaker Tio Doroy
Finolan who, with his wife, kept it intact.
In 1962 the Lizares Mansion was sold to
the Dominicans. In 1963, it was
converted into a House of Formation for
young Dominicans in the Philippines.
In 1978, the Lizares Mansion compound
became the home of Angelicum School
Iloilo.
Legarda Elementary School
The school
was built on
the land that was donated by the heirs of Benito Legarda, an
eminent legislator and cabinet member of the First Philippine
Republic who later became the first Resident Commissioner
of the Philippines during the American colonial period. It was
in his honor that the school that the school was named after.
Andres Luna de San Pedro, the architect son of painter Juan
Luna, designed the school's main building. It became a
prominent landmark in the area with its unique Victorian style
of architecture which evokes a sense of grandeur.
The school's first principal was Andrea Vitan Arce, a
renowned educator and writer. The school also received an
early distinction for being a model school in 1924.
During the Japanese Occupation in World War II,
the Japanese forces used the school as barracks. Having
survived the war, it was subsequently liberated by the
Americans during the Battle of Manila, after which it became
the headquarters of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division as well as
being the 29th Evacuation Hospital for wounded American
soldiers. The Philippine Army also made the school its
headquarters for a brief time.
Additional school buildings were built in the school grounds
to accommodate a growing student population but the
original structure has been preserved as a landmark heritage
structured cited by the Department of Education and
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
Fernando Ocampo y Hizon
He was born on August 7, 1897, in San
Fernando, Pampanga, he was the son of Dr. Basilio Ocampo
and Leoncia Hizon. One of Manila's renowned architects,
Ocampo was educated at the Ateneo de Manila A.B., in
1914; University of Santo Tomas, B.S. in Civil Engineering,
1919; and University of Pennsylvania, B.S. in Architecture,
1921. Following his graduation from the University of
Pennsylvania, he worked in the office of Mr. Emile Perrot, an
architect in Philadelphia, and then spent two years traveling
in Europe, giving particular attention to architectural designs.
Returning to Manila he was for four years an assistant
architect in the Bureau of Public Works. In 1927 he became
associated with architect Tomas Arguelles and established
Arguelles and Ocampo, architects.
Many of Manila's finest business buildings and residences
attest to Ocampo's ability as an architect and engineer.
Among these are the Manila Cathedral; UST Central
Seminary; the Arguelles, Paterno (later became Far Eastern
Air Transport Inc. or FEATI University) at McArthur Bridge,
sta. Cruz, manila, Ayala, Guillermo A. Cu-Unjieng
Building(demolished 1945) at Escolta cor. T. Pinpin Streets,
binondo, manila in 1929; Regina Building at Escolta cor. T.
Pinpin Streets, binondo, manila in 1915 with design and
structural collaboration with Andrs Luna de San Pedro; and
Fernandez buildings; the Assumption Academy of
Pampanga, the North Syquia and Admiral
Apartments(demolished 2014) in Malate, and the residence
of Mr. Joaquin Baltazar, the latter having taken the first prize
in the 1930 beautiful home contest. He also designed
the Calvo Building at Escolta cor. Soda Streets., Manila in
1938 and the Eugenio Lopez, Sr. "Boat House" at Iloilo
City in 1936.
In 1929 and 1930 Ocampo was a member of the Board of
Examiners for Architects in Manila and in addition to his
private practice he became a member of the faculty of
the School of Architecture at the University of Santo
Tomas, Manila.
One of Ocampo's children was renowned basketball player
and coach Ed Ocampo (1938-1992).
Works:
Angela Apartments, Malate
was designed and completed in 1936 by
renowned Architect Fernando H. Ocampo
of the fabled Manila Cathedral.
Regarded as one of the first "high-rise"
buildings of the Philippines,
The Angela Apartments remain as one
of the few Art Deco period architecture still
standing
today.
Pablo
Sebero Antonio
(January 25, 1901 June 14,
1975) was a Filipino architect. A
pioneer of modern Philippine architecture, he was
recognized in some quarters as the foremost Filipino
modernist architect of his time. He was conferred the rank
and title of National Artist of the
Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1976.
Antonio first came into prominence in 1933 with the
construction of the Ideal Theater along Avenida Rizal
in Manila. His work caught the eye of the founder of the Far
Eastern University in Manila, Nicanor Reyes, Sr., who was
looking to build a school campus that was modern in style.
Between 1938 and 1950, he designed several buildings on
the university campus in the Art Deco style. The FEU
campus is considered as the largest ensemble of surviving
Art Deco architecture in Manila, and in 2005, it received an
Honorable Mention citation from the UNESCO for the body's
2005 Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage
Conservation.
Antonio also designed the White Cross Orphanage (1938)
along Santolan Road in San Juan City, and the Manila Polo
Club (1950) in Makati City. He likewise designed the Ramon
Roces Publications Building (now Guzman Institute of
Electronics) in Soler Street in Manila, the Capitan Luis
Gonzaga Building (1953), and the Boulevard-Alhambra (now
called Bel-Air) Apartments Building in Roxas Boulevard &
where Manila Bay Hostel is located on the 4th floor. The art
deco apartment is near T. M. Kalaw Avenue & beside
Miramar Hotel. It was built in 1937.
Apart from the Ideal Theater, Antonio also designed several
other theaters in Manila, including the Dalisay, Forum,
Galaxy, Life (1941), Lyric and Scala Theaters. As of 2014,
only the Forum, Life and Scala Theaters remain standing;
though the Forum and Scala Theaters have been gutted.
Antonio's architecture and its adoption of Art Deco
techniques was radical for its day, neoclassicism being the
dominant motif of Philippine architecture when he began his
career. His style was noted for its simplicity and clean
structural design. He was cited for taking Philippine
architecture into a new direction, with "clean lines, plain
surfaces, and bold rectangular masses." Antonio strove to
make each building unique, avoiding obvious trademarks.
Antonio was also conscious of adapting his buildings to the
tropical climate of the Philippines. In order to highlight
natural light and also avoid rain seepage, he utilized
sunscreens, slanted windows and other devices.
Antonio himself has been quoted as stating that "buildings
should be planned with austerity in mind and its stability
forever as the aim of true architecture, that buildings must
be progressive, simple in design but dignified, true to a
purpose without resorting to an applied set of aesthetics and
should eternally recreate truth" .
When he was named National Artist of the Philippines in
1976, he was only the second architect so honored, after his
contemporary, Juan Nakpil.
Works:
Faade of the main building of Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University was founded in 1934 when the Far
Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and
Finance (IABF) merged. Far Eastern College, founded in
1919, had been a liberal arts college in Quiapo; the IABF
had been established (originally under the name Institute of
Accountancy) by Dr. Francisco T. Dalupan Sr. and Dr.
Nicanor I. Reyes, Sr., head of the Department of Economics
of the University of the Philippines, with a number of other
prominent educators in 1928. IABF had been originally
predominately used by night students, and the new
university, which was supported by the tuition provided by its
students rather than government grants.
In its earliest days, FEU was housed in a converted tobacco
factory already present on the four hectare (nearly 10 acre)
plot which would eventually host the current campus. Reyes
Sr. was appointed the first president of the University, which
spent its early years establishing several of its institutes,
including those of Law and Technology. Reyes
commissioned Brother in law Arch. Pablo S. Antonio Sr., who
would later be titled National Artist of the Philippines, to
construct a building for the school. In 1939, the Nicanor I.
Reyes Hall, which would later house the library and Institute
of Accounts, Business and Finance, opened. Two other
buildings by Antonio, the Girls High School Building and
Boys High School Building, followed in 1940 and 1941, by
which year FEU had 10,000 registered students, with an
international student population of 400.
Boulevard-Alhambra Apartments (Bel-Air)
Bel Air Apartments is another surviving Art Deco
creation of the National Artist Pablo Antonio. The
usual assets of streamlining is here. Vertical parapets
decorate the middle of the facade with horizontal
bands making streamlined corners at the ends of the
facade.The building survived the war, and even the
neglect of Manilas remaining prewar buildings.