Pavilion of progress 1970

Around this time last year I found myself in China at the Shanghai Expo. It was a magnificent event that eventually brought in more than 73 million visitors. That was a record that had been held for 40 years by the most popular expo until Shanghai’s. That was the 1970 exposition in Osaka.

The Philippine pavilion at Shanghai drew much attention despite being contained in a generic box of a structure. This was because we could not afford any more than a pre-built modular affair. These were provided to those countries with limited budgets. Our designers and curators did a great job inside, but of course we suffered outside in comparison to other country’s pavilions …even those from Southeast Asia.

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia all had pavilions that shouted out their country’s presence to the millions who walked by each day. Ours was lost amid the architectural acrobatics and fascinating use of natural and man-made building materials that exemplified structures like the one the Indonesian’s built — with full grown tropical palms, a structure of hardwood, and lush landscaping at that.

Imelda walks with architect Lindy Locsin to cut the ribbon.

Time was when the Philippine pavilion was among the most distinctive structures in any world exposition. The country has participated in numerous ones since the turn of the 19th century. The St. Louis exposition had a whole complex that replicated Intramuros along with vernacular architecture from most of the country’s different regions. Other world fairs in Buffalo (1901), New York (1901), Seattle (1909), San Francisco (1915) and Treasure Island (1939) also had distinctive Philippine pavilions.

After the war it took a while for us to participate again. We joined the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The ’62 Philippine pavilion seems to have been housed in a pre-designed structure that was consequently dressed up by architect Lor Calma. He also apparently did the interiors of the pavilion. Calma’s inventive use of limited materials was echoed by his son over four decades later in the Shanghai expo. The conditions were similar.

The 1964 fair in New York saw the Philippines with more money to spend. We built our own pavilion this time; a unique structure that took inspiration from the native salakot. The architect was Otilio Arrellano and the pavilion was a great success. (I wrote about this pavilion in an earlier column.)

The First Lady with her children are flanked by Don Jaime Zobel and Lindy Locsin.

My favorite pavilion (and in fact, possibly my favorite example of modern Philippine design) was Lindy Locsin’s Philippine pavilion for the 1970 Osaka Exposition, or Expo ’70 for short. It is also my favorite of all Locsin’s work because…well, it worked.

The pavilion’s scale (relatively small), composition and proportion were perfect for a sliver of a site that was provided. Locsin’s use of a strong diagonal geometry for the pavilion’s roof also was a masterstroke; as it enabled the structure to stand out against the massive and mirrored Canadian pavilion. Many photographs were taken of the Philippine pavilion reflected in the Canadian’s.

Nicolas Polites in his book on Locsin wrote that the pavilion’s “…dramatic roof sweeping up from the ground was intended to express the soaring prospects and future-oriented outlook of the Filipino people. The architectural message was that although the Philippines is a young and developing country, it has a progressive spirit.”

Expo hostesses greet the opening day crowd at the Philippine pavilion.

The pavilion was essentially a roof over a two-level space. It had an open plan that made the spaces provided larger than they actually were. Locsin used narra and capiz, along with other native materials in a structural frame of reinforced concrete. The roof mimicked a shell with its ridge providing an opportunity for natural light to filter down the grand space. This light made for easy viewing of the photo exhibit and artifacts that included crafts, textiles and produce from the Philippines.

Another thing that distinguished our participation at Osaka was the deployment of an 88-man (actually more women) delegation to the expo. More than half of these were young Filipina “hostesses.” The women were chosen after rigorous screening and they were eventually honed for six months before the flight to Osaka and the pavilion’s opening.

The young hostesses were given much exposure in Philippine media. They were taken on tours of the whole Philippines to acquaint themselves with our tourist spots. They also took crash courses in Nipponggo, international politics, and economics, aside from the usual training in deportment, folk dancing, and social skills.

The delegation and the pavilion were a hit. The Philippines was voted among the 10 most popular pavilions in Osaka’s Expo ’70. This can be attributed to the elegant and distinctive architecture of Locsin, the hospitality of the Philippine hostesses, and the serious support that the government gave towards the building, fitting out and manning of the pavilion.

The Philipppine pavilion suits a stylish silhouette at the Expo grounds.

Of course, the free San Miguel beer helped…as well as the visit of popular first lady Imelda Marcos, who caused quite a stir in Japan with her outfits, her bee-hived statuesque beauty, and general effusiveness.

From the ’70s, our participation in global venues such as the expos became watered down affairs. We have since not had a purpose-designed freestanding pavilion of our own since then. It would be great if we could be given the chance to build even a small one in the next expo.

While waiting for that chance, frustrated designers and architects have an opportunity to design a Philippine pavilion. This is in conjunction with an exhibit next month, which I am curating for SM North. The exhibit is a celebration of Quezon City and the site of the shopping mall, which was originally intended as the National Exposition grounds for the new capital of the Philippines.

The Philippine delegation performs at the Amin Hall of the Expo.

Several of these expositions were to be held from 1941-1946 when our independence was due. At that time we were to have a world’s fair in our new capital. The exposition grounds were actually planned out before the war. American architect Harry Frost worked in association with Filipino architect Juan Arellano and the American landscape architect Louis Croft to lay out the site and design the buildings.

One of the young architects assisting them was Felipe Mendoza, who I was to work for in the ’70s. Architect Mendoza provided me with copies of the designs before he passed away a decade ago. These have not been seen in public since 1941. It will be displayed at SM North’s The Block in the second and third weeks of August. I will write further on these in the near future.

In the meanwhile, let us go back to the story of the Expo ’70 Philippine pavilion. Japan deemed the expo a success and indeed it was. It was also the first world’s fair the country held and it announced Japan’s return to first-world status. Over 60 million visitors came to the 330-hectare expo, which had for its theme “Progress and Harmony for Mankind.” The Philippine pavilion, like most of the others, was torn down after the expo. The site survives to this day as a lovely park that Osakans love to use.

The members of the Philippine delegation pose with Aurora Pijuan who won the Miss International title that year.

One wonders when we will even aspire to host even a regional expo with any success. In the meanwhile we have what is tantamount to one in the offerings of shopping complexes like SM’s…a year round exposition of the best of the Philippines and the world.

Malls here have developed in a distinctively Filipino way and hopefully we evolve an urbanity that takes the positive aspects of commercial development and melds it with the interests of a public, hungry for the pleasures of city life…in new pavilions of progress.

* * *

Feedback is welcome. Please email the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.