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Edifice Complex: Power, Myth And Marcos State Architecture
Gerard Lico provides straightforward historical narrative ad architectural criticism of the buildings within the prime site of Marcosian architecture, that is the CCP Complex, but he situates these within the terrain of tyranny that rerouted foreign aid funds and co-opted the architectural flair of the likes of Locsin, Manosa, and Hong.
- GenresHistory
179 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 15, 2023
The persistence of memory and thousands of documents subject to the repressive memories of the Marcos administration on how the conjugal dictatorship wielded its power with brutal coercion continues to permeate our consciousness. The authoritarian regime’s methods of legitimizing the socio-political control in the Philippines extended through the dictatorship’s exploitation of arcane poetics, meanings, and true purpose concealed by the overlooked noncoercive modes of power—architecture and space.
Gerard Lico writes about the significant architectural achievements during the Marcos administration—the CCP, Coconut Palace, PICC, etc. Edifice Complex discusses the relationship between power and architecture. The book is divided into six chapters, deductive in a sense where Lico begins with an overview of the politico-theoretical framework of architecture according to structure and agency, the beginning of democracy assertions and metaphors under colonial authority through cultural coexistence, and finally and gradually discusses the regime’s manipulative use of culture and national identity to sustain “democracy.” Lico discusses how the regime naturalized power by drawing the Filipinos to emotional manipulation through “social reengineering.” Lico walks the readers through how the oppressors materialized the production of “folk architecture” as a scheme, a populist approach, that “inspired a collective consciousness of an imagined past to fabricate a national symbol” to create illusions of progress amid a crippling Philippine economy. Personally, Lico demystifying the myths that hegemonize the Marcos state architecture is the highlight of the book as he analyzes the contexts that define the “edifice complex.”
The Marcosian state architecture imparts us with a far heavier legacy than architectural accomplishments. The paradoxical utilization of funds – where these enormous foreign borrowings could have been actual instruments of progress to aid the socioeconomic disparities rather than masking the true internal struggle with subversions to false modernity, engineered culture, and romanticized national identity to legitimize hegemony. The permanent existence of public displays of power affirmation imparts the Filipinos and the following generations the legacy of loans and landmarks of totalitarian impulses through oppressive, alienating, exclusionary, and underutilized built forms.
The only issue I found in this book is that Lico’s thoughts tend to be duplicative, where some concepts become reassertions to something else that was already directly sufficient. Overall, this is one of the books I treasured reading since this is the only accessible book I know discussing the larger implication of politics in architecture in the Philippine context. There were helpful footnotes and archival photographs. It’s short and conveniently coherent. Personally, this book was an eye-opener.
Gerard Lico writes about the significant architectural achievements during the Marcos administration—the CCP, Coconut Palace, PICC, etc. Edifice Complex discusses the relationship between power and architecture. The book is divided into six chapters, deductive in a sense where Lico begins with an overview of the politico-theoretical framework of architecture according to structure and agency, the beginning of democracy assertions and metaphors under colonial authority through cultural coexistence, and finally and gradually discusses the regime’s manipulative use of culture and national identity to sustain “democracy.” Lico discusses how the regime naturalized power by drawing the Filipinos to emotional manipulation through “social reengineering.” Lico walks the readers through how the oppressors materialized the production of “folk architecture” as a scheme, a populist approach, that “inspired a collective consciousness of an imagined past to fabricate a national symbol” to create illusions of progress amid a crippling Philippine economy. Personally, Lico demystifying the myths that hegemonize the Marcos state architecture is the highlight of the book as he analyzes the contexts that define the “edifice complex.”
The Marcosian state architecture imparts us with a far heavier legacy than architectural accomplishments. The paradoxical utilization of funds – where these enormous foreign borrowings could have been actual instruments of progress to aid the socioeconomic disparities rather than masking the true internal struggle with subversions to false modernity, engineered culture, and romanticized national identity to legitimize hegemony. The permanent existence of public displays of power affirmation imparts the Filipinos and the following generations the legacy of loans and landmarks of totalitarian impulses through oppressive, alienating, exclusionary, and underutilized built forms.
The only issue I found in this book is that Lico’s thoughts tend to be duplicative, where some concepts become reassertions to something else that was already directly sufficient. Overall, this is one of the books I treasured reading since this is the only accessible book I know discussing the larger implication of politics in architecture in the Philippine context. There were helpful footnotes and archival photographs. It’s short and conveniently coherent. Personally, this book was an eye-opener.
March 14, 2025
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Apat na mito na tinindigan at itinayo ng mga Marcos ang nilista ni Lico: myth of monumentalism, of modern progress, of modernity, of nationality and collectivity. Isang bansa, isang diwa, maraming pagkabanas, iisang agiw. Monumento ng Film Center bilang manipestasyon ng progreso, minumulto ng mga pugot na ulo ng mga nalibing na manggagawa, para sa iisang bansa mula Romblon hanggang Butuan na hindi makakatapak kailanman sa kumikinang na kisame ng Philippine International Convention Center. Anong prinsipyo ang gumagabay sa pagpaplano ng mga gusali, sa pagpapatayo ng mga ciudad? Upang ituring ang mga sarili na ‘Maliksi at Maganid’ na siyang ina’t ama ng bansang nawalay sa ginintuan nitong tradisyon? Upang ibuyangyang ang “kongkretong” pag-unlad ng bansa na inutang sa mga dayuhan at pagbabayaran ng mga apo ng mga apo?
Apat na mito na tinindigan at itinayo ng mga Marcos ang nilista ni Lico: myth of monumentalism, of modern progress, of modernity, of nationality and collectivity. Isang bansa, isang diwa, maraming pagkabanas, iisang agiw. Monumento ng Film Center bilang manipestasyon ng progreso, minumulto ng mga pugot na ulo ng mga nalibing na manggagawa, para sa iisang bansa mula Romblon hanggang Butuan na hindi makakatapak kailanman sa kumikinang na kisame ng Philippine International Convention Center. Anong prinsipyo ang gumagabay sa pagpaplano ng mga gusali, sa pagpapatayo ng mga ciudad? Upang ituring ang mga sarili na ‘Maliksi at Maganid’ na siyang ina’t ama ng bansang nawalay sa ginintuan nitong tradisyon? Upang ibuyangyang ang “kongkretong” pag-unlad ng bansa na inutang sa mga dayuhan at pagbabayaran ng mga apo ng mga apo?
November 16, 2024
ooh superbly organized, some things i don't agree with necessarily but most things are well-argued, the framework is solid. really enjoyed this, found it beautifully written and so sharp. love the little "plot twist", if we can call it that, about the ccp complex and modern architecture at the end haha. no wonder it's such a filipino cultural studies classic and a mainstay in marcos dictatorship scholarship.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews