Francisco Mañosa

Francisco Mañosa (1931-2019) was conferred National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 2018, honoured for a lifelong pursuit of a genuinely Filipino modern architecture. Where many peers looked abroad, Mañosa looked to the bahay kubo and bahay na bato, translating indigenous forms, materials and climate wisdom into contemporary buildings.

His most celebrated work is the Coconut Palace (1981) in the CCP Complex, built largely from coconut lumber, shell and other native materials. He designed the EDSA Shrine (1989), the church marking the People Power revolution, and the terraced San Miguel Corporation headquarters, an early example of a green, garden-clad office building. Through his firm, Mañosa and Company, he also shaped landmark resorts such as Pearl Farm in Davao.

Mañosa argued that Philippine architecture should be tropical, rooted and unmistakably local rather than a copy of foreign styles. His neo-vernacular philosophy influenced a wave of younger designers and gave the country a distinct architectural identity.