The High Life

For the past 15 years, I’ve lived the high life. It’s not because I see myself above everyone else but because I’ve opted to see everyone else from a high-rise balcony. I’ve gotten used to and now prefer high-rise living, after living and working in condominiums, apartments (or "flats" as they call them abroad). I’ve also always lived in the city center with the advantage of being close to work, leisure and entertainment. Many Filipinos now opt for this life but it has taken a while to take hold.

Apartment living, especially in multi-story buildings, has only recently become a common and sometimes more prestigious option for Filipinos. Cities in the Philippines were spacious enough until the mid-twentieth century to allow for "bungalow" living in extramural enclaves or "subdivisions." From then on, the move, aside from outward, was also upward.

Expat Extramuros

In Manila, the first apartments in reinforced concrete came after the original enclaves of Ermita and Malate had filled out and there was nowhere to go but vertical. This was in the late 1930s and most of the residents were expats – Americans, British and a sprinkling of Filipinos.

The architects of these buildings were local or locally-based designers. Pablo Antonio was one of the more prolific ones. The Syquia apartments are credited to him. Others were designed by American architects like Cheri Mandelbaum, who was stationed here and had held a post at the Bureau of Public Works.

The apartments were more often than not done in Art Deco style, with sleek lines and modern façades. The units had high ceilings, modern conveniences like elevators, telephone lines, hot and cold water and spacious balconies. Balconies were an integral part of each apartment and from these, one could enjoy the sea air and grand view of the sunset or swards of green. Most faced the bay while others, like those in Pasay, overlooked Harrison Park and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Everyone had a room with a view!

Going International

Although the war saw the loss of some of these buildings, a number of them survived in Ermita, Malate and Pasay. In the post war years, housing first moved out into the new suburban centers of Makati and Quezon City. Ermita and Malate filled out again. The first post-war ones were fairly low, three to five stories. They were built, like the pre-war ones, in a hybrid Art-Deco style.

Higher structures made their appearance in the late Fifties and early Sixties when building materials were more available and land was more expensive. These buildings were also designed in the newer "international style" that took over 10 years to get to these shores. Form followed function as cantilevers and new materials like aluminum and steel emerged.

Two high-rise apartment buildings of note were built in this period – the Carmen Apartments on Roxas Boulevard and the Monterey Apartments along Ayala Avenue in Makati.

Curvy Chic

The Carmen Apartments building was designed by Carlos Arguelles and completed in 1958. Arguelles was already an established architect at the time and considered one of the best Filipino modern designers. He had apprenticed with Welton Becket (of Jai Alai, LAX and Dorothy Chandler Auditorium fame) immediately after the war and came back to make a name for himself in the 1950s. He designed the Philamlife Homes and later, the classic modernist masterpiece – the Philamlife building.

The Carmen is one of his most elegant buildings. Its curved plan is a stylish contrast to the surrounding buildings and complements the larger curve of the boulevard. All the floors and units have wide cantilevered balconies that provide entertainment space as well as shade from the sun. Steel railings and large windows combine with these floating slabs to give the building a lightness and transparency even though the main building material is reinforced concrete. Indoors, the units are roomy and spaces flow into each other and onto the balconies. Stairs and elevators are well-integrated and parking spaces are adequate.

The building survives to this day, though in need of a little sprucing up. The lines and silhouette still stand out and the building should be considered part of the architectural heritage of the area contributing, as it does, to the character of the waterfront boulevard.

Modernist Monterey

Afew kilometers inland, another stylish apartment building made its debut on Ayala Avenue. The Monterey Apartments, built around the same time, was one of the first high-rise structures in Makati. The Ayala Corporation commissioned a promising young architect whose previous completed work was a chapel in the round at Diliman. That architect was Leandro Locsin.

The Monterey was also done in the international style and made of reinforced concrete. Like the Carmen Apartments, it also featured large overhanging balconies with steel railings. Locsin added aluminum louvers, or brise soleil as they were more fashionably called, on the hotter western façade for additional shade. (Arguelles used the same device on his Philamlife building which was under construction then.)

The Monterey was an extremely transparent building. Bands of glazing were wrapped around the building while one wall of the stairwell was all glass! Locsin also broke the mass of the building down by playing with the faced planes. The building looked great at night especially since there were few buildings around. Like a lantern, it beaconed to urbanites to embrace modernity and come to Makati.

Indoors, the units were as bright and light as their façade. I do prefer Locsin’s earlier building before the onset of his "brutalist" concrete phase. The influence of Bauhaus and modernist architects like Mies and Nuetra was as evident as were the creativity and craftsmanship. However, such can only be gleaned from pictures now as the building was replaced by a larger and taller condominium building in the 1970s.

Wanted: Cleaner Air, Clearer Views

I would have loved to live in either building. Of course now, balcony living is less bearable because of pollution. The Carmen still gets its share of fresh sea air once in a while. Today’s condominium buildings are also more cramped and less generous with amenities (unless one pays gazillions of pesos). It is hard to find rooms with a view not marred by the blight that is Metro Manila.

I should consider myself blessed that my view is still the fairly green vista of the UP, Balara, Maryknoll and Ateneo campuses. But I look the other way and all I see is the thick layer of smog pierced here and there by a Manila, Makati or Ortigas skyscraper.

I should consider myself lucky, too, that Katipunan has all the amenities one needs, save for a good cinema. Restaurants and convenience stores are all a walk away. The downside is that there are no sidewalks to speak of and one is constantly inhaling motorcycle engine fumes on the trip to rent a VCD or DVD.

Vertical living is a good option. For urban Filipinos of the future, it may be the only future. To make it work, much needs to be done to control and ensure good design for condos and mixed-use complexes. Our zoning laws and building codes need to address new or re-discovered forms of urban design and planning that integrate these types of housing in a more user- and pedestrian-friendly way. The resurrection of streets, parks, plazas and public spaces should be part of this effort.

Finally, I do hope that one day, we may be able to use balconies once more with cleaner air, clearer views, more green spaces and a higher quality of urban life.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at citysensephilstar@hotmail.com.