We caught our friend Conrad Onglao, renowned architect and dedicated father of two sons, in his office one early evening in a surprisingly chatty and relaxed mood.
We felt immediately comfortable – which may sound a little ironic, seeing that we were in an office – but he designed it to be almost like a home that is peaceful, inviting and still functional with sofas, a glass table, plants and curtains. The office is almost a second home considering how much time one spends in it, after all.
Kikay Team: Where did you take up architecture and where did you work before returning home to the Philippines?
Conrad Onglao: At the University of Santo Tomas, I actually took five years of architecture – but first started out doing two years of pre-med in chemistry (my grandfather on my mother’s side was a doctor), giving in to my parent’s wishes – I was told in high school that my aptitude scores for arts and sciences were quite balanced so I could choose to go into either. It ended up being a mistake but at least I realized it early enough to make the switch.
I was a working student for three years – fulltime at school and working every day from eight to five at the Philippine Foundation architectural firm to make up for lost time. After work I would run to class from about six to nine in the evening.
After school I had saved enough money and moved to the States – Newport, Rhode Island. I got married, got my first job there in a firm basically starting from the bottom, even slept in the office to catch up with work and read books to get a better understanding of architecture. I was given my first break after two years to do an eight-story office building during the recession of 1982-83 and stayed on for four to five years.
Then I worked with another firm called Lee and Sakahara that worked mostly on restaurants.
I got the opportunity to go into interior design and, through that experience, did the interiors of the first Chanel boutique in the US on Rodeo Drive that a French architect designed. I got a break in doing hotel projects working with Harold Thompson (Sheraton, et cetera) and Concepts 4.
It is so related and is such an advantage to have both an architectural and interior design background.
What inspired you to become an architect and what inspires your work?
I was always fascinated with how things happened and evolved. Science and arts are related, connected. The process of building something intrigued me. I had been artistically inclined since a boy, different from my brothers – as to how I looked, what shirt I liked (nothing to do with fashion). I fixed my room in a particular way (not that I was neat – according to my mother I was a bit of a slob). My curiosity grew more in college when I was working for this architect who was a priest. After I graduated from college I sought my boss’ advice – I asked him "What do I do after college?" He said one word: "Travel." "That’s it? I shouldn’t take my master’s degree?" He answered again: "Travel."
After eight years in the US, I went back to see him and asked him once again for his advice: "Travel some more!" He didn’t say much but I took his advice to heart.
Sometimes I can just be inspired by something – it could even be the silhouette of a cup and then that’s your inspiration for a building.
Take Frank Gehry and the Guggenheim Museum made of titanium in Bilbao – looking at that structure humbles you. How can someone create something as magical and awe-inspiring?
I always feel that you have to be inspired, it’s a gift that you are given. I’m only a medium. I have a preferred style but I’ll never impose it on anyone. But if somebody shows me something and says "Can you design this?" and if I feel I can, I will say yes. It just shows versatility.
Why did you come back?
I had a lot of Japanese clients so I would go to Japan once in a while. They kept asking me to open an office in Asia and naturally, being Filipino, I decided to come home to start my own firm.
Have you ever felt compelled to go back to LA?
Home is Manila for now. My children are here (Kenji, 18 and Mikey, 12). I’ve always felt home is where one’s loved ones are. One thing America taught me is to be a survivor and to adapt to certain situations. That’s why I sent my eldest son Kenji to I.S. (International School). Now he’s adapting to living in a foreign country and is learning a new language at the age of 18.
What I learned in the US is that architecture and interior design is a lifestyle, it is my lifestyle. My surroundings have to reflect what I profess, otherwise I’d be faking it. That’s always been my belief. You have to live it. It has to be a part of you and anything you do has to be done with a certain degree of perfectionism.
What projects are you working on right now?
Right now my projects are about 80 percent residential and 20 percent commercial; more architecture than interior design inspires me at work. It is not the size, the budget or the location of the project that attracts me. It is first and foremost the rapport that you have with the client.
We also know that you are a fabulous cook. When and how did you start cooking?
My mother was a home economics teacher, my father an engineer. As a kid, I was brought to the market to learn to buy fruits and fish, to wash and iron. My mother told me "Someday, you never know if you can afford a maid or if your wife will know how to do all these things."
The "love language" for my father was to cook for us kids our favorite dishes when we ate at home. That was how he expressed his love for us. I used to watch my dad cook; that’s how I learned. It came so naturally for me to cook. What he did for me, I now do for my kids. My bonding time with my youngest son Mikey is watching Iron Chef America.
You are perceived as a sought-after bachelor. How do you duck propositions?
I don’t think I get proposals. Maybe I’m naïve about it. Being high-profile is not me, I just lead my life, work hard, go home, go to small dinners of friends. I am a homebody, my weekends are spent with my kids, going to the grocery.
A lot of men are dressed by their wives or girlfriends. What is your sense of style?
I don’t really have one. I wear whatever I feel like wearing. On weekends, I’m always in my walking shorts, just like when I lived in Newport – it was like a uniform!
How do you keep in shape?
No rigorous activity – I brisk-walk, run, watch what I eat. No one in the family was really into sports. Kenji was the captain of the track and field team at I.S. He’s the first one in the family who is sports-minded.
Where is your dream destination?
My dream destination is not a place, it is a state of being – I want to settle down. Being with the right person and settling down will complete my life. I’m looking forward to that day. In spite of previous failed relationships I am never discouraged from hoping.
Describe your fantasy woman.
A woman who has her own passions, aspires to be good at what she does, is intelligent, has a sense of humor, a certain breeding, an individual sense of style. Beauty fades. Someone who brings out the best in you. Someone I can talk to for hours on end. (Like the "someone special" I am seeing right now!)
What do you want to be in your next life?
I want to be a farmer. Someone told me that there is a certain tranquility in my projects, a certain quietness. And this is the exact feeling I get when I’m in the garden. I like gardening; I surround myself with plants. It’s a simple life. The freshness that you get every morning, that’s a big turn-on.
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