Post by DMCI Homes

Did you know that the first building in the Makati Business District, the Monterey Apartments, was built for a little over ₱500,000? In the late 1950s, DM Consunji, Inc. built the first four buildings in the Makati Business District for Ayala Corporation, beginning with the Monterey Apartments, helping realize Joseph McMicking’s vision of Makati as a premier business district. Designed by Architect Leandro Locsin, who would later become National Artist for Architecture, with former UP College of Engineering Dean Engr. Alfredo Juinio as structural engineer, it was the first high‑rise in the district and the first building along Ayala Avenue. In his memoir A Passion to Build, DMCI Founder Engr. David M. Consunji recounted how DMCI became part of Makati’s beginnings: “With the completion of Ayala Avenue by the end of 1956, the central area of Makati was all set for development. Fortuitously, we in DMCI had also finished the UP Chapel by then and were ready for new projects. We were fortunate to have met Fernando Zobel during the construction of UP Chapel. He must have been quite impressed by our work at the UP Chapel because immediately after its completion, DMCI was doing business with Ayala. Initially, we did small projects-culverts, small bridges, sidewalks, roads, and other similar jobs. There were still no buildings in the area; this was all preparation for executing the Zobels' long-term plan.” “Ayala commissioned the young Lindy Locsin to design the first buildings that would serve as the models for the other structures that would be built in the business district. In turn, Lindy brought in Fred Juinio to be the structural engineer for the buildings. I, on the other hand, was asked by Fernando to submit a proposal for the building of what was to be the very first structure in the Makati business district: the Monterey Apartments. In the Philippines at that time, our team-Fred, Lindy, and myself—was probably the best equipped for the job of building a high-rise like the Monterey. After all, we were the first to use 3,000 psi concrete and the first to do a thin shell concrete structure.” “It was a one‑page proposal that Don Alfonso readily accepted and answered with another one‑page letter. That letter was in effect our contract for a project costing a little over ₱500,000. It specified 3,000 psi concrete.” “We began work on the Monterey Apartments in early 1959 soon after the contracts were signed. It drew a lot of attention not only because it was the first building in the Makati business district but also because it was one of the first modern buildings in the metropolis. In those times, six‑storeys was considered tall. The seven‑storey Monterey was therefore an architectural wonder of sorts.” #DMCI #DMConsunji #BuilderOfLandMarks #PassionToBuild Source: A Passion to Build: A Memoir of David M. Consunji (Photo lifted from Engr. David M. Consunji’s memoir, “A Passion to Build.”)