Part 2
ARCHITECT Emmanuel Miñana, principal of Emmanuel A. Miñana Architects, recalls meeting Ar. Lor Calma in 1994 at the wake of National Artist for Architecture Leandro “Lindy” Locsin. Seated with them was National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva. The three men — close friends of Locsin — were impressed one last time by their friend as he lay in a casket he had designed himself.
"Tito Lor shared that Tito Lindy had planned his elegant departure and commissioned local craftsmen to execute it,” Miñana said. He thought it was very pragmatic and said, ‘You know, Manny, one needs to be practical in our profession. Alam mo naman, minsan meron tayong project, minsan wala.’”
It was this same sense of practicality that led Calma to venture into build-and-sell — a move he also advised his son, Ed, to pursue for added profit and financial security.
Acknowledging Calma’s practical insight on that sad occasion, Miñana said, “I could see the pragmatist in Ar. Lor — a modern artist and sculptor drawn to simplicity and geometry; his mind was drawn to thoughtful planning and creative restraint.”
Lor Calma’s design philosophy has been described by the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID) as “rooted in intention, integrity, and meaning — that materials should speak honestly, and spaces should respond thoughtfully to culture, context, and human experience.”
He designed not only buildings and houses but also their interiors as well. His son Ed, who serves as design principal of Lor Calma & Partners, the firm his father established in 1975, said the latter believed that “a house should be contextual to its location, preserving the character of the place by incorporating elements present on the site into the design.”
Legacy
For the sake of consistency, Ed said his father endeavored to design everything — from architectural details to furniture, lighting, and décor — blending traditional Filipino craftsmanship with modernity.
“He wanted to take Filipino design into the modern age by combining traditional methods of craftsmanship with new industrial methods and materials like steel and glass.”
During his school years, Ed recalls being brought along to job sites by his father. “He didn’t just look at a house or a building; he would point out the smallest details, honing my visual thinking and teaching me his design language and approach even before I realized I would follow in his footsteps.”
Later, his father turned over the reins of the company. “He made me run the firm, even though I was unready, but he never let me go,” Ed said.
The pressure of living up to his father’s name, Ed believes, was largely self-imposed. For all that he had accomplished in the design industry, Ar. Lor was always “a father first.”
Although they never formally collaborated on a specific project, Ed said his father always allowed him to take control and “lead it to a different level of creativity.” He encouraged younger architects to develop their own ideas and not be afraid to express them.
“He didn’t just leave a legacy in the design industry but also in his family. His grandchildren are also artists and architects, and he always told them to make their own paths in design.”
(Part 1 was published on March 3.)
