Metroplexed

MANILA'S NEW GIANT

“That even a “balut vendor” (duck egg vendor) will stop to see it.” It is a memorable quote from a mentor, while he was pushing us to break the mold in designing our buildings. In the entire cityscape of Manila, nothing had come close to that reality. Not until Ed Calma’s CSB-SDA Building (College of Saint Benilde –School of Design and Arts) rose to say hey!, look at me.

Ride the MRT, the bus or even the jeepney, you will overhear comments from people on how modern, big or white the building is. It is fascinating when you see people turn their heads to glance at the white behemoth along Pablo Ocampo Street. Some CSB students even delayed their graduation in order to attend a semester in the new building. Whether the feedbacks are negative or positive, the building can stir curiosity and reactions. Is it because, it’s something new to the eyes of Manilenos? Or the building simplylooks magnificent. The answer will always be subjective.

The first time I saw the completed CSB-SDA Building, I must admit I was awestruck by its size and godlike presence (the magic of white paint and cladding). A colleague once told me that its whiteness makes it glow like a giant lamp at night. Approaching the building is through an inclined piazza, where you notice a number of protruding volumes, meant to function like benches (I assume). I didn’t bother to stick around because it was too hot. I thought, the bold folding gesture of the building would have made more impact, had it shaded (my entry) the piazza. I was still in the impressed mode, when I saw something familiar. Folding strips on the ceiling that crawls to an enclosed mezzanine space, reminds you of the details of the now-closed Restaurant 12 at Greenbelt Mall. Later on, through an interview of Calma by a friend, it was confirmed that the New CSB-SDA building is indeed a blown up vers
ion of that restaurant he also designed. Near the lobby, visitors are screened in Metrorail-like swipe-card pedestals. While waiting for the elevator, you look up and see the folding gestures, and repeating balconies in a 4-5 storey high atrium. It reminded me of the balconies of Winka Dubbeldam’s Greenwich Project. The first area we visited was the administrative office on the topmost floor. The office enjoys an impressive view of Manila. Adjacent is the faculty room. Inside, you see visual connections between different programs, a classroom below, director’s lounge on the left and further beyond, the student cafeteria below. You get a feel of the quality of spaces that some star-architect’s like Thom Mayne or Rem Koolhaas make. The design was further explained by Ed Calma in the Manila Times August 12 2007 ISSUE:

“This is probably the first building of its kind that manifests the multidiscip
linary teaching approach of the school,” says Calma. “The building takes its form from the spirit of design creativity; nothing was pre-conceived. This way, it would provide a much more stimulating learning environment compared to the usual box with corridors and flat lines.” Though the aesthetic elements of glass and steel are omnipresent, it is astounding to learn that no two rooms and no two floors of the SDA building are the same. A masterpiece of form and function, hallways of the SDA building were designed in a way that they can be converted into impromptu exhibition space whenever needed. In addition, the glass windows allow natural light to get in as well as provide ample ventilation, thus reducing the building’s energy consumption. “If you have a place that already teaches you a vocabulary of space, then you already establish a kind of language for design and arts,” explains Calma, adding, “That makes the building a tool for education.”

Areas of the buildings were designed to fit different design and art programs, intended to be reactive and dynamic with each other. The Performing Arts Department was planned cleverly. The studio spaces are ideal preparatory spaces, as they were conveniently located right behind the backstage of the Auditorium. The studios and classrooms are visible from the corridors as some of the walls are made of glass. Some complaints include, distractions of students and even teachers from people passing by. The windows along the hallways utilized glass louversto shield it from rainwater. From the outside, you see the louvers form an abstract pattern, repeating the design’s linear and folding gestures. While I tour the well-lit corridors, I noticed that some areas are warm and lacks good air circulation. It made me curious how much the building spends for electric bills. My jaw dropped when I was told of the 3 Million Pesos or 64,000 USD worth of monthly electric bill, and at that time, the building was not fully operational yet. I have always thought that the combo of avant-garde and sustainable design is like oil and water, they don’t mix. Apparently, a lot of people (architects and non-architects) I interviewed also say that the building doesn’t mix well with the surroundings. Small houses near or right beneath SDA building complain how the structure deprived them of sunlight. To many of us, its design is not site sensitive. While I agree of SDA’s visual alienation, I also thought that modernist design especially of the avant garde, is most of the times aggressive. So why question it? What if, it is intended to yell at us? Or awaken us from the obsession of building the face of the past? I still have questions about the overall design though. While we see a strong formal folding at the front of the building, we don’t see it happening at the back. We read the rear area as a maximized and boxy volume, that doesn’t translatethe dynamic program inside. Imagine the building without the backside, or the backside employs same folding language, the building appears stronger and probably lighter. But as it is, the building is already notable for its features new and unique to Manila.

Sure, it is not as internationally famous as the media frenzied OMA’s CCTV building in Beijing or the HDM’s nest-like stadium for the Bejing Olympics, but in a third-world country like the Philippines, it is already big star. It was already 3 decades ago since the city enjoyed an architectural madness when the former first lady, Imelda Marcos built a Brasilia-like complex, the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Somehow, the 1.5 Billion Pesos (30 Million USD) SDA building created some buzz in the architecture scene. The design was a product of a competition, a practice that local companies and institutions should implement to bring out the best of local talent. The word “best” might sound too bold, but it was only Calma’s design that radically veered away from the University’s Neo Classical theme. There was a last minute request from School officials to change the design direction back to Neo-Classical. But Calma’s expertise does not, and will never speak the language of traditional architecture. To laymen, his office is known for its minimalist designs. To architects, Ed is either the under-board architect or better, an adamant modernist. I personally like how the project turned out, because I could not imagine another oversized Parthenon built, envisioned to inspire its users to create “NEW” designs. How the Calma-designed SDA building will influence students? Let’s find out in five years.

(A PICTURE GALLERY SHALL BE UPLOADED)