Federico Ilustre (1912–1989) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

architect who worked for the Bureau of Public Works (now the

Department of Public Works and Highways The Department of Public Works and Highways ( fil, Kagawaran ng mga Pagawain at Lansangang Bayan}), abbreviated as DPWH, is the executive department of the Philippine government solely vested with the Mandate to “be the State's engineering ...

). It was during his tenure as consulting architect that some of the country's prominent postwar architectural structures were built.

Life

Ilustre graduated with a degree in architecture at the

Mapua Institute of Technology Mapua, Māpua, or Mapúa may refer to: *Mapuá River, a river in the Pará state of north-central Brazil *Māpua, New Zealand, a small town on the South Island of New Zealand *Mapúa University, a tertiary institute in Manila, Philippines *Tomás Ma ...

, eventually becoming a licensed architect in 1937. His architectural experience however went way back, when he started out in 1935 as a draftsman in the architectural office of

Juan Nakpil Juan Felipe de Jesús Nakpil, KGCR (born Juan Felipe Nakpil y de Jesús; May 26, 1899 – May 7, 1986) known as Juan Nakpil, was a Filipino architect, teacher and a community leader. In 1973, he was named one of the National Artists for architec ...

, as well as a stint as a furniture designer in 1936 for Puyat and Sons. He first joined the Bureau of Public Works in 1936 as a draftsman, staying in that position until the outbreak of World War II in the country in 1941. He was then promoted to the position of consulting architect iduring the Japanese Occupation. After the war, he briefly left the bureau to join the AFWESPAC of the US Army as supervising architect and assist them in the postwar infrastructure rehabilitation. In 1947, he became the supervising architect of the National Housing Commission, a position he held for two years until he returned to the Bureau of Public Works in 1949 also as supervising architect. He would remain with the public works office until the 1970s. His most notable work would be his design of the

Quezon Memorial Shrine The Quezon Memorial Shrine ( fil, Pambansang Pang-alaalang Dambana ni Quezon, ) is a monument and national shrine dedicated to former Philippine President Manuel Quezon located within the grounds of Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Metro Ma ...

monument, a design he made for a national design competition held in 1951 for the then-planned monument for late President Manuel L. Quezon, where he won the grand prize. In addition, he also designed some notable postwar structures, varying in architectural styles from high-modernism to the neo-vernacular.

Death

Federico Ilustre died in 1989 in Manila, Philippines.

Works

* Quezon Memorial Shrine,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

, 1978 * former GSIS Headquarters Building,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, 1957 * Veterans Memorial Building, Manila, 1957 (Demolished 2007) * Independence Grandstand (now

Quirino Grandstand The Quirino Grandstand, formerly known as the Independence Grandstand, is a grandstand located at Rizal Park, Manila, Philippines. History Contrary to popular belief, the first Independence Grandstand was not originally located on the present ...

), Rizal Park, Manila, 1949 * Manila International Airport, Nichols Field, 1961 (demolished; currently the site of the

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

) * Department of Agriculture Building, Quezon City * National Housing Authority Building, Quezon City *

Planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area ...

, Manila

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilustre, Federico 1912 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Filipino architects Mapúa University alumni