Leandro V. Locsin was a Filipino interior designer, artist and architect who was known for his use of floating volume, simplistic design and concrete in his various works and projects. An avid art collector, he also favored Chinese ceramics and modern painting. He was proclaimed a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 1990 by Former President Corazon C. Aquino.
Locsin was born on the 15th of August in 1928 in Silay City, Negros Occidental and he was the grandson of the first governor of that province. He later studied at the De La Salle Brothers in 1935 before returning to Negros due to World War II. He returned to Manila to study at the University of Santo Tomas, taking up Pre-Law before shifting to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Music. He later shifted again to Architecture just a year before graduating, although he was becoming a budding pianist at the time. He married Cecilia Yulo and they had two children, one of whom is also an architect and is also his namesake.
As an art lover, he frequented the Philippine Art Gallery, where he met and befriended the curator, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, who recommended Locsin as a designer to various entities. In 1955, the Chaplain of the University of the Philippines, Fr. John Delaney, commissioned Locsin to design a chapel that is open and can easily accommodate a thousand people. The Church of the Holy Sacrifice is the first structure in the Philippines to have a thin shell concrete dome and the first round chapel in the country with the altar in the middle. The church is recognized today by the National Museum and National Historical Institute respectively as a Cultural Treasure and a National Historical Landmark.
He realized the artistic use of concrete for his buildings after a visit to the United States where he met some of his biggest influences. Concrete was relatively cheap in the Philippines and easy to form. In 1969, he completed what is to become his most recognizable work, the Theater of Performing Arts now known as the Tanghalang Pambansa of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Huge arching columns at the sides of the building cantilever the marble façade by 12 meters from the terrace, giving it the impression of floating. A large lagoon in front of the theatre mirrors the building during daylight, while fountains are illuminated by underwater lights by nighttime. The building houses four theaters, a museum of ethnographic and other temporary exhibits, galleries, and a library on Philippine art and culture. After the renown of this structure, he designed many other buildings for both the public and private sector, the list of which can be easily and readily found mostly online.
Ironically, Locsin's last work was also a church in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. He died on the 15th of November in 1994 in Makati City. In 2003, his family donated land to the campus of De La Salle-Canlubang which was named after him.
Locsin was born on the 15th of August in 1928 in Silay City, Negros Occidental and he was the grandson of the first governor of that province. He later studied at the De La Salle Brothers in 1935 before returning to Negros due to World War II. He returned to Manila to study at the University of Santo Tomas, taking up Pre-Law before shifting to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Music. He later shifted again to Architecture just a year before graduating, although he was becoming a budding pianist at the time. He married Cecilia Yulo and they had two children, one of whom is also an architect and is also his namesake.
As an art lover, he frequented the Philippine Art Gallery, where he met and befriended the curator, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, who recommended Locsin as a designer to various entities. In 1955, the Chaplain of the University of the Philippines, Fr. John Delaney, commissioned Locsin to design a chapel that is open and can easily accommodate a thousand people. The Church of the Holy Sacrifice is the first structure in the Philippines to have a thin shell concrete dome and the first round chapel in the country with the altar in the middle. The church is recognized today by the National Museum and National Historical Institute respectively as a Cultural Treasure and a National Historical Landmark.
He realized the artistic use of concrete for his buildings after a visit to the United States where he met some of his biggest influences. Concrete was relatively cheap in the Philippines and easy to form. In 1969, he completed what is to become his most recognizable work, the Theater of Performing Arts now known as the Tanghalang Pambansa of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Huge arching columns at the sides of the building cantilever the marble façade by 12 meters from the terrace, giving it the impression of floating. A large lagoon in front of the theatre mirrors the building during daylight, while fountains are illuminated by underwater lights by nighttime. The building houses four theaters, a museum of ethnographic and other temporary exhibits, galleries, and a library on Philippine art and culture. After the renown of this structure, he designed many other buildings for both the public and private sector, the list of which can be easily and readily found mostly online.
Ironically, Locsin's last work was also a church in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. He died on the 15th of November in 1994 in Makati City. In 2003, his family donated land to the campus of De La Salle-Canlubang which was named after him.
