Biography of paulo alcazaren
Paulo Alcazaren
Paulo Alcazaren’s esquisses have made their rounds online during the pandemic. As viral sketches of Metro Manila spaces reimagined, the landscape architect and urban planner has been inspiring a frustrated populace imprisoned in their homes. From elevated walkways to flood-resilient structures, Alcazaren is designing possibilities in cities challenged by bureaucracy and policy.
His expertise is not just a bunch of dreaming. The head of PGAA Creative Design has a master’s degree in Urban Design from the National University of Singapore, where he was awarded the Singapore Institute of Architects’ Book Award upon completion. He has overseen over 150 projects from around Asia to the Middle East throughout a four-decade-long career. These include the 10-kilometre Esplanade in Iloilo City, park and pedestrian networks in Makati’s and Ortigas’ Central Business Districts, and the shopping landscape of Orchard Road in Singapore, among others. In each of these endeavours, Alcazaren literally paves the way towards heritage sites and cultural spaces for the community.
As a thought leader, he was the editor-in-chief of BluPrint magazine for a decade. Today, he maintains a column in The Philippine Star. Over the years, he has authored dozens of books on architecture, urban design, and green cities. In the midst of public uproar against the big business initiative for a Pasig River Expressway, he proposed an alternative: Pasig River Esplanade and a narrative of a 25-kilometre linear park that runs across the skyline of Old Manila. The metropolis, without exaggeration, swooned. Alcazaren’s imagination takes form in legacies of landscapes that are not only enjoyed by the public, but made for future generations of Filipinos as well.
Awards
2002
Outstanding Published Series of Articles on Culture and the Arts (National Commission of Culture and the Arts)
2015
CCP Award for the Arts in Architecture and Allied Arts Cultural Center of the Philippines)
2018
Landscape Architecture Award for Iloilo City Esplanade (National Commission of Culture and the Arts)
2020
Landscape Architecture Honoree for Ortigas Greenways (National Commission of Culture and the Arts)
Did You Know?
Alcazaren’s tutelage has roots in the mentorship of Filipino architecture’s most renowned names. Early into his career, he worked with Ildelfonso P. Santos, Jr, the late National Artist for Architecture. In a tribute, Alcazaren wrote, “The artistry of a man is made more notable because he works in the most difficult medium—nature: God’s earth, plants, shrubs and trees.”