Magsaysay Centre-
new Manila landmark
IN June 1959 the Congress of the Philippines donated part of the former Plaza Militar fronting Roxas Boulevard in Manila to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. The site was to provide a permanent home for the foun- dation together with rentable offices which would be a source of income for financing the Magsaysay awards - made each year since 1957 in recogni- tion of the achievements of Asians and to commemorate the ideals of the late Philippine president.
The architects appointed to develop the site were given the specific objec- tives of producing a monumental build- ing and a new Manila landmark, while at the same time combining on the site the two disparate functions of the cen- tre one the formal premises of the foundation offices, memorial hall and library and the other, the commercial office space.
Their eventual concept was that of a low, yet well proportioned structure to house the foundation and as tall a tower as permitted by the Manila City Code to house the much larger office space requirements. The two masses were conceived to be visually separated, but tied together by an elevated podium covering the entire property.
The office floors are raised 30ft. above street level to accentuate the separation of the commerical from the memorial functions of the centre. A landscaped open plaza in the middle of the complex runs underneath the office tower which is free standing to a height of 25ft. and is supported by 12 massive, sculptured columns and a cen- tral core.
The site chosen for the project is ideally located to serve its two-fold objective. It is bounded by Roxas Bou levard and Manila Bay to the west. Plaza Militar to the north and M.H. del Pilar Street to the east. Set on a rec- tangular lot measuring 3,038 sq. metres, the building has been sited to best dramatize its dominant tower mass. It is set back from Roxas Boulevard and J. Quintos Street by wide landscaped pavements.
RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD FOUNDATION
LUZ, ARCENAS, PAYUMO, GARCIA & ASS.
PIETRO BELLUSCHI
ALFRED A. YEE & ASSOCIATES
FERRIS & HAMIG, INC.
SASAKI, DAWSON, DEMAY & ASSOCIATES
Office tower from north west
architects
consulting architect
structural engineers
mechanical and electrical consultants
landscaping
lii
Far East BUILDER, December
10
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.