The practice

Architects, planners and construction managers, since 1986.

Leonardo A. Poco & Associates, Architects, known as PoCo, is a Makati practice with forty years of architectural design and real estate experience. We design buildings that are practical to build, work well in use, and help our clients' businesses grow.

Who we are

We work for families and family businesses, Philippine and multinational companies, developers, manufacturers and distributors, schools, universities and churches. Most of our clients stay with us from one project to the next, and many of the buildings on this site are the second, third or tenth we have designed for the same people.

We look at every project with fresh eyes, because no two sites, budgets or briefs are the same. We research before we draw, we test ideas against evidence, and we keep a healthy scepticism about fashions. The result is a building that fits its site, its budget and the people who will use it.

Our aim is a Philippine built environment that improves the lives of the people who use it, balancing the public good with private initiative. We do that one room, one building, one block and one master plan at a time.

How we work

Evidence firstWe base design and planning decisions on facts we can measure. Every project carries its own answers, and we study the problem before we draw.

Practical solutionsWe keep an open mind about the answer and a healthy scepticism about trends that come and go. We design for buildability, and for easy operation and maintenance.

No house styleGood design does not depend on a style or a budget. Our goal is a place that works and that people feel good in, whatever it costs and whatever it looks like.

Loyal to the projectEveryone on the team, including the owner, is paid by the project. So the project comes first, and we handle every relationship without bias.

Quick answersEvery project is made up of thousands of smaller ones, each with a start and a finish. We keep them moving, and we answer every query within three days.

Cost managed through designWe separate engineered costs from discretionary ones and show you both, so you decide where the money goes. Managing cost is part of the architect's job.

Design that grows a businessWe translate what you need, and what your business has learned, into buildings that change how people live, work, shop and do business.

Always learningWe study the best buildings and districts here and abroad, and we train our people. It keeps the practice quick and responsive.

People

Leonardo A. Poco

Principal and Chief Architect

Founded L. A. Poco and Associates, Architects in 1986.
Before that, nine years as Chief Architect for the Rufino and Prieto organisations: Corinthian Villas, the Mile Long Building and The Gallery.
Managing director of Gotesco Grand Central during its fit-out and turnover; treats every building as the outcome of a real estate strategy.
Forty years of shopping centres, offices, housing, hotels, schools, universities and churches across Luzon and the Visayas.
First place for the Philippines at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Vancouver, 1976, recognised by the International Union of Architects.
Speaker at regional summits and conferences on intelligent buildings and shopping centres; resource person to the Philippine Centennial Expo design charrette.

Registered Architect 5322 (United Architects of the Philippines). Registered Real Estate Broker. Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Santo Tomas, 1977. Certificate in Construction Management, Ateneo, 1979. Fellow, Rideau Institute, Ontario.

Leandro R. Poco

Partner, Design and Practice Development

Leads design, and the practice's planning and spatial-analysis work.
Trained with Ayala Land's Innovation and Design Group and with Francisco Mañosa Partners.
Worked in Singapore with Palmer and Turner Consultants on high-rise residential and mixed-use buildings, and with Surbana Urban Planning Group on townships in Brunei, Vietnam and India.
Highest marks in his year at University College London for his dissertation on the gated enclaves of Metro Manila.
Adjunct lecturer at the University of Santo Tomas and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Project partner for 4959 Guerrero, the Benilde Sports and Dormitory Building, Dataland's housing, the Avida clubhouses and Amaia Steps; adviser to planning firms in Singapore on projects around Southeast Asia.

Registered Architect 21805 and Registered Environmental Planner 002821. Certified BERDE Professional (the Philippine green-building rating system). Master of Science in Space Syntax: Architecture and Cities, with Distinction, University College London, 2019. Master of Arts in Urban Design, National University of Singapore, 2008. Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Santo Tomas, 2005, cum laude.

Domingo S. Sarmiento Jr.

Senior Partner, Project and Construction Management

Heads the Construction Management Group.
Joined the practice as on-site design coordinator for Victory Mall in Caloocan and Times Plaza in Manila.
Looks after work that needs close supervision on site: renovations, adaptive reuse and technical projects.
Project partner for the New Zealand Creamery plant, the Waltermart malls in Quirino, Makati and Quezon Avenue, and the Majestic Press plant.
Construction manager for Mariveles Mill 3 in Bataan.

Registered Architect 21390 (United Architects of the Philippines, Makati). Bachelor of Science in Architecture, National University, 1989.

Joseph P. Tenedero

Associate Partner, Project and Design Management

Heads design and technical coordination for Six/NEO and Seven/NEO, 4959 Guerrero and the Benilde Sports and Dormitory Building.
Started as an apprentice architect with the practice, leading production for the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, the De La Salle Parmenie Retreat Hall and a house in Alabang.
Handled contracts administration and design management for the Media Resource Plaza and the Victoneta Clubhouse.

Registered Architect 22804 (United Architects of the Philippines, Makati Central Business District). Certified BERDE Professional (the Philippine green-building rating system). Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Santo Tomas, 2006, cum laude.

Rainer Jan S. Tapel

Senior Architect, Design and Project Management

Leads design and project management for the Waltermart mall at Pulong Buhangin in Bulacan.
Has produced design development drawings and construction drawings for Waltermart malls in Cavite, Pampanga, Quezon and Bulacan.
Prepared schematic designs and feasibility studies for a Waltermart mall in Batangas and a hotel extension in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Also worked on a 20,000 square metre socialised and economic housing development in Iloilo.
Takes part in pre-bid conferences, site inspections and design coordination meetings with the engineering consultants.

Registered Architect. Certified BERDE Professional (the Philippine green-building rating system). Bachelor of Science in Architecture, University of Santo Tomas.

Andro Sergio A. Sabillo

Senior Project Architect and Planner

Leads the practice's site analysis: how people move around a site, the shape of the land, and how many people live within reach of it.
Prepared the site and interior analysis for the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde ASEANA Campus entry, shortlisted in the limited design competition for an 18-storey vertical campus.
Designs and draws clubhouses at Bella Vista in Bulacan, commercial buildings for Abenson in Laguna and Batangas, and Waltermart malls in Caloocan and Porac.
Lead author of a paper on the street network and zoning of Dasmariñas City, presented at the International Space Syntax Symposium in Cyprus. His undergraduate thesis on the same city won Best Thesis in the research category.

Registered Architect (United Architects of the Philippines). Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning, University of the Philippines Diliman, Dean's Medallion awardee. Bachelor of Science in Architecture, De La Salle University-Dasmariñas. Director for Private Practice, United Architects of the Philippines Las Piñas Luntian Chapter.

Rea Mariano

Senior Project Architect

Trained in construction management through an on-the-job programme and webinar series with the International Project Management Association.
Works in AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Lumion and Photoshop.

Registered Architect (United Architects of the Philippines). Certified BERDE Professional (the Philippine green-building rating system). Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

John Mikhael Bulaga

Senior Architect and Planner

Works on landed residential communities and subdivisions, including Avida Settings amenities, DolmarLand villages and Miren Enclaves, and carries out land-development and horizontal site inspections.
Standardised the designs of Avida's clubhouses and guardhouses, working from schematic design through construction. The design has been replicated ten times across different sites.
Helped complete the standardised drawings and details for DolmarLand's model units, which serve as templates for its subdivision projects.
Assists with master planning for Bella Vista Phases 1A and 2 in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, Legacia in Baliuag, Bulacan, and Hiraya in Mexico, Pampanga, and coordinates with the engineering consultants.

Registered Architect (United Architects of the Philippines). Bachelor of Science in Architecture, De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, 2014. With the practice since 2015.

Firsts

Habitat Eprom 76 Model SettlementUnited Nations Conference on Human Settlements, Vancouver, 1976First place, Philippine representative, by Leonardo A. Poco