Mañosa, champion of modern Filipino architecture; 88

National Artist for Architecture Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa (Photo from the Facebook account of the Mañosa Group of Companies)

National Artist for Architecture Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa, died on Wednesday, eight days after his 88th birthday.

A tireless champion of modern Filipino architecture, Mañosa drew inspiration from the “bahay kubo” and the “bahay na bato” whose design he found eminently suited to the harsh summers and wet monsoon seasons of the tropics.

His works include the Coconut Palace, Davao Pearl Farm, Edsa Shrine, Amanpulo Resort and the San Miguel Corp. building that was inspired by the Banaue rice terraces and is one of the first green buildings in the country.

Mañosa was the son of a Harvard-educated scholar who became the country’s first sanitation engineer, and a zarzuela star who also appeared in silent movies.

He studied at the University of Santo Tomas, where future National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin was his classmate.

Mañosa is survived by his wife Denise and children Bambi, Dino and Angelo. His remains lie in state at Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for Sunday at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Burial will be at Libingan ng mga Bayani. —Eric S. Caruncho