Architect Royal Pineda Has a Few Things to Say About Modern Filipino Design

New Clark City is a sprawling property located in Capas, Tarlac. One of the signature projects in the master planned community is the Sports Complex, whose main features include the Athletics Stadium and the Aquatics Center. The facility made its international debut when the Philippines last hosted the biennial Southeast Asia Games in 2019. Finally, there was a brand-new, world-class venue for sporting events that Filipinos could be proud of. 

The Athletics Stadium at New Clark City

Photo by Lexus.

The brains behind this massive project is architect and designer Royal Pineda. The president and CEO of Royal Pineda+, a full-service design and architectural company, is a well-known figure within the design field in the country. His most high-profile projects include the New Clark International Airport, the Sacobia River Bridge in Pampanga, and Bangkota, which is the name of the Philippines Pavilion during the Dubai Expo 2020. 

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But there are those who say that his crowning achievement thus far is the New Clark City Sports Hub. The Athletics Stadium, in particular, is a striking modern sports stadium able to seat 20,000 spectators and was a finalist at the World Architecture Festival 2021. The stadium itself features structural bays formed by diagonal composite columns, rows of seats in the lower level made of reinforced concrete with 10 more rows on the upper level supported by pre-fabricated steel that carries the cantilevered roof, a higher raised canopy to provide passive cooling, and angular T-frame pillars which resemble the traditional Christmas parol made popular in Pampanga. 

The seats have a pixelated effect when viewed from the middle of the field. During an exclusive tour hosted by Pineda for some of his colleagues and friends in partnership with luxury car brand Lexus, the architect revealed that the gray and orange color scheme reflects the lahar and lava flow spewing out from the mouth of a volcano, which is a clear nod to the nearby Mount Pinatubo. The inspiration is all the more evident when viewed from above: Pineda says the stadium resembles the caldera of a volcano. 

Architect Royal Pineda poses with two Lexus cars at the Athletics Staidum at New Clark City, which he designed

Photo by Lexus.

“We call it active orange, a color that’s patented to the Philippines. We wanted a color that would put adrenaline to the stadium,” Pineda said. “It’s a sports complex. It cannot be all gray or graphite. So what you see is a mix of those colors; a mixture of the nature of the Philippines. Like Mount Pinatubo.”

While standing on the track oval, Pineda gestured to the immense structure and explained his vision for the project. 

“If you notice, it’s naked architecture,” he said. “There are no decorative elements. It’s all stripped off. You see the battens, the rafters, the supports—the structural is its architecture because we didn’t want any extra cost. We call it ‘Practical Luxury.’ It’s cost-effective. When a problem arises later on, it would be easy to find it. 

“It’s also future-ready, like Lexus,” he added. “We wanted to accommodate future alterations or additions. If you need to add new technology, it would be easy.”

"The Athletics Stadium is future-ready, like Lexus," Pineda says

Photo by Lexus.

An architect named Royal

Pineda said it was his father who gave him the name Royal.

“My dad, he’s Reynaldo,” he said. “His nickname is Rey, meaning king. He wanted to name me Junior. But he said, ‘I’m calling you Royal. You’re still royalty, but you’re not simply another offspring or another Rey.’

“My dad didn’t want me to be like him, like boxed into a ‘Rey’ or a junior,” he added. “I love my name. I never used my other name Christopher. I’m actually Royal Christopher. I just like Royal because it’s unique. There aren’t many Royals.”

The royalty theme continues with Pineda’s own son, whom he named August, after Augustus, which means majestic or venerable. In other words, royal.

“We get to cascade the ‘junior’ but in many different identities,” he grinned. 

Arch. Pineda at the Aquatics Center, which he also designed

Photo by Lexus.

In Pineda’s case, the name Royal served as a cue of sorts to be different. It was while he was a sophomore in college when he first developed his personal architecture philosophy of “Nature is Peace.”

“That’s it. That’s my first philosophy,” he said. “Just put me under a tree and I can be happy and creative.”

Pineda completed a doctorate degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Afterwards, he gained valuable training under the firm of National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin and Partners. Eventually he joined forces with designer Budji Layug to form Budji Layug + Royal Pineda Design Architects. Today, however, he heads his own firm, Royal Pineda+, where he has become a leading proponent of the so-called “Modern Filipino” architecture. 

“When I started to do Modern Filipino architecture, friends of mine were asking, ‘Royal, why are you doing Modern Filipino? You can’t do that. Otherwise, you cannot make it abroad. You can’t bring your architecture abroad.’ And this is coming from my creative friends. I had to tell them: ‘I have to do Filipino.’”

Pineda says it’s all about advocating the idea of the modern Filipino sensibility.

“What can the Filipino add to the project? That’s why it’s Royal Pineda-plus,” he explained. “We will always add value. Filipinos should always add value. That’s why the world is a potluck. We don’t compete (with anyone else). I don’t compete. I refine. I will constantly refine myself to create my Modern Filipino architecture so that the world can recognize and appreciate that.”

It was an easy yes for Arch. Pineda when Lexus proposed a partnership

Photo by Lexus.

Going global

Contrary to what his friends thought about his decision to pursue modern Filipino, Pineda is now actually making good on his promise to bring the local to the global, so to speak. He has since worked or is currently working on projects not just in the Philippines but in other cities and countries around the world like Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, U.S.A., United Kingdom, France, Germany, Thailand, Israel, and Dubai.

Pineda’s practices and philosophies as an architect and designer aligns with the values of Lexus, which is why the partnership between the two makes sense. It was an easy yes, Pineda said, when Lexus reached out and proposed a collaboration. As a Japanese brand, Lexus’s own technological design principles closely mirrors Pineda’s own.

“It’s the Japanese mind,” he said. “If it were European, I would need to find out more to align. I would need to understand. It’s the Asian soul that makes it closer to my heart.”

Pineda mentioned the concept of omotenashi, or a unique interpretation of Japanese hospitality that Lexus is known for. Essentially it’s about anticipating the needs of customers before they even realize it, which is something also present in the architect’s own work.

“Anticipation is a natural and important element in design which leads to innovation,” he said. “We want to make sure our designs address issues and provide something better for the users. We want to give users things they didn’t think they need or have not even aspired to have.”

Arch. Pineda gives a private tour of the Athletics Stadium

Photo by Lexus.

“Design is called a dream when something isn’t there yet,” he added. “The desire to make our lives better pushes us to create and follow a process of precision so we can achieve our dreams. I believe this is similar to omotenashi. As Filipinos, our hearts are already generous and we continue to share what we believe we can offer—like comfort, convenience, and warmth. We are always ready to help friends, family, and others because it is innate in us as humans. Our Modern Filipino sensibility carries a similar character as omotenashi. We call it malasakit.”