SHAPING A CITY’S FUTURE
This exciting design for the future all begins with the people and communities as the focus, allowing Horizon Manila itself to be sustainable and adaptable to its citizens’ changing needs
Master plans play a critical role in molding a city’s future and, if they are not well-conceptualized, issues would arise in the years to come as the place increases in population and buildings and other infrastructures continue to sprout in the area.
It’s practically designing a sense of place for its citizens, where architecture, even the materials used for construction, should synergize with the city’s neighborhoods and surviving heritage sites.
On identifying the need for well-conceived urban regeneration, World Bank identifies a master plan as “a dynamic long-term planning document that provides a conceptual layout to guide future growth and development. Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings and their surrounding environments. A master plan includes analysis, recommendations and proposals for a site’s population, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities and land use. It is based on public input, surveys, planning initiatives, existing development, physical characteristics and social and economic conditions.”
The City of Manila had a grand master plan that easily positioned it as a cosmopolitan city way back in 1905 when its design was presented by architect Daniel Burnham who was commissioned to do the work. In 1941, President Manuel Quezon combined the cities of Manila and Quezon City and neighboring municipalities to form the City of Greater Manila.
In 1945, the Battle of Manila left the city devastated and it would take years before new buildings would replace its ruins. In 1976, Manila was re-established as the country’s capital due to its history and its stature as the center for commerce, trade, culture and education.
By the end of the Marcos era in 1986, 660 hectares of land had been reclaimed, which includes the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex that consisted of 77 hectares of significant structures.
By 2006, 170 acres of the Bay Area had been developed to create the SM Mall of Asia complex. To date, there are about 19 reclamation projects ongoing in the city and at different stages of progress.
The City of Manila and its rich history shows how it continues to be dynamic in its developments as a premiere metropolis powered to meet the needs of its citizens especially in post-Covid times.
The City of Manila is all set to be future-ready and a supercity at that as its government has partnered with developer JBros Construction Corporation for the biggest mixed-use development project in the Manila Bay area. WTA Architecture and Design Studio created the seamless master plan for the “City of Tomorrow.”
Master planning is about making the connection between buildings, social settings and their surrounding environments.
Horizon Manila, the project, will be built on a 419-hectare reclaimed land that would cost P120-billion for its horizontal development. With a six-year timeline, Horizon Manila will surely bring back the grandeur of the country’s capital as it will have three major islands bisected by a canal and consisting of 28 compact districts, each with a particular distinction.
Merging the world-class urban design planning elements with innovative technologies, Horizon Manila is envisioned to uplift the quality of life of its citizens as the latter faces the new-normal world after the widespread impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
Expect a vibrant but gentle Horizon Manila as it will be built as a livable, walkable city created with wide-open public spaces, lush greenery, eco-friendly transportation such as trackless battery-powered trams, water taxis, ferry boats and an international port for luxury liners. It will have a freshwater reservoir, sustainable power source, pedestrian priority zone sand biological shoreline to preserve the ecosystem.
This exciting design for the future all begins with the people and communities as the focus, allowing Horizon Manila itself to be sustainable and adaptable to its citizens’ changing needs. WTA principal architect William Ti says, “We are not designing a top-down regimented master plan with homogenous landmarks and streetscapes.”
To learn more about Horizon Manila, www.wtadesignstudio.com/horizon-manila-manileno.