Blast from the past from the past

Next to the architects’ professional organizations, the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers is the oldest design association in the country. The group has been around close to half a century, with a number of its original members still active and the rest thriving in a market that is now more appreciative of Filipino designers.

It was a slow and uphill climb to get to where they are now, but they did it step by step. One of the ways the institute presented their members’ work to the public was through an annual show. Members were given rooms to design based sometimes on a larger theme, but initially, it seems, on whatever was tickling the public’s fancy at the time.

These design shows were featured in broadsheets and magazines of the day. One of the most read ones was the Philippine Arts and Architecture magazine (now defunct). One such feature is what we showcase today. Fourteen rooms by 14 established interior designers of the 1960s were presented (actually with one work by the best student of interior design of that year, 1965 — Johnny Hubilla).

The 14 rooms are an eclectic mix of themes or styles popular in the Philippines in the ‘60s. It was an interesting time when the Philippines was ahead in Southeast Asia, architecture and interior design-wise.

“Asian Game Room” by Wili Fernandez is a Pan Asian-inspired room with elements from a dozen or so Southeast Asian countries.

The first is a standard room of the era, given that it was the heyday of space exploration and the landing on the moon. The “Room of Tomorrow” was designed by the celebrated Ched Berenguer Topacio. It featured a curved ceiling and porthole like that of a spacecraft. The major furniture pieces were made of a wondrous new material at the time — clear plastic, a “Laverne” chair by Roberto Borja, and a plastic “ledge” by — who else? — Oriental Plastic. The rug was acrylic, which was then a space-age material. The furniture pieces are now back in fashion as retro pieces. The big difference with the room and today’s reality is the absence of digital electronics. Laptop or desktop computers and flat-screen TVs were beyond designers’ imaginations then.

Most interior design of the ‘60s was along conservative lines with leanings towards American or European classical styles. One of the rooms, by Audrey Guersey, an affiliate member of the institute, was an “Italian Country Bedroom.” It had a solid looking stonewall as a backdrop with a bed anchored by a headboard shaped as a gothic arch. Close in theme was a “Roman Bathroom” by famed Edgar Ramirez. It was a masterpiece in marble and ornate golden furniture.

The Latin influence was there also with a “Spanish Bedroom” by interior design maven Edith Oliveros and a “Mexican Kitchen” by Pacita Qua. Both rooms used a lot of wrought iron furniture (by Berenguer Topacio), tiles, and wood trim. Another source of wrought iron popular then was El Arte Español, which sadly had to shut down a few years ago. I still regret not going to the final clearance sale to get classic wall fixtures and maybe a garden set. The pieces are now worth a lot even in the international market as all the pieces were handmade.

The rest of Europe was represented by an “Empire Dressing Room” by Joaquin Imperial, an “English Regency Dining Room” by Sonia Santiago Olivares, and a “Scandinavian Modern Office” by Nena Genato Avecilla. The Scandinavian look was a favorite of mine from those days because I remember being fascinated by the mounded plywood furniture and the “system” wall shelving that I thought was pretty cool. They were made here by a firm called Design Masters. The look is fashionable again now.

There were also Asian-inspired rooms. The first was a “Pakistani Room” by Phyllis Harvey, an associate member of the institute, and famous for the renovation of the Manila Hotel a decade later. The room featured an ornate ceiling and Charpoy from an 18th-century flower design executed by Phyllis herself. The furniture and accessories were by her husband Dave Harvey.

The late great Wili Fernandez designed a room called the “Asian Game Room,” which was a Pan-Asian-inspired room with elements from a dozen or so Southeast Asian countries. Fernandez was well known for this bricollage style and it pre-dated today’s Asian-eclecticism by over two decades.

Of note was a “Chinese Dining Room” by the versatile Ronnie Laing, who also did landscape and garden designs. For this dining room, he provided carved wood screens and a coffered wood ceiling made an interesting frame for the long Chinese dining table.

American motifs were still in vogue, but in the ‘60s, there were a lot of references to rustic American styles. The room shown was an “Early American Den” by Nena Villanueva. The look was probably popular because of the log cabin-style renovations of the Baguio Country Club and similar facilities in the City of Pines, which was still a regular summer destination for well-to-do Manilans.

Finally, there was the room by Johnny Hubilla, the top interior design student of 1965 and winner of a design contest set up by the institute. His room was called the “Career Girl’s Apartment.” In the mid- ‘60s, it was unusual to find independent single women living in their own apartments. This lifestyle was only starting and apartment units for lease were the only city housing type available. Condominiums had to wait a few more decades. Hubilla’s winning design was a fun and freestyle open plan layout that reflected the decade’s mores, at least in the Philippines. The selection of furnishings and accessories reflected those available from sponsors, of course, but the final product set itself clearly apart from the older designer’s work.

Johnny would use this initial exposure to start off a career that today is still going strong. He is already preparing the next generation of interior designers through his children and through his involvement with the PIID and now the Board of Interior Designers.

The annual show of PIID has become a tradition. It is emulated today by all schools of interior design and all of them have become venues for the discovery of new and creative talent. With the current surge in real estate projects, there is a lot of room and opportunity waiting for interior designers, veteran or young upstart, conservative or radical. All this new work is sure to be a blast.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.