Leandro Valencia Locsin was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior designer
known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his
various projects. An avid collector, he was fond of modern painting and Chinese
ceramics. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for
Architecture in 1990 by the late President Corazon C. Aquino.
Life and career He was born Leandro Valencia Locsin on
August 15, 1928, in Silay, Negros Occidental, a grandson of the first
governor of the province. He later studied at the De La Salle Brothers in
1935 before returning to Negros due to the Second World War. He returned to
Manila to study Pre-Law before shifting to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Music
at the University of Santo Tomas. Although he was a talented pianist, he
later shifted again to Architecture, just a year before graduating. He
married Cecilia Yulo, and one of their two children is also an architect.
An art lover, he frequented the Philippine Art Gallery, where he met the
curator, Fernando Zóbel de Ayala y Montojo. The latter recommended Locsin
to the Ossorio family that was planning to build a chapel in Negros. When
Frederic Ossorio left for the United States, the plans for the chapel were
canceled. However, in 1955, Fr. John Delaney,
S.J., then Catholic Chaplain at the University of the Philippines - Diliman,
commissioned Locsin to design a chapel that is open and can easily accommodate
1,000 people. The Church of the Holy Sacrifice is the first round chapel in
the Philippines to have an altar in the middle, and the first to have a thin
shell concrete dome. The floor of the church was designed by Arturo Luz, the
stations of the cross by Vicente Manansala and Ang Kiukok, and the cross
by Napoleon Abueva, all of whom are now National Artists. Alfredo L. Juinio
served as the building's structural engineer. Today, the church is
recognized as a National Historical Landmark and a Cultural Treasure by the
National Historical Institute and the National Museum, respectively.
On his visit to the United States, he met some of his influences, Paul Rudolph
and Eero Saarinen. It was then he realized to use concrete, which was
relatively cheap in the Philippines and easy to form, for his buildings. In
1969, he completed what was to be his most recognizable work, the Theater of
Performing Arts of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The marble façade of
the building is cantilevered 12 meters from the terrace by huge arching columns
at the sides of the building, giving it the impression of being afloat. A large
lagoon in front of the theatre mirrors the building during daytime, while
fountains are illuminated by underwater lights at nighttime. The building houses
four theaters, a museum of ethnographic art and other temporary exhibits,
galleries, and a library on Philippine art and culture.
In 1974, Locsin designed the Folk Arts Theater, which is one of the largest
single-span buildings in the Philippines with a span of 60 meters. It was
completed in only seventy-seven days, in time for the Miss Universe Pageant.
Locsin was also commissioned to build the Philippine International Convention
Center, the country's premiere international conference building and
now the seat of the Vice Presidency. He was also commissioned in 1974 to
design the Ayala Museum to house the Ayala art collection. It was known for
the juxtaposition of huge blocks to facilitate the interior of the
exhibition. Locsin was a close friend of the Ayalas. Before taking the board
examination, he took his apprenticeship at Ayala and Company and was even asked
to design the first building in Ayala Avenue, and several of their residences.
When the collection of the Ayala Museum was moved to its current location, the
original was demolished with Locsin's permission. The current building was
dedicated in 2004, and was designed by the L. V. Locsin and Partners, led by
Leandro Y. Locsin, Jr. Locsin also designed some of the
buildings at the UP Los Baños campus. The Dioscoro Umali Hall, the main
auditorium, is clearly an example of his distinct architecture, with its large
canopy that makes it resemble the main theatre of the Cultural Center of the
Philippines. Most of his work is concentrated on the Freedom Park, with
the Student Union Building which was once damaged by a fire, the Carillon,
the Continuing Education Center and the auditorium. He also designed the SEARCA
Residences, and several structures at the National Arts Center at Mt.
Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna. Most of Locsin's work has been within
the country, but in 1970, he designed the Philippine Pavilion of the World
Expo in Osaka, Japan. His largest single work is the Istana Nurul Iman, the
official residence of the Sultan of Brunei. In 1992, he received the Fukuoka
Asian Culture Prize from Fukuoka. Ironically, Locsin's last work was also
a church in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Leandro V. Locsin died early morning on
November 15, 1994, at the Makati Medical Center in Makati after suffering from
stroke ten days earlier. The campus of De La Salle-Canlubang, built in 2003 on
a land donated by his family, was named after him.
Works Churches
Church of the Holy Sacrifice, University of the Philippines, Diliman, 1955
Ozamis City Cathedral, 1960 Manila Memorial Park Chapel, Paranaque,
1965 Doña Corazon L. Montelibano Chapel,
Bacolod, 1965 Church of Saint Andrew, Bel-Air Village,
Makati, 1968 Holy Cross Memorial Chapel, Novaliches,
1969 Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
UP Village, Quezon City, 1970 Chapel of St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
Magallanes Village, Makati, 1970 Cadiz Church, Negros Occidental, 1972
St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church, Bacnotan, La Union, 1994
Church of the Monastery of the Transfiguration, Malaybalay, Bukidnon,
1996 Public Buildings
Hotels Davao Insular Hotel, Davao City, 1960
InterContinental Manila, Ayala Avenue, Makati, 1969
Hyatt Regency Hotel Mandarin Oriental Manila
Manila Hotel Philippine Plaza Hotel, 1976
Commercial Buildings Sets for Theatrical Production
Sets for Various Ballets by Ricardo Casell, 1954
Lady Be Good production by Frederico Elizarde, 1954
Noche Buena, CCP Dance Co., 1970 Jewels, CCP Dance Co., 1970
Madame Butterfly, CCP Dance Co., 1972 Lucifer, Martha Graham Dance Co., for
its 50th Anniversary Celebration, New York, 1975
Adoration, Martha Graham Dance Co., New York, 1976
Point of Crossing, Martha Graham Dance Co., New York, 1976
Larawan ng Pilipino Bilang Artista, CCP, 1989
La Traviata, CCP, July 1990 Madame Butterfly, CCP 1994
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ballet Philiipines, 1994
Suite for Lindy, from Ballet Philippines’ Ellias, CCP, 1995
Interior Design Gallery
See also Culture of the Philippines
References External links
Architects | Leandro "Lindy" Locsin :: The "Poet of Space"
Arkitekturang Filipino - Leandro V. Locsin
References