Drawn to Scale

A map, being a symbolic depiction of a place, an area or a district, enables us to see the relationships between the elements of a space— the objects, its buildings, regions or themes of districts.

The Manila Heritage Model Project aims to highlight the architectural heritage of Manila through 3D Modelling and 3D Printing. Originally a finals project for the History of Architecture class of the DLS-College of St. Benilde School of Design and Arts – Architecture Program, the students selected heritage buildings from the old districts of Manila: Intramuros, Luneta, Quiapo and Binondo. The selection of buildings feature colonial buildings, houses, as well as modern mid-rise structures of the American and post-war Manila.

Manila is a place of a wide range of architectural styles encompassing the rich history of Filipino architecture. In this old city, heritage structures offer a diverse selection of building types and aesthetics dictated by their time of creation. Despite surviving World War II, they have become victims of continuous neglect and decay, all but hidden in the chaos of urban growth. The model is a product of data gathering and presentation through maps, archival images, photo documentation, 3D modeling and printing. A grid was overlaid on a 1:2500M scale map of Manila and was laser-cut onto 200-by-200-millimeter wood and clear acrylic modules. Selected heritage buildings were 3D-modeled and 3D-printed thru scaling and proportioning based on current and archival photos.

Wireframes of buildings for inclusion in the Manila Heritage Model Project, which spans the Binondo, Quiapo, Intramuros and Luneta areas of the city

Map view with 3D-printed models of Manila landmarks.

Through this model, we get an overview of these districts and see how these heritage structures stand hidden among all the new ones. These buildings are enduring examples of architects designing according to their times and adapting them to the Filipino needs, climate and aesthetics. We hope that through this project, each student gets to appreciate our heritage, and eventually, have the desire to conserve Filipino Architecture in the future—and as designers, be inspired to create responsive, contextual and timeless designs as exhibited by these buildings.

The model is designed to expand to cover the other districts of the city of Manila. The project is currently at Phase Two and is focusing on the built-heritage found in Binondo & Intramuros.

As the model is envisioned to expand, we are launching it as a collaborative project in modelling Manila’s buildings focusing on its built-heritage; collaborating with different fields such as multimedia arts, production design and graphic design to produce themed-video projection presentations for the 3D Model Map; such as The Battle of Manila, Manila’s Open Spaces: Social and Green Spaces, Manila’s Urban Planning, Burnham’s Manila, etc. Ultimately, the model is intended to be an educational tool in presenting, studying and analyzing Manila’s history, architectural history, and present urban condition.

We hope that through this project, each student gets to appreciate our heritage and eventually, have the desire to conserve Filipino Architecture in the future.”

Faculty and student proponents of Manila Heritage Map

The model setup

Detail shot of The Met Theater 3D-printed model

Ate, Tayuman, Manila, 6.30.2018

WORDS Cesar Ramirez, Jr,