Dr. Gerard Lico is a multi-awarded author, historian, academic, and conservation architect and the Principal of Arch Lico – a research-oriented design consultancy. His works promote and expand the reach of architectural and historical discourse, intersecting traditional and novel methods of historiography and location within a vast web of interrelated fields in arts, culture, and design. Intent on popularizing Philippine history, culture, and architecture, his work centers on the twentieth century, reflecting his diverse interests in art, architecture, fashion, cinema, and history; engaging the public through a multitude of platforms—conservation works, books, articles, documentary films, digital media, and exhibits.
His scholarly work promotes a transdisciplinary analysis of architectural history, departing from the traditional notion that the historiography in Philippine architecture is a mere parade of stylistic canons and valorization of its masters. These movements are complex, discursive webs that implicate asymmetric power relations and serve as an arena of contrasting ideologies.
His prolific work in exhibition curation, publishing, directing, and public speaking reflect his efforts in popularizing Filipino history, architecture, culture, and design; through a plethora of media, reflecting the changing trends in new media in the public sphere. Among his recent exhibitions are Leandro V. Locsin and Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.: A Legacy of Filipino Popular Modernism; Mañosa: Beyond Architecture; Framing the Spectacle of Space: Juan Arellano, architect and painter; and Popcorn Palaces: Evolution of the Filipino Space of Spectatorship. Among his popular video documentary series include Masterbuilders: 20th Century Pioneers of Philippine Architecture and Allied Arts, Deco Decoded: Art Deco in the Philippines, and Lunan: History of Filipino Built Environments.
Currently, he is the Consulting Architect for the City of Valenzuela. He has been a faculty member at the University of the Philippines College of Architecture since 2000 and has served as University Architect from 2006 to 2014. As an architect, he has risen to the top of the field in heritage conservation, undertaking the protection, conservation, restoration, and/or rehabilitation of several important heritage sites and structures; namely: The Rizal Memorial Coliseum, The Metropolitan Theater, UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Philippines, The Law and Education Buildings in UP Diliman, The Pio Valenzuela Museum, The Arkong Bato of Valenzuela City among others.
