Architecture, Design,

and Allied Arts

Reporter: Princess Nathalie Pasag

Architecture
16 Iconic Archit
ectural Structur
es in the Philip
pines
1. Main Building- University of Santo Tom
as
Designed by a Spanish priest-civil engineer Rev.
Fr. Roque Ruaño in 1920 to 1923, the main buildin
g of the Philippine’s oldest university, located along
Espana Boulevard, is also the first earthquake resis
tant building in the country. The design was fine tu
ned after the lessons learned from the Great Kantō
earthquake that flattened Tokyo and Yokohama in S
eptember 1, 1923.
2. Quezon Hall – University of the Philippi
nes Diliman
Designed by a Spanish priest-civil engineer Rev
. Fr. Roque Ruaño in 1920 to 1923, the main buil
ding of the Philippine’s oldest university, located a
long Espana Boulevard, is also the first earthquak
e resistant building in the country. The design wa
s fine tuned after the lessons learned from the Gre
at Kantō earthquake that flattened Tokyo and Yok
ohama in September 1, 1923.
3. Nicanor Reyes Hall – Far Eastern Univ
ersity Complex
Considered the largest body of work done in Ar
t Deco style in Manila, the Nicanor Reyes Hall is p
art of the five buildings in the FEU complex desig
ned by Pablo Antonio. Antonio is the second archi
tect to receive the National Artist award in 1976, a
year after his death. In 2005, the five Art Deco-sty
le buildings earned a citation from the United Nati
ons Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organiz
ation (UNESCO) for the Asia-Pacific Heritage Awar
d for Cultural Heritage.
4. Philippine International Convention
Center
An example of the massive, fortress-style Bruta
list architecture, the Philippine International Conv
ention Center (PICC) is a brainchild of Leandro Lo
csin, one of the greatest master architects that th
e Philippines has produced. For a state-of-the-art
structure, the PICC was surprisingly completed wi
thin only 23 months from 1974 to 1976. It has ho
sted foreign and local conventions, including the a
nnual Awards Night of the Filipino Academy of Mo
vie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS).
5. National Theater – Cultural Center of the Philip
pines Complex
The National Theater or Tanghalang Pambansa, fo
rmerly the Theater of Performing Arts, is the CCP’s fl
agship venue and houses its principal offices. Like th
e PICC, the theater is only a part of the CCP complex,
a sprawling 88-hectare government owned structure.

The National Theater’s design is another work by Lea

ndro Locsin and carries his signature style of the “flo
ating volume,” which combines a heavy use of concre
te with elevated structures. The result is a startling c
ontrast of a massive looking structure that seemingly
floats.
6. Tanghalang Mariang Makiling – Nationa
l Arts Center
Part of the National Arts Center, the Tanghalan
g Mariang Makiling is a performance and arts ven
ue of Philippine High School for the Arts’ students
and other artists. This is another master work by
Leandro Locsin who radically adapted the nipa hu
t design for this piece.
7. San Miguel Corporation Building
Designed by the Mañosa brothers (Manuel, Fra
ncisco, and Jose), the San Miguel Corporation Bui
lding in Ortigas serves as the head office of one of
the largest corporations in the Philippines. The bu
ilding’s unique design is inspired by the Banaue ri
ce terraces. Landscaping is done by the National
Artist for Architecture in 2006, Ildefonso Santos,
who is considered the father of Philippine landsca
pe architecture.
8. Pearl Farm Beach Resort
Located in Samal island of Davao City, the Pea
rl Farm Beach Resort is built on what was once a
farm for culturing pearls. A handiwork of Francisc
o Mañosa who was a strong advocate of indigenou
s architecture, the resort’s design was adapted fro
m the traditional stilt houses built along the coast
line. In 2009, Mañosa received the National Artist
award for architecture.
9. Philam Life Building – Manila
Built in 1961, the building is designed by Carlos Argu
elles in the International Style, with its emphasis on rectil
inear forms and plane surfaces stripped of ornamentation
. Arguelles was also the architect behind the Manila Pavili
on Hotel and Casino (formerly Manila Hilton) and the Dev
elopment Bank of the Philippines Building in Makati.

A well-loved landmark not only for its design, the Philam

Life Building houses an auditorium that has long served
as a venue for music and performance productions. The i
nsurance company itself had moved its head office to the
Net Lima building in Bonifaco Global City last year.
10. The Mind Museum
The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City is
hard to miss. For its sheer design alone, it is a lan
dmark work from the father and son team of Lor a
nd Ed Calma, and their architectural firm.

Due to its amorphic form which mimics the cellul

ar membrane, the museum has no singular facad
e that remains the same when viewed all around.
Recently, it won an international award from the
20th annual Thea Awards for its design and exhib
itions, a first for a science museum in Asia.
11. Zuellig Building
On any given day, the Zuellig Building mesmerizes wit
h its ghostly beauty. Its all-glass façade with barely discer
nible edges makes this premium-grade office building in
Makati business district blend and even disappear in its s
urrounding sky and landscape.

The first structure to receive a platinum level of Leader

in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification
– the highest in the country – from the US Green Building
Council (USGBC), the Zuellig building is built with sustai
nability in mind. Its design is a collaboration between the
New York-based Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and 50-ye
ar architectural veteran W.V Coscolluela & Associates.
12. G.T. International Tower
Developed by Federal Land, the building takes
its initials from its owner and chairman of the Met
robank Group, George Ty. The tower sports a 10-s
torey vertical fin for its crown and is one of the mo
st recognizable buildings in the Makati skyline. Its
design is a collaboration between the local archite
ctural firm GF & Partners Architects and Gozar Pl
anners Philippines in collaboration with the inter
national firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
13. Mall of Asia Arena
Located within the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pas
ay City, Mall of Asia Arena is the newest sports and e
vents arena in the metro after its official opening in 2
012. With a seating capacity of 16,000 and a full-hou
se capacity of 20,000 – it rivals the Smart Araneta Col
iseum for the biggest indoor arena in Southeast Asia.

A regular playing venue for the country’s major ba

sketball leagues, the arena also serves as concert ven
ue for local and international performance artists. Th
e arena’s distinctive look is designed by the Miami-ba
sed architectural firm Arquitectonica.
14. SM Aura Premier
Recently opened in May 2013, SM Aura Premie
r is envisaged to be a luxury mall within the flouri
shing Bonifacio Global City. This shows in the flui
d design where the 29-storey serviced office tower f
lows into the mall base and creates an overall sha
pe quite different from most SM malls.

With green design in mind, the mall also featur

es a multi-level Sky Park designed to reduce heat.
The mall’s green architecture and modern design a
re by Arquitectonica, architect on record W.V. Cos
colluela & Associates, with interiors done by Sydn
ey-based EDGE Interior Designers.
15. Pacific Plaza Towers
A landmark high-end condo project in Bonifaci
o Global City, Pacific Plaza Towers stands out fro
m among the other luxury condo towers in the are
a. Its eye-catching twin tower curvilinear design is
another handiwork by the Arquitectonica group (t
he same designer behind SM Aura Premier and M
all of Asia Arena) along with the Recio + Casas Arc
hitects, a local firm with a solid portfolio of reside
ntial and commercial projects, both here and abro
ad.
16. Proscenium
One of the most awaited pre-selling projects by Ro
ckwell Land, the Proscenium is designed by Carlos Ot
t, the Uruguayan architect renowned for his design of
L’Opéra de la Bastille, a modern theater icon in Paris.

A sweeping structure of steel and glass, the Prosce

nium is built around a cultural plaza comprised of a
multi-purpose hall, fine arts museum, book museum,
and art galleries. Turnovers for the individual towers
of the project are expected to be from 2017 to 2019.
 Design
A design is a plan or specification for the constru
ction of an object or system or for the implementation
of an activity or process, or the result of that plan
or specification in the form of a prototype, product o
r process.

It is also an outline, sketch, or plan, as of the f

orm and structure of a work of art, an edifice, or a m
achine to be executed or constructed.
Principles of Design

1. Balance
-A distribution of vis
ual weight on either side
of the vertical axis. Symm
etrical balance uses the s
ame characteristics. Asymm
etrical uses different bu
t equally weighted feature
s.
2. Contrast
-The arrangement of op
posite elements, (light vs
. dark, rough vs. smooth,
small vs. large, etc) in a
composition so as to creat
e visual interest.
3.Emphasis
-Uses to make certain
parts of an Artwork stan
d out. It creates the ce
nter of interest or foca
l point. It is the place
in which an Artist draws
your eye to first.
4. Movement
-How the eye moves
through the composition
; leading the attention
of the viewer from one
aspect of the work to a
nother. Can create the
illusion of action.
5. Pattern
-The repetition of s
pecific visual elements
such as a unit of shape
or form. A method used t
o organize surfaces in a
consistent regular manne
r.
6. Rhythm
-Regular repetition
of, or alternation in el
ements to create cohesiv
eness and interest.
Unity
-Visually pleasing ag
reement among the elem
ents in a design; It is
the feeling that everyt
hing in the work of Art
works together and look
s like it fits.
 What is Allied Arts?
Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic mean
ing: see allied, arts.

Fine arts, related disciplines in literature, the v

isual and performing arts.

(architecture) The decorative arts as applied to bu

ildings.