Leandro Valencia Locsin

Leandro Valencia Locsin
National Artist for Architecture, 1990
(August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)
Leandro V. Locsin was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior

designer, known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic
design in his various projects. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the
Philippines for Architecture in 1990 by the late former President Corazon
C. Aquino.
Leandro V. Locsin was born August 15, 1928 in Silay City, 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 changed again to Architecture, just a year before graduating. He was married to Cecilia Yulo, to
which he had two children, one of whom is also an architect.
Leandro V. Locsin reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture reflective of
Philippine Art and Culture. He believes that the true Philippine Architecture is “the product of two great
streams of culture, the oriental and the occidental… to produce a new object of profound harmony.” It is
this synthesis that underlies all his works, with his achievements in concrete reflecting his mastery of
space and scale. Every Locsin Building is an original, and identifiable as a Locsin with themes of floating
volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant and massive running in his major works. From 1955 to
1994, Locsin has produced 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11 churches and chapels, 23 public
buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and an airport terminal building.
Works:
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Locsin’s largest single work is the Istana Nurul

Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which has a
floor area of 2.2 million square feet. The CCP Complex
itself is a virtual Locsin Complex with all five buildings
designed by him — the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, Folk Arts Theater, Philippine International
Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin Hotel (now
Sofitel Philippine Plaza).
Folks Art Theater (The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas)
Folk Arts Theater is also known as The

Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas. It is one of the
performance venues of the Cultural Center of the
Philipines. This covered proscenium amphitheater is
where entertainment such as popular concerts,
musicals, and plays are usually staged. It has 8,458
seating capacity in ten sections. The theater takes its
name from Francisco Baltazar also known as Francisco
Balagtas, in awe to the country's greatest poet. The
theater was built in 90 days and was designed by
Leandro V. Locsin in 1974.
The building was officially authorized by First Lady Imelda Marcos for the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant
in 1974, which was to be held in Manila in the same year.
Manila International Airport (NAIA Terminal 1)
Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport is named

after Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.,
assassinated at the airport in 1983. Officially, NAIA is
the only airport serving the Manila area. However, in
practice, NAIA and Clark International Airport as well
-located in the Clark Freeport Zone, in Pampanga-
serve the Manila area. Clark caters mostly to low-cost
carriers that avail themselves of the lower landing
fees than those charged at NAIA. In 2017 the airport
served 42 million passengers.
NAIA is located along the border between Pasay City
and Parañaque City in Metro Manila. It is about 4 miles (7 km) south of the city, and southwest of
Makati City's Central Business District. These figures make the airport be positioned among the 50
world’s busiest airports by passenger traffic. In fact, since 2010 Manila’s airport has held this position,
above or below. The airport is also relevant in terms of cargo volume. In 2015 managed over 460
tonnes of cargo.
Religious Works:
Church of the Holy Sacrifice, UP Diliman
Years before the construction of the present

Church of the Holy Sacrifice was finished in
December 20, 1955, there stood an old sawali-
bamboo building on its grounds, a chapel of
U.S. Army detachment, later turned into a
stable. Fr. John Patrick Delaney, S.J., then
already U.P. chaplain when the old campus
moved from Manila to Diliman in 1949, saw
its possibilities and with the help of volunteers,
had the crumbling facility repaired and
converted into a little brown chapel. To the
U.P. Diliman Catholics, it was their house of
God and place of worship.
Church of Saint Andrew, Bel-Air Village, Makati
Built by National Artist for Architecture

Leandro Locsin in 1968, the design of this parish
church in Bel-Air Makati is symbolic of the manner
the martyr died crucified on an X-shaped cross.
The butterfly shaped floor plan emanates from
this cruciform. Many other symbolic features mark
the tent-like structure, including the giant
chandelier over the altar which serves as a halo
over the copper cross by National Artist for Visual
Art, Vicente Manansala.
Built by National Artist for Architecture Leandro
Locsin in 1968, the design of this parish church in
Bel-Air Makati is symbolic of the manner the
martyr died crucified on an X-shaped cross. The butterfly shaped floor plan emanates from this
cruciform. Many other symbolic features mark the tent-like structure, including the giant chandelier
over the altar which serves as a halo over the copper cross by National Artist for Visual Art, Vicente
Manansala.
Church of Monastery of the Transfiguration, Malaybalay, Bukidnon
Known to many as the Bukidnon Monastery, the

Monastery of the Transfiguration in the province of
Bukidnon is one of the most visited religious
communities in the Philippines. It is located on a hill in
Barangay San Jose, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. The
pyramid structure was made by national artist Architect
Leandro Locsin and was dubbed as a “Magnum Opus”, a
Latin word which means “Great Work”. Architect
Leandro Locsin (1928-1994) is a Negrense known as
“The Architect of Space” and the Monastery is one of
his famous works and one of his lasts.
The magnificent Monastery of the Transfiguration is a place of peace, guidance and prayer. It is where
one enjoys the prosperity and intimacy of nature during prayer and thanksgiving. A picturesque view of
the mountains of Bukidnon including the towering Mount Kitanglad and the vast rice fields is experience
while you are in the Bukidnon Monastery. Local flowers and trees grow around this wonderful spiritual
environment where Benedictine Monks live and pray for the souls of each and every people in the world
every day.
Awards and Recognitions:
As it was, six years after graduating as an architect in 1969, he received the prestigious Ten Outstanding
Young Men or TOYM award, the Junior Chamber of Commerce's recognition for bright young men. This
marked the beginning of a series of awards. Prior to this, he had designed the Chapel of the Holy
Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and the chapel in Fabrica, Negros.
These two edifices drew the attention of builders for their boldness in the use of forms and elements
suggestive of traditional architecture. The late Fernando Zobel of Ayala Corporation was impressed by
his work, and commissioned him to design all future Ayala edifices in the fast growing suburb of Makati,
beginning with the Monterray Apartments. Since then, Lindy has designed 71 residences, 77 buildings
(35 of which are major offices), 17 public edifices composed of various complexes or centers, nine
chapels including St. Andrew's Church in Bel-Air Village, and seven hotels including the Hyatt, the
Intercontinental, the Plaza, the Manila Hotel, and the Mandarin. He was the architect of the Cultural
Center and the Folk Arts Theater, which set an unprecedented record of having been completed in less
than three months at the request of Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Lindy personifies the triumphant
emergence of a modern Filipino architecture distinctive in style and quality. His use of brown tuff (locally
called adobe) as opposed to the usual gray, the unusual sizes of these materials, the use of dark pebbles
on the walls and floors, the revival of the traditionally large Filipino roof, the use of lattices in the arches,
buffers or ramas, the wide two-meter eaves and the meticulous treatment of under-the-eaves for
minimizing tropical glare and maximizing ventilation — all these and many other features he introduced,
developed and popularized. They have become integral parts of contemporary architecture of the
Philippines. He is married to Cecilia Yulo, daughter of the late Speaker Jose Yulo, whose family owns the
vast Canlubang Estate. With Cecilia he authored the coffee-table book “Oriental Ceramics Discovered in
the Philippines” in 1967. Ten years later Nicholas Polites, an American writer-architect, published a book
entitled “The Architecture of Leandro V. Locsin”. The December issue that year of Reader's Digest called
him “Manila's Master Builder”. Working with planners, engineers, economists and ecologists, Locsin is in
the process of turning the Canlubang area into a satellite city about twice the area of Manila with a
projected population of one million. His admirers claim that the Canlubang metropolis will be a model of
modern city planning. The tremendous load of work has been hard on his health, and three years ago he
underwent heart bypass surgery in Houston, Texas. Since then he has been living quietly with his wife
and two sons in the United States.
References:
http://architectuul.com/architect/leandro-valencia-locsin
http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-
philippines/leandro-v-locsin/
https://historyofarchitecture.weebly.com/leandro-v-locsin.html
http://www.dlsaa.com/honors-and-awards/awardees/locsin-leandro-v

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Leandro Valencia Locsin

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Leandro Valencia Locsin

National Artist for Architecture, 1990

(August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994)

Leandro V. Locsin was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior

Cultural Center of the Philippines

Locsin’s largest single work is the Istana Nurul

Folk Arts Theater is also known as The

Manila International Airport (NAIA Terminal 1)

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport is named

Church of the Holy Sacrifice, UP Diliman

Years before the construction of the present

Church of Saint Andrew, Bel-Air Village, Makati

Built by National Artist for Architecture

Known to many as the Bukidnon Monastery, the

Awards and Recognitions:

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