10/09/2026
“𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲”
On this day 57 years ago, September 8, 1969, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Building (Tanghalang Pambansa) was inaugurated and formally opened with a gala.
Then California Governor Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy Reagan, attended the CCP opening as official special envoys representing US President Richard Nixon.
The building marked an architectural milestone, showcasing the signature “floating volume” concept of National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin.
Built by D.M. Consunji, Inc. (DMCI) under the leadership of Engr. David M. Consunji, the CCP became one of the country's most significant modern landmarks.
In his memoir A Passion to Build, Engr. Consunji reflected on the construction of Locsin’s masterpiece and its defining "floating volume" design.
The CCP became the home of Philippine culture and the arts and stood as an early example of the application of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete in the country.
“The CCP was the biggest performance venue of its time: its huge auditorium for opera, ballet and symphonic orchestra performances had a seating capacity of 2,000 people. It also had a small experimental theater with a seating capacity of 440, plus rehearsal halls, recording and dressing rooms, and offices.
The design of the CCP was significant for Lindy because it was the beginning of his new style. It embodied architectural principles for which he would become famous, such as the "floating volume," where a large mass of concrete is made to appear as if it were weightless. Through a number of ingenious design solutions, such as the use of a driveway that seems suspended in mid-air over a pool of water, he made the massive CCP structure look elegant and timeless.
Inside the CCP, massive staircases rose gracefully from floor to floor, without any external means of support. This was the kind of construction that had been made possible by pre-stressed concrete and the new methods that Fred Juinio and I had been championing since the 1950s.
By then, the influence of Japanese design was becoming more apparent in Lindy's work. The same principles would pervade most of his latter works, many of which would be buildings near the CCP. For instance, he would employ the same style of the "floating volume" in the PICC, which he and I would build together in the mid-1970s.
While the CCP was a massive structure, it was more of an architectural milestone than an engineering feat. It did not pose a great engineering challenge to us, because we were ready for it. I had just acquired a huge crane for pile driving from the US—a second hand Lima 90-ton crane that was offered to me by a contractor that l met there. The new crane enabled us to drive the piles ourselves. We started driving piles sometime in late 1966, and construction work began in February 1967.”
Source:
A Passion to Build: A Memoir of David M. Consunji
