Edifice complex

Last updated

The term "edifice complex" [1] was coined in the 1970s to describe Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos' practice of using publicly funded construction projects as political and election propaganda. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Built with a Brutalist architectural style, [4] perhaps to emphasize their grandiose character, [5] [6] these construction projects were funded by foreign loans, [2] allowing the incumbent Marcos administration to create an impression of progress, but instead put the Philippines through a series of debt crises. [2] The first of the crises occurred in 1970, which many economic historians consider to have triggered the socioeconomic unrest which later led Marcos to impose martial law in 1972. [7] [8] [9]

The expression has also been generalized outside of the context of Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines.

Etymology

The term is a play on the "Oedipus complex" of psychoanalytic theory.

While earlier use of the term elsewhere in the world has been suggested, the term was independently coined by Behn Cervantes [10] to criticise the construction of the Cultural Center of the Philippines during the buildup to the 1969 presidential election campaign, during which Imelda Marcos' husband Ferdinand Marcos was running for a then-unprecedented second term as President of the Philippines. [2]

Deyan Sudjic, in his 2005 book The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World, generalizes the term, expanding it outside of the context of Marcos and the Philippines. He writes:

There is a psychological parallel between making a mark on the landscape with a building and the exercise of political power. Both depend on the imposition of will. Certainly, seeing their worldview confirmed by reducing an entire city to the scale of a doll's house in an architectural model has an inherent appeal for those who regard the individual as of no account. ...

Architecture feeds the egos of the susceptible. They grow more and more dependent on it to the point where architecture becomes an end to itself, seducing the addicts as they build more and more on an even larger scale.

Building is the means by which the egotism of the individual is expressed in its most naked form: the Edifice Complex. [11]

Sudjic goes on to explore many instances of the complex both historically and in the modern world, including the example of Imelda Marcos and her architect, Leandro V. Locsin. [12]

Commonly cited examples in the Philippines

Buildings cited as examples of the Marcos era edifice complex include the buildings of the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex (conceived in 1966), the San Juanico Bridge (conceived in 1969), the Philippine International Convention Center (conceived in 1974), [13] the Philippine Heart Center (conceived in 1975), the National Arts Center in Los Baños, Laguna (inaugurated in 1976), Coconut Palace (conceived in 1978), the Lung Center of the Philippines (conceived in 1981), the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (conceived in 1981), the Philippine Plaza Hotel (conceived in 1976), and Terminal 1 of Manila International Airport (completed in 1981). [2]

The 1976 Tondo evictions which were part of the "Tondo Urban Renewal Project" and the deaths of construction workers at the Manila Film Center are also cited as signs of Imelda's having the complex. [14]

The "designer hospitals" were particularly criticized as wrongly prioritised healthcare projects, draining public funds for the benefit of only a handful of patients, while basic health institutions, such as the Quezon Institute for Tuberculosis Patients, were overcrowded and underfunded. [2]

Destruction of Mt. Sungay

One other example, which was never completed, was the Palace in the Sky complex in Tagaytay, Cavite, which Imelda intended to host the visit of US President Ronald Reagan. [15] The construction of the palace, which was suddenly stopped when Reagan canceled his visit, drastically changed the landscape of the Cavite highland, because preparations for the construction meant leveling the geographically distinct Mount Sungay to about half of its former height. [16]

When the People Power Revolution in 1986 overthrew the Marcoses, the new government renamed the palace as the People's Park in the Sky, opening it to the public to help demonstrate the excesses of the ousted regime. [16]

The term was mentioned in the contemporary 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno in which the developer of the ill-fated skyscraper was maneuvering with a U.S. Senator to secure federal funding for similar buildings around the United States.

In episode 39 of the 1990s television sitcom Home Improvement, titled "Love is a Many Splintered Thing," main character Tim Taylor's next door neighbor, Wilson, jokes that Tim has "an edifice complex" due to the fact that he is a handyman who enjoys building things. [17]

The term is again mentioned in the 1997 James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies when, after being captured by Stamper and taken to the CMGN tower in Saigon (from which Elliot Carver has hung a large banner featuring his face), he remarks: "Another Carver Building. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he developed an edifice complex". [18] [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinand Marcos</span> President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial law from 1972 until 1981 and kept most of his martial law powers until he was deposed in 1986, branding his rule as "constitutional authoritarianism" under his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. One of the most controversial leaders of the 20th century, Marcos's rule was infamous for its corruption, extravagance, and brutality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imelda Marcos</span> First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986

Imelda Romualdez Marcos is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under martial law in September 1972. She is the mother of current president Bongbong Marcos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coconut Palace</span> Government building in Manila, Philippines

Coconut Palace, also known as Tahanang Pilipino, is a government building located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Manila, Philippines. It was the official residence and the principal workplace of the vice president of the Philippines during the term of Jejomar Binay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juanico Bridge</span> Second longest bridge in the Philippines, connecting Leyte and Samar

The San Juanico Bridge is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway and stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Juanico Strait in the Philippines. Its longest length is a steel girder viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, and its main span is of an arch-shaped truss design. Constructed during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos through Japanese Official Development Assistance loans, it has a total length of 2.16 kilometers (1.34 mi)—the second longest bridge spanning a body of seawater in the Philippines after the Cebu-Cordova Bridge. It was also the longest bridge in the Philippines upon its opening in 1973, surpassed in 1976 by Candaba Viaduct of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), another bridge that connects from one province to another, connecting the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Heart Center</span> Hospital in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Philippine Heart Center is a hospital in Central, Quezon City, Philippines, specializing in the treatment of heart ailments. It was established in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural Center of the Philippines</span> Philippines state corporation

The Cultural Center of the Philippines Foundation, Inc. is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines. The CCP was established through Executive Order No. 30 s. 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos. Although an independent institution of the Philippine government, it receives an annual subsidy and is placed under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for purposes of policy coordination. The CCP is headed by an 11-member Board of Trustees, currently headed by Chairperson Margarita Moran-Floirendo. Its current president is Arsenio Lizaso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine International Convention Center</span> Arts center in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Philippine International Convention Center is a convention center located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. The facility has been the host of numerous local and foreign conventions, meetings, fairs, and social events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manila Film Center</span> Cultural archive and theater in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Manila Film Center is a national building located at the southwest end of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay, Philippines. The structure was designed by architect Froilan Hong where its edifice is supported on more than nine hundred piles which reaches to the bed-rock about 120 feet below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Mañosa</span> Filipino architect (1931–2019)

Francisco "Bobby" Tronqued Mañosa was a Filipino architect considered one of the most influential Filipino architects of the 20th century for having pioneered the art of Philippine neovernacular architecture. His contributions to the development of Philippine architecture led to his recognition as a National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lung Center of the Philippines</span> Hospital in Metro Manila, Philippines

The Lung Center of the Philippines (LCP) is a government tertiary hospital specializing in the cure and prevention of lung and other chest diseases, located on Central, Quezon City, Philippines. The center receives budgetary support for its operations from the national government. It was constructed on public land donated by the National Housing Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay City, Metro Manila</span> Central Business District in Metro Manila, Philippines.

Bay City, also known as the Manila Bay Freeport Zone and Manila Bay Area, is the name for the reclamation area on Manila Bay located west of Roxas Boulevard and the Manila–Cavite Expressway in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The area is split between the cities of Manila and Pasay on the north side and Parañaque on the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deyan Sudjic</span> British writer and broadcaster (born 1952)

Deyan Sudjic is a British writer and broadcaster, specialising in the fields of design and architecture. He was formerly the director of the Design Museum, London.

The City of Man was a re-branding campaign aimed to improve the image of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. The name was in reference to a shortened version of the name of Manila, and the campaign was launched by the Governor of Metro Manila and then first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos to reshape the city with an eye to world tourism, commerce and economic power and development. Under her campaign, several urban projects were undertaken to make Manila the world's center of international tourism and finance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Park in the Sky</span> Park in Tagaytay, Philippines

The People's Park in the Sky, often simply called People's Park and originally named Palace in the Sky, is a historic urban park in Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila</span> Building in Pasay, Philippines

The Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila is a luxury hotel in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines under the Sofitel hotel chain of AccorHotels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex</span> Arts center in Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, also known as the CCP Complex, is an 88-hectare (220-acre) art district managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) located along Roxas Boulevard in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a mixed-use cultural and tourism hub overlooking Manila Bay in south-central Manila, most of which fall under the jurisdiction of the city of Pasay.

Rodolfo Cuenca, sometimes known by his nickname, Rudy Cuenca, was a Filipino businessman best known as the chairman of the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP), which is known today as the Philippine National Construction Corporation. He was a close associate of Ferdinand Marcos, and was noted not to be embarrassed by "his much-criticized close association with Marcos and his being tagged as a crony."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic history of the Philippines (1965–1986)</span> Aspect of history

The 21-year period of Philippine economic history during Ferdinand Marcos’ regime – from his election in 1965 until he was ousted by the People Power Revolution in 1986 – was a period of significant economic lows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcos jewels</span> Jewelry collection

The Marcos jewels generally refers to the jewelry collection of the Marcos family – most famously that of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. However, it also specifically refers to three collections of jewelry which were recovered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) in 1986, which the Philippine Supreme Court had ruled to be part of the Marcoses' unlawful wealth.

Ferdinand Marcos developed a cult of personality as a way of remaining President of the Philippines for 20 years, in a way that political scientists have compared to other authoritarian and totalitarian leaders such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, but also to more contemporary dictators such as Suharto in Indonesia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and the Kim dynasty of North Korea.

References

  1. 1 2 Lico, Gerard (2003). Edifice Complex: Power, Myth, and Marcos State Architecture. University of Hawaii Press.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ricardo., Manapat (1991). Some are smarter than others : the history of Marcos' crony capitalism. New York: Aletheia Publications. ISBN   9719128704. OCLC   28428684.
  3. ↑ de Villa, Kathleen (September 16, 2017). "Imelda Marcos and her 'edifice complex'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Leandro Locsin's Brutal Opera". Rogue. Rogue Media Inc. November 16, 2015. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ "The Powerful Imelda Marcos". Washington Post. January 18, 1981. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ Afinidad-Bernardo, Deni Rose M. "31 Years of Amnesia: Edifice Complex". The Philippine Star . Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ Balbosa, Joven Zamoras (1992). "IMF Stabilization Program and Economic Growth: The Case of the Philippines" (PDF). Journal of Philippine Development. XIX. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  8. ↑ Diola, Camille. "Debt, deprivation and spoils of dictatorship | 31 years of amnesia". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on June 26, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  9. ↑ Balisacan, A. M.; Hill, Hal (2003). The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Challenges. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780195158984. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Martial law speak: Words that defined the anti-Marcos movement". Rappler. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Sudjic, Deyan (2005) The Edifice Complex: How the Rice and Powerful Shape the World. New York: Penguin Press. p.12. ISBN   1-59420-068-8
  12. ↑ Sudjic, Devan (2005) The Edifice Complex: How the Rice and Powerful Shape the World. New York: Penguin Press. pp.184-185. ISBN   1-59420-068-8
  13. ↑ Marcelo, Sam (April 13, 2012). "Power structures". BusinessWorld. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Edifice Complex: Building on the Backs of the Filipino People". Martial Law Museum. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Marcos' Mountain Palace Is The House That Arrogance Built". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  16. 1 2 Cruz, Sarah (June 3, 2011). "Palace in the Sky in Tagaytay" Archived January 3, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Tagaytay Hotels. Retrieved on October 22, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Home Improvement Archive - Script for [2.15] Love is a Many Splintered Thing". Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  18. ↑ 'Another Carver building. If I didn't know better, I'd say he developed an edifice complex.' - Tomorrow Never Dies, April 2, 2022, retrieved August 15, 2023
  19. ↑ Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - IMDb , retrieved August 15, 2023
  20. ↑ "Another Carver building. If I didn't know better, I'd say he developed an edifice complex". MagicalQuote. Retrieved August 15, 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.