Bianca Weeko Martin's Architectural Guide to Manila
The first book from Bianca Weeko Martin (BAS '19, MArch '22), Architectural Guide Manila, explores the architectural history of Manila through 120 buildings.
Architectural Guide Manila, published by Berlin-based DOM Publishers explores its architectural history from the neoclassicism and art deco of the American occupation to the brutalist concrete under the auspices of the Marcos regime right through to the expressive ecclesiastical architecture that serves the Philippines’ large Catholic population.
Waterloo Architecture interviewed Bianca Weeko Martin about the project that began as admiration for a city guidebook series during a semester abroad that evolved over several years into a deeply personal project.
My studies at Waterloo Architecture prepared me for the culturally and environmentally sensitive travel that writing this book required.
WA: How did the Architectural Guide to Manila project come about and at what point did DOM become involved in the process as publisher?
BWM: I was 23 when this project started, and DOM was involved from the very beginning as my publisher. I saw their Architectural City Guide books when I was in Berlin after my exchange semester two or three years prior. I became familiar with the structure and concept of their city guides, and I admired them a lot. Rather than starting with the ambition to document and research Manila—the city in which my dad studied, but I myself never lived in—this project was more of a response to the existing format established by previous guidebooks in the series.
WA: Can you talk about the research process, how long was the research phase of the project?
BWM: Technically the research phase of this project was four years long, which includes COVID time! I lived in the Philippines for half a year right out of my Master's degree at Waterloo, and this was the time that felt most focused on Architectural Guide Manila. I was mainly in the field: photographing the buildings, meeting with architects and potential sponsors, getting an embodied sense of the city. When I returned to Toronto in Spring 2023 I had some very intense writing and editing sessions, particularly in the months leading up to the final January 2024 submission.
But I want to stress that I was always doing some research in the background leading up to the trip to Manila, preparing myself as best as I could for the fieldwork and ensuing post production: sending emails to potential leads, wandering around on Google Maps, saving Instagram posts of eye-catching Brutalist buildings. I was also doing my thesis research and working at a museum, both of which involved Filipino culture and arts more broadly. The research phase fluctuated in terms of immediacy but it was ever-present.
“The White House,” was a direct response to the premise of the Architectural Guide Manila format and allowed me to develop a rich study and artistic project diving into domestic space and histories told from the margins.
The White House, and Other Counter-Narratives from the Lockdown, Bianca Weeko Martin, 2022.
WA: The book launched at the Manila Metropolitan Theater in May, can you talk about the experience taking the book directly to the community in Manila?
BWM: Taking my book to the architecture and design community in Manila was one of the scariest and most fulfilling experiences of my life. As a member of the Filipino diaspora, one of my biggest fears was that I would be rejected by the architects and academics already doing great work in the Philippines, cast out as someone who was foreign to the country and its architectural canon. But the Manila launch in May was incredible, and many of the famous architects featured in the book showed up and came with their families and my family from the province showed up and we all celebrated together! Of course, I know that I was already laying the groundwork for this big encounter over the course of years—starting from engaging Dr. Gerard Lico, one of the vanguards of Filipino architectural history, for the book's introductory essay, and then partnering with him for the launch's event production at the Metropolitan Theater. I now remain long-distance friends with many figures in that community, and prioritize finding ways to spotlight projects, people, and initiatives happening in Manila for friends in the diaspora in Canada.
WA: How did your studies at Waterloo Architecture influence the book's development?
BWM: My studies at Waterloo Architecture prepared me for the culturally and environmentally sensitive travel that writing this book required. I spent my undergraduate co-ops in Melbourne, New York, Mexico City, and Indonesia so I had gotten used to moving around and taking in my surroundings, critically. Furthermore, my graduate thesis, “The White House,” was a direct response to the premise of the Architectural Guide Manila format and allowed me to develop a rich study and artistic project diving into domestic space and histories told from the margins. "The White House" acknowledged that a catalogue of mainly public-facing buildings can't tell the whole story, and instead offered more poetic reflections on Filipino identity stemming from my family's ancestral home in Bulacan, north of Manila. Having that dedicated time in my studies to dig deep, and set the foundations with a bibliography, was really invaluable to my book.
WA: What impact has the publication had on your career and are you working on any projects you want to share?
BWM: Putting out something carrying my own vision equipped me with the confidence and soft skills to begin shaping my independent research and writing practice, and stray from the mainstream path with some dignity. Architectural Guide Manila was the first invoice I ever sent. This work also became the foundation for finding my cultural community in Toronto. Recently, I wrapped up a research project called “Publishing Across Diaspora” supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, which looked at innovative publishers globally. I am conceptualizing a more artistic project that would probe the Filipino diaspora in the prairies and northern provinces of Canada (get in touch with me if you find that interesting!), and doing consulting work in experience design related to public transit and Pearson Airport in Toronto.
And, surprise, I am in talks with DOM about Architectural Guide Toronto!