The doors of the Coconut Palace, now the official residence of the Vice President of the Philippines are now open to the public. Vice President Jejomar Binay invited tourists to visit the palace and learn from its colourful history. “We believe that the Coconut Palace is a structure in the country and probably in the world where the coconut tree is one of the main materials used for the construction. Our students and the public in general will learn a lot from visiting it,” he said.
An imposing structure located within the Cultural Centre of the Philippines complex, the Coconut Palace showcases the versatility of the coconut tree with 70 percent of the building utilizing the variuos parts of the coconut tree such as roots, trunks, barks, fruits, and flowers fashioned into works of art. The Coconut Palace was designed by National Artist Architect Francisco Manosa during the Marcos administration for Pope John Paul II’s visit in Manila in 1981. It has seven suits representing the regions of the country at that time, 101 coconut shell chandeliers and a dining table made of 40,000 tiny pieces of inlaid coconut shells. It also serves as display site for paintings by Filipino National Artists. (UCAP Bulletin).
Source: Cocommunity, Vol. XLII No. 1, 1 January 2012