Cover The curvaceous lines of the Molo Mansion’s exteriors seduce anyone observing the house from the outside
The curvaceous lines of the Molo Mansion’s exteriors seduce anyone observing the house from the outside
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In a visually arresting book titled ‘Houses That Sugar Built’, authors Gina Consing McAdam and Siobhán Doran tell the tales behind the historic homes that proliferated during the sugar boom in the Philippines
It was an idea that came up one night when the Manila-born writer Gina Consing McAdam invited the Irish photographer Siobhán Doran and architectural writer Ian McDonald for dinner at her home in London. Doran got curious about a black-and-white photograph of an unusually big house that hangs by an alcove at the top of the stairs. It turned out that the house in the photograph was the Molo Mansion, an ancestral home once owned by the Yusay-Consing family in the Philippines.
“It looked intriguing and much bigger than an average home in the UK,” Doran says. As she eagerly listened to McAdam talk about the ancestral house and, inevitably, the family’s history, the award-winning photographer couldn’t help but wonder if there were more houses like it. “I said there were,” says McAdam. True enough, there are many houses not only similar in size to the Molo Mansion but also as rich in history. These dwellings, which can be found in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Pampanga, were mostly built when the country’s sugar industry was at its peak. Because business was good, the families who owned and ran the haciendas and sugar centrals in those provinces became richer than they already were. As a result, they were able to amass properties, including huge mansions of varying styles. The affluent sugar barons also could travel to different countries.
“Travel to Europe and the US, even to South America, brought an awareness of art and culture outside their native provinces; they were exposed to the streets and structures of Paris, Rome and Vienna. And they imbibed and built what they saw, whether the inspirations were art nouveau or art deco, Palladian or Mannerist,” says McAdam. “Europe and the US in particular, between the wars—when many of our sugar houses were built—were hives of artistic and architectural expression, if not experimentation.” Because of this exposure, the globetrotters were able to explain to their respective architects and master builders the designs or styles they’d like to replicate in their own homes. On the other hand, those who were not able to travel abroad had wide access to magazines or, in some cases, relied on stories from those who travelled. So imagine the overflow of ideas and creativity during this period. The result was an assortment of beautiful abodes that, according to McAdam, had “almost always layers of additional influence”.
Read more: Designing for the Elements: Gelo Mañosa on what sets Filipino architecture apart
Above The pillars of the Generoso Villanueva mansion are imbued with earth-coloured bands reminiscent of the Italian scagliola technique
Above Gina Consing-McAdam and Siobhán Doran
The pillars of the Generoso Villanueva mansion are imbued with earth-coloured bands reminiscent of the Italian scagliola technique
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That conversation over dinner in London would later translate into a stunning coffee-table book aptly titled Houses That Sugar Built, an Intimate Portrait of Philippine Ancestral Homes—a compendium of 23 beautiful properties from the sugar-producing provinces, spread across over 250 pages. “People abroad tend to know much more about the heritage and ancestral homes found in other countries, including Asian countries, but not so much about those in the Philippines. We all thought this was something worth addressing,” says McAdam. She, together with Doran, wanted to share these historic homes on the international stage. “It also transpired in that initial conversation that these houses had not been photographed to any great extent and were not known outside the country,” Doran, whose Sala Mayor series of photographs from this book recently won first prize in the professional architecture and design category of the Sony World Photography Awards 2024, explains.
Among the homes featured in the book is the Molo Mansion. Considered one of the great symbols of Iloilo’s Belle Époque, the house’s neoclassical facade and art deco details are a sight to behold. Designed by Juan Luna’s Paris-born son, Andrés Luna de San Pedro, the mansion features a grand entrance topped with a roofed balcony that overlooks a sprawling garden—a feature that evokes a typical hacienda vibe. Ample ventilation is achieved through broad circulation spaces and, in the case of the living room, lofty ceilings. A cascading capiz chandelier makes for an eye-catching centrepiece in the sala. Once, the interiors were decked in stunning art deco furniture by the then-coveted furniture maker, House of Puyat.
“Perhaps the insight that struck me most about architecture is the one shared by my uncle, Luis Yusay Consing, who sadly passed away just before the book was published. He said, ‘We didn’t think of ourselves as living in such a big house. It was simply a home to us’.” Today, the Molo Mansion, which has been acquired by the real estate group SM Prime, sets a good example of adaptive reuse. The restored structure houses an art gallery, a boutique that showcases Filipino craftsmanship, and cafes in its gardens.
Read also: The cultural wanderer’s guide to Bacolod, the ‘city of smiles’
Above The Sala Mayor of the Pison ancestral house in Iloilo
The Sala Mayor of the Pison ancestral house in Iloilo
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Another house included in the book is the Simplicio Lizares Mansion in Talisay City, a 3,000-square-metre mansion designed by the Father of Philippine Architecture, Juan Nakpil. Owned by the Lizares family (who were one of the most successful sugar exporters in the country), the massive home seamlessly blends Beaux-Arts architecture with Art Deco interiors. “Luci Lizares Yunque [the granddaughter of the original owner, Simplicio Lizares] highlighted the sugar motifs embedded in the magnificent floorboards of the vast living room of her grandfather’s house and his unique smoking room,” says McAdam. The floor she was referring to was made of native narra, molave and kamagong wood. The living room reflects the size of a typical drawing room in a European palace or English stately home.
Beyond Visayas, the book also delved into the home of the Lazatin family in San Fernando, Pampanga. The 1926 neocolonial masterpiece still stands pretty to this day in the bustling Pampanga capital, complete with its spacious Machuca-tiled porticos and billowing blinds—features reminiscent of a South American plantation mansion. On one of its walls hangs a framed portrait of the first Filipino surgeon, Dr Gregorio Singian, the brother of Encarnacion Torres Singian, whose husband was Serafin Ocampo Lazatin, known as one of the most prominent sugar barons in Luzon.
Read also: Inside the storied city of Silay
The Boat House’s spiral staircase gives the impression of ascending the levels of an ocean liner
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Back in Iloilo City, Nelly Garden is a neoclassical, colonial-style mansion nestled somewhere in between the towns of La Paz and Jaro. Built by the couple, Vicente Villanueva Lopez and Elena Hofileña Lopez, the residence was a popular venue for formal parties hosted by the illustrious Lopez clan, so much so that an invitation to one of these events marked one’s political and business influence. Affluent families and the diplomatic corps would travel from Manila and different parts of the country and be chauffeured to the mansion’s welcoming driveway, its doors gradually revealing a capacious space designed for performances and dancing the night away.
It is also apparent that the home was created for musically inclined and art-loving family members. For instance, a Steinway grand piano was placed in the living room just a few steps away from the artwork of the National Artist for Sculpture, Guillermo Tolentino. A portrait of the owners, Vicente and Elena, by Fernando Amorsolo is also displayed. On the second floor is a large photograph of Elen Lopez Jison Golez, granddaughter of Vicente and Elena, which was once featured in Tatler Philippines. Today, a century after it was built, Nelly Garden is a venue for milestone events and concerts.
A view of the Neo-Gothic Santa Ana Church seen from the veranda of the Molo Mansion
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Dubbed “Boat House” and described by Villalon as “probably the best surviving example of a 1930s art deco modern house in the country” is another mansion owned by the Lopez family. Located in La Paz, the Miami-style, steamship-shaped home was built by Eugenio Hofileña Lopez, Sr, who was at the helm of their family’s multi-industry business empire, including an investment in two of the largest sugar mills in the Philippines, specifically in Pampanga and Negros Occidental. In 2002, Boat House was declared a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission.
A lot of the 23 homes featured in the book are still lived-in and not generally open to the public. “Some heirs whose ancestral homes have been converted into museums, events spaces or restaurants—open to the wider public—have done so to maintain or share their family histories or legacies,” says McAdam. “In the case of Balay ni Tana Dicang in Talisay, Adjie Lizares’ great-grandmother, Tana Dicang, stipulated that the proceeds of one farm should go to maintaining her house, which is now a museum.
Above Boat House’s structure looks like a battleship, according to the architect Fernando Ocampo
Boat House’s structure looks like a battleship, according to the architect Fernando Ocampo
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Part of the vision for the book is to put these beautiful and historic abodes out there for the world to see and appreciate. It is for this reason that the creative minds behind Houses That Sugar Built are grateful that the US-based publisher, Oro Editions, published it. The book is available through Rizzoli in New York and Hatchards, Foyles and Waterstones in England, as well as many online channels and independent sellers globally.
“I would like to think that our book is playing a part in raising international awareness of this slice of Philippine culture and history that not many people outside of the Philippines know about. It is quite niche in that the houses featured are all linked to one industry during its heyday, almost a century ago. These grand dwellings are making their mark,” McAdam says. “Each house is unique, as seen in both the larger room elevations and smaller perspectives. The fact the houses were nearly all furnished, despite not always being lived in, created what I call the absence of presence, helping one to find the soul of the house by capturing traces of the past and preserving them for future generations,” concludes Doran.
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Credits
Photography: Siobhán Doran
Whether on assignment or not, Maritess is always on the lookout for off-the-beaten-path destinations as well as the yummiest finds in the Philippines and abroad. In 2020, she plunged into the black hole of Korean la la land. Follow her escapades at @matetreyes.
