![]() ![]() Our building in this framed aesthetic has the effect of further orientalizing ourselves in occidental towers rising physically and ideologically above the surrounding unequal social landscape. ![]() ![]() Pei, KPF (Kohn, Pendersen and Fox), SOM (Skidmore Owings and Merill), HOK, Gensler, Arquitectonica and even Michael Graves have been used to “brand” local projects.Īll this further commodifies architecture in the Philippines as symbols of elitist power and prestige or bottom-line profits driven by the local market perception that “foreign is better.” These structures are also signifiers of continuing cultural hegemony by the West. Most of these building projects, of larger scale and scope, are products of foreign architectural firms with the token creative participation of local “architects-of-record.” Construction billboards, up and down Ayala Avenue and other business and commercial districts in Metro Manila (and even other urban centers like Cebu City), proudly proclaim the names of overseas architectural “design consultants.” A listing of these forms a veritable “who’s who” in the universe of western design. What little activity apparent in the skyline of our cities are the tail-ends of those few projects that have found enough capital for completion. The effects of the Asian financial crisis have taken its toll on the country and consequently on the business of real estate development, the fountainhead of architectural production in the boom years of the mid-1990s. Philippine architecture, both product and profession, faces the danger of deterioration of quality and depth wrought by the economic events of the last two years and the continuing lack of intellectual discourse related to pedagogy and practice. Much like the political and social structure of our country, the integrity of our built heritage and emerging architecture was and is being shaken to its very foundations. In fact, the biggest news in the architectural world was the demolition of landmark buildings and damage caused to heritage structures and sites. Little came by way of actual buildings completed, and those in progress were still mostly foreign-designed or influenced, contributing little to the development of Filipino architecture. ![]() The first year of the new millennium was a year of trauma, reflection and re-orientation for the Philippines and Philippine architecture. ![]()
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