ATTEMPTS

The long break from Metroplex was because...

a. I became too busy with magazine business
b. I ran out of ideas. LOL
c. I was obsessed with designing Tsuper Magazine and contributing for Flow Magazine.

They are all lies, because...

a. I became too busy with magazine biz.
Truth: Before Tsuper Magazine, I was way busier.

b. I ran out of ideas. LOL
Truth: I have ideas, but I was too busy with restaurant city.

c. I was obsessed with designing Tsuper Magazine and contributing for Flow Magazine.
Truth: I was obsessed vacationing and enjoying the perks of being an editor of a Travel oriented magazine.LOL

BACK IN THE CITY

I did not leave the city. I was physically here, but my mind was somewhere it did not have to work. It is possible. It was as if I was gliding in nothingness and allowed time to stop while events still ensued. In that dull time, I dabbled into renovation work of Angela Apartments, an art deco apartment in downtown Manila http://www.theangelaapartments.com/. It was a revival of a previous work put on hold for 6 years. I love to create newly processed "things," and not recreate the past with a lie. I remember proposing for this building in 2003 where my group introduced the concept of "insertion" to an existing building. Last year, I got a call from the owners seeking my help to finally realize our common dream. It was a noble cause, for a city (Manila) that does not value its existence (majority), there are still people who are willing to invest in it. I accepted it because aside from my deep respect for the owners, I want to contribute to the preservation of one of the few standing art deco buildings in Manila. I was called to put the plans on paper and validate it with a signature. The interiors were done by another firm. The showroom is now being constructed and soon, Manilenos will have an opportunity to live in an authentic old building. We are still waiting. Patiently waiting for Angela to finally fly again.

WHISPERING ICONOGRAPHY

While new developing cities obsess with architectural icons that yell its iconic qualities, an architectural piece by Giancarlo Mazzanti modestly announces itself in the landscape of Santo Domingo, Colombia. Biblioteca Parque Espana is a library overlooking the city. The icon is not imposing and melds with the surrounding foliage, as if rocks sitting on top of the hill. This iconography resembles Jean Nouvel’s Proposed Tower in Spain, combined with the grouping of sail-like silhouettes of Utzon’s Sydney Opera House. Although Nouvel’s tower and this library are both abstraction of a rock formation, Mazzanti’s building evokes softness. From afar, the building looks solid but inside, the volume is actually expressed as another skin. Window placements are abstractly placed to glisten at night and resemble like rock stains. What is striking about this library is its understated presence, yet still leaving us a strong recall. Its high elevation makes it visible from all sides, blending harmoniously with the landscape.

C R E D I T S :

Biblioteca Parque Espana
All Photos by Sergio Gomez