ARC LICO

🏛️ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟎𝟎: 𝐃𝐫. 𝐆𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐀. 𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐨

The Visionary: A prolific architectural historian, academic, and conservation professional dedicated to materializing memory and preserving the Filipino architectural soul.

⭐ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓: 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐨 𝐧𝐢 𝐃𝐫. 𝐏𝐢𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐚

The Design: A thoughtful "reimagination" of the hero's original 19th-century residence, utilizing community recollection and a preserved Spanish aesthetic to recreate a historic fabric that had been lost.

The Impact: Serves as a critical conduit for historical consciousness, bridging the gap between sentimental heritage and practical modern reconstruction while celebrating a key figure in the Katipunan.

Placemaking: Creates a meaningful cultural landmark and "experiential world" that allows visitors to relive history and fosters a deep sense of pride in Valenzuela City's heritage.

🛡️ 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 & 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐂𝐘

Position Held: Professor at UP Diliman College of Architecture and Consulting Architect for the restoration of the Manila Metropolitan Theater.

Professional Upgrade: Championed the scientific conservation of modern Philippine heritage and authored foundational texts like Arkitekturang Filipino that define the nation's architectural narrative.

Advocacy: Promoting "Heritage Stewardship" and urging Filipinos to take proactive ownership of their built environment to safeguard national identity.

"𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙯𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚; 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡."

Join us as we honor the icons shaping the Filipino skyline and safeguarding the future of our craft. 🇵🇭🏛️

Before Quezon City’s domes and institutional towers articulated the skyline, there was first a rotunda—an intentional clearing in the urban field that signaled arrival. Opened in 1948 as ceremonial threshold to the newly declared capital, the rotunda was conceived not as incidental infrastructure but as civic prologue. At its center once stood a monument by Luciano V. Aquino, welcoming visitors into what was imagined as the future seat of Philippine modernity. The photograph reveals the spatial clarity of that gesture: a measured plinth rising from concentric steps, the arch positioned as vertical counterpoint to the horizontal sweep of road and sky. It marked the boundary between Manila and Quezon City. To pass this point was to move from colonial capital to planned city of independence.

Architecturally, the Welcome Arch declares itself through disciplined simplicity. Twin vertical pylons—rectilinear, planar, and unadorned—support a horizontal beam bearing a single declarative word: WELCOME. In the image, the whiteness of the concrete surfaces catches the tropical light, emphasizing mass over ornament. The opening carved between the pylons is not an applied arch but a void—an abstracted portal that frames sky and horizon. This is stripped classicism of the early postwar years, when architectural authority resided in proportion and symmetry rather than embellishment. The stepped base anchors the composition, while the lettering crowns the structure with graphic emphasis. Modest in scale yet monumental in intent, the arch performs the essential architectural act of framing passage—transforming transit into ritual.

Over time, the rotunda evolved from threshold to stage. It became a site of rallies, protests, and assemblies, where civic life unfolded beneath the same beam that once greeted dignitaries and migrants. On May 17, 1995, under Mayor Ismael Mathay Jr., the roundabout was renamed Mabuhay Rotonda—an effort to foreground the Filipino salutation of vitality. Yet whether inscribed in English or invoked in the vernacular, the architectural gesture remains constant: an invitation cast in concrete. In the larger narrative of Philippine architecture, the Welcome Arch may be overshadowed by grander edifices, but it is foundational. It marks the psychological and territorial threshold where Quezon City first asserted itself as cradle of a new national imagination—a prologue in built form, beneath which generations have crossed from aspiration into history.