originally uploaded by carlosceldran.
I drove by the Cultural Center of the Philippines today and let me say that I am just thrilled as a pig in a poke that its facade is being fixed - finally! The very sight of of scaffolding and construction workers around the structure just warmed the cockles of my jaded heart. Not only was its cheap marble trim (from a bad repair job done in the 90's) being replaced by new travertine from Italy; but workers in hard-hats and high pressure hoses were methodically stripping off years of layered grime from its concrete pylons and walls. Inside, all the bathrooms are also being refreshed and its public spaces cleaned and vacuumed. And in a country where the basic maintenance of a government structure means to annually slather a coat of mint green paint over anything that doesnt move, to see such painstaking effort to restore National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin's magnum opus is a very welcome development. It shows that things can finally be done right around here and that RESTORATION is ultimately better for our heritage structures than RENOVATION. So Bravo to the board of directors and management of the CCP for maintaining the architectural integrityof this strikingly beautiful but misunderstood national landmark. Same goes to the management of the PICC for their restoration efforts as well. To learn more about these sites, log onto the official CCP (There are great shows happening in March) and PICC websites or come to my Martial Arts! Tour.
