When the company tranferred its headquarters, these
sculptural pieces were dismantled from the old edifice
and transferred as well. They now grace the façade of
the new Insular Life Building in Filinvest Alabang.

According to architect Paulo Alcazaren in the National Center of Culture & Arts website: The new-modernist or retro-modernist towers that have sprung up have mostly been permutations of previous designs by [these] foreign architects... Noteworthy, too, in these new buildings of steel, glass and aluminum is the lack of Filipino art. In the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the art of Filipino sculptors, painters, and craftsmen embellished the spaces, walls and facades of our modern architecture.

These sculptures by National Artist Napoleon Abueva used
to be on the façade of the old Insular Life Building at the
intersection of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, making
it a distinctive Makati landmark.

(a rendering of the old building is seen on leftmost part)

I was attracted to the patterns on the walls that
the shadows of the kalachuchi trees had cast.

The gloom of the world is but a shadow.
Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy."
Giovanni Giocondo
(Italian Architect, Engineer and Archeologist)

It's been a while since I got to observe and enjoy
a colorful end to the day, what with the constant
downpours and heavy clouds the past few weeks
spoiling any possible sunset extravaganza. I may
not have caught the setting sun today but at least
I got to savor its last few flashy moments.