Notes

Curator’s Notes

It has long been a dream of Pablo S. Antonio’s family to build a digital space for his ancestral home of 2650 Zamora Street, Pasay. With limitations of travel and the time spent within dwellings and bubbles, the impact of the pandemic has propelled the home to open its doors in an alternate landscape.

The seven decade old house holds countless stories. To digitize and archive those memories has become a vital step in preserving heritage and its spirit of place. The house has always remained as it was – retaining its original furnishings and architecture. Yet, its multi-faceted endeavors, from interior rearrangement to art production, create unique living experiences and moments for people to cherish every time one takes a step into Antonio’s world.

This is an initiative of nostalgia – of personal, aesthetic, and social history. I frequently visit my great grandfather’s house for family occasions. In my younger years, I was able to meet my great grandmother, ‘Lola Marina’. But it was through collecting and looking at a timeline of photographs and narratives that had given me the opportunity to get to know my great grandfather’s legacy as a person and architect.

I came to realize that Lolo Pablo’s home is more than just a home, but a maker’s space and an artist’s place in a marvel of Philippine architecture that has proven the Architect’s title as National Artist.

The launch of this website dedicated to the Pablo S. Antonio Home is a milestone in its continuing legacy and a celebration of architectural heritage. Like in many aspects of cultural heritage across the archipelago, the home is certainly a hidden sanctuary waiting to be rediscovered and carried on by younger generations of Filipinos today.

– Joshua Barrera, Curator of Pablo S. Antonio’s House of Dreamers

October 27, 2021

Key Resources

Publications

Art Deco in the Philippines by Lourdes Montinola. Art Post Asia, 2010.

The Architectural Legacy of Pablo S. Antonio, 1901-1975. Reyes Publishing Inc., 2013.

Deco Filipino: Art Deco Heritage in the Philippines by Ivan Man Dy and Gerard Lico. Art Post Asia, 2020.

In Search of My Grandfather’s Legacy: Pablo S. Antonio: National Artist for Architecture by Vicky Veloso-Barrera. Filnet Art Series, 2021.

Essays

American Traditions and Transformations in Philippine Architecture (1900 Onward) by Rodrigo D. Perez III (updated by Rene B. Javellana). CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art Digital Edition, 2018.

Philippine Architecture by Rodrigo D. Perez III (updated by Rene B. Javellana). CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art Digital Edition, 2018.

Contributors

with the support of the Pablo Antonio Ancestral House Project.