Group tries to save art deco face of Bauan municipal hall

Conservationists are appealing to municipal officials of Bauan, Batangas, to “incorporate” the “exceptional” art deco design of the old town hall in the new structure they are putting up on the same site.

Ivan Anthony Henares, vice president and trustee of the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS), said the officials were planning to demolish the art deco façade of the municipal building without approval from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in violation of Republic Act No. 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.

The HCS advocates the protection and preservation of the country’s heritage, cultural and historical sites and settings.

In a letter sent on Oct. 8 to Bauan Mayor Ryanh Dolor, the HCS formally appealed to the municipal government to stop the demolition of the municipio scheduled for Oct. 17.  It attributed the 1930s structure to Filipino architect Juan Arellano, who also designed the Legislative Building, Post Office and Metropolitan Theater in Manila.

In an email to the Inquirer, Henares cited Section 5 of RA 10066, which prohibits the demolition of structures 50 years old or older.

“There’s a remarkable story suggested by the architecture of the municipio … The art deco details of the municipio are exceptional, speaking of the wealth of the Commonwealth era,” Henares said, quoting architect Dominic Galicia of the NCCA’s committee on monuments and sites as saying:

Galicia explained that art deco (“arts decoratifs” in French for “decorative arts”) was derived from the International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris in the mid-1920s, which aimed to gather objects, furniture and architecture perceived at that time to be advanced in design.

These objects tended to be geometric and pared down, and later softened into the streamline, he said.

P190-M price tag

The local government of Bauan borrowed money from the Development Bank of the Philippines for the construction of its new municipal building estimated to cost P190 million. The fund is part of the town’s supplemental budget this year, said municipal administrator Antonio De Lacy Jr.

The project will involve the demolition of the police station, offices of the mayor and members of the Sangguniang Bayan, health officer, trial court, Municipal Planning and Development Council, Association of Barangay Council, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Commission on Elections and the library.

According to Henares, the old building is more than 50 years old and demolishing it is not necessary to attain development, He urged officials to “protect” the character of Bauan, referring to the art deco façade which depicts agricultural products.

“Images of agricultural products are pared down and made more diagrammatic in order to conform to the relatively geometric forms of art deco,” Galicia explained. Although acknowledging that he was not an expert on farm products, Galicia said the images look like sugarcane, a major crop in Batangas.

Age difference

Municipal secretary Ferdinand Agena said the councilors were able to retrieve a document of a local ordinance dated 1963 which stated a plan to construct a municipal building. Actual construction was made the following year, the document said.

This finding tends to show that the building is not 50 years old or older, the councilors said.

De Lacy saw as a “necessity” the construction project. “The municipal hall is dilapidated. When heavy rain pours outside, it also rains and floods here inside, affecting us and our services to the public,” he said.

He said renovations had been made, but these turned out to be more costly than building a new edifice.

Moreover, the municipality wants to develop a “face,” De Lacy said. “The municipal building is the symbol of the municipality. How could investors trust us if our government center is just like this?”

‘Use outweighs history’

He said the officials had looked into the historical value of the old municipio, “but the use outweighs historical weight of the matter.”

Henares clarified that the HCS was not opposing the construction of a new building. “In fact, we support it but we should not disregard history,” he said.

He proposed ways on how construction could proceed while preserving the town’s heritage. “If possible, look for another location or integrate the art deco in the new design,” he said.

In its letter, the HCS suggested an “adaptive reuse” or the repair, renovation and integration of the old building into the new structure to accommodate the space requirements of the municipal government.

De Lacy Jr. said he has a plan to incorporate the art deco façade. “I might as well place the façade in a particular place within the municipal compound where they (NHC officials) would see their concern.”

“It’s part of our public service to improve,” he said.

The councilors are scheduled to visit the NHC to air their side and present their findings today, Agena said.