Leandro V. Locsin was a favourite of Imelda Marcos.
She chose him to design all the classy edifices (not the deathtraps; that’s another post) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex on beautiful Manila Bay.
“Lindy,” (he was nicknamed after Charles Lindbergh) is a little known master of tropical modernism. His dynamic soaring roofed pavilion at Expo 70 was incredibly popular — it was that last-gasp celebration of the future’s tenth most visited pavilion.
This inspired vision of a bird-in-flight represented his small island nation’s aspirations for a future full of progress. Two years later, the Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under Martial Law.
But at Expo 70, Locsin had the opportunity to show the world the best of what the Philippines could become. Ah, to have such patrons like Ferdy and Meldy …
I love looking at these photos from a more-optimistic-about-the-future past. I think they’re poetry in motion.
The Philippine pavilion was next to Canada’s effort, designed by master architect, Arthur Erickson.
The organizers of the exposition had given Locsin, The “Poet of Space,” an odd triangular plot of land facing Arthur’s daring Canadian pavilion. I’m sure the Filipinos would have preferred a spot closer to mother USA’s pavilion, but there you have it.