Manila offers a dense sample of architectural sites and the Architectural Guide Manila has navigated through nearly 120 buildings and sites of what the city has to offer. A city guidebook published by Berlin-based DOM Publishers and written by writer, artist, and researcher Bianca Weeko Martin, it gives a new perspective on how Manila and its architecture can be appreciated and understood beyond its physicality.
Launched earlier in May of 2024, its program started with a Manila heritage tour led by the cultural organization Renacimiento Manila. A scenic walk through the streets of Escolta, the Jones Bridge, the Pasig River Esplanade, the Post Office, and Juan M. Arellano’s Metropolitan Theater built the curiosity for why the preservation of Manila’s architectural heritage bears cultural value and significance. The launch concluded with a discussion led by author Bianca Weeko Martin, DAM Director Peter Cachola Schmal, and contributors Dr. Gerard Lico of Arc Lico and Patrick Kasingsing of Brutalist Pilipinas and Kanto Magazine.
A gateway to many of Manila’s stories, the Architectural Guide Manila establishes an understanding and appreciation for the city’s notable structures and sites beyond their material exterior and interior. It looks at architecture as storytellers, a way through which we can inform ourselves of our history, identity, and heritage.