Revisiting Filipinas Heritage Library

By Augusto Villalon

Published on page C2 of the August 21, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

NIELSON AIRPORT WAS THE Philippines’ first modern commercial international airport. It was inaugurated on July 17, 1937, and celebrates its 70th anniversary next year.

The old airport is now the home of Filipinas Heritage Library, now in its 10th year offering traditional library services and being a one-stop research center on Filipino national-heritage information.

Not only has Filipinas Heritage Library contributed to library development; it has also contributed to raising the community’s awareness of and interest in studying and preserving the country’s heritage.

By increasing creative interaction, the restored Nielson Tower has also become a source of information, inspiration and national pride, proof that heritage buildings can, indeed, be recycled for contemporary uses.

In the late 1930s, before the days of heavy equipment, a thousand-man construction team built the airport’s two principal runways—now Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas—in the heart of central Makati.

Between the two runways was the airport control center and passenger station, then known as Nielson Tower, among the first airports in Asia.

Only the fortunate few air passengers of the day could view the airplane-shaped building from above. The earth-bound public saw an elegant structure designed in the Art Deco style of the period.

The low-slung building with a control tower at its center captured the romance of air travel, a popular motif of the Art Deco age. From the airport tower, now reused as a function room, was a sweeping view of the runway and of rural 1930s Makati fields.

Although Nielson Tower now houses Filipinas Heritage Library, the ground floor and control tower of the building retain their original 1930s layout.

In 2001, Unesco recognized the library’s restoration efforts by including Nielson Tower among the prestigious annual Unesco Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Awardees for outstanding conservation and architectural re-use.

Subsequent Philippine Unesco Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage awardees were the Gota de Leche building in 2003 and the Far Eastern University campus in 2005.

Impressive
The Unesco citation for Nielson Tower reads: “The impressive conversion of one of Asia’s earliest airports into a heritage library represents a major achievement in preserving an important era of Manila’s history.

“Historical events and architecture are exemplified in the legacy of the structure and in the excellent choice to continue its livelihood as an educational facility.

“In a time of rapid urban development and expansion, the Nielson Tower is an excellent model for others to follow on how to appropriately readapt historic structures in the community.”

Just as the historic Nielson Tower connected the Philippines to the world in the 1930s, Filipinas Heritage Library now links the country globally with its information highway.

The Unesco document states that restoration of the structure painstakingly began when project managers using old photos established the original appearance of the building. Apart from some damage received during the Second World War, it was clear the tower’s structure and appearance had remained virtually unchanged since the 1930s.

Minimal work was required in the exterior. The roof, walls and original window frames were refurbished with a fresh coat of paint, window-glass panels replaced, and the Manila International Air Terminal signage on the rear of the building restored.

The only major exterior modification was the removal of the 1970s-era canvas canopy at the front entrance, replaced with a permanent circular canopy in a new design that complements the building’s architectural style.

While the layout of most rooms in the building was left unchanged and original features such as hardwood doors retained, some major alterations were made to the interior.

The central staircase, which provided access to the basement and the tower, had to be replaced to meet safety standards. A new spiral staircase was installed at the back of the building and an elevator was fitted in to allow access by the handicapped.

In order to meet the space requirements of a library the building had to be expanded. Since maintaining the original external appearance of the building was essential, enlargement was implemented underground in the basement area. Effects on the foundations were minimized by limiting the direction of the expansion toward the rear of the building.

Since its restoration, the building has also become a popular venue for community activities such as book launches, lectures, conferences, poetry readings, concerts and social functions, including weddings.

Filipinas Heritage Library brings Philippine history, literature and culture to the rest of the world through information technology. The library was opened to the public on Aug. 23, 1996.

An exhibit showcasing the transformation of the Nielson Tower has been mounted at the Alcove Photo Gallery of the library.

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