A distinct cultural and arts district shall create a unique destination point in the Metropolis. This Arts and Culture District shall renew the existing institutions in the area by creating a gateway facility and providing complimentary lifestyle spaces as well as opening up the surrounding public grounds. The project seeks to redevelop the urban space of the entire district to rebrand it as an attractive and viable space for leisure and relaxation.
The intense mix of the area’s urban population shall be further diversified, creating a more cosmopolitan district where institutional, as well as commercial and transport facilities, converge. This unique urban situation shall allow for greater creativity and increased experiential exposure for the students, government workers, and commuters who pass through the site daily. It shall be an enriching and uplifting experience that allows for a better image of the city.
The district starts from Intramuros, crosses into the Post Office Building and the Metropolitan Theater, across from which will be the new Museum of Contemporary and Performing Arts which shall act as a gateway cultural institution rising on the site of the Park and Ride Building. The Museum shall open into the reopened Mehan garden which shall lead to the Bonifacio Shrine and the historic City Hall building. The Manila City Hall will be opened to the public and the courtyard shall have frontline government services as well as cafes. From there you can cross to the National Museum of Fine Arts before heading toward the National Museum of Anthropology and the National Museum of Natural History in Rizal Park. The park stretches all the way to Quirino Grandstand and Manila Ocean Park and to our beloved Manila Bay.
The project centers on 4 main interventions.
- The creation of a Museum of Contemporary and Performing Arts shall act as a gateway to increase interest in the area among the youth.
- The opening up of the Mehan Garden to the public allows us to stitch together the entire district from the Metropolitan Theater all the way to the historic Manila City Hall.
- The city hall will relocate transactional services to the ground floor to create a transparent public service culture and the inner courtyard of the city hall will host cafes and other facilities.
- A new public parking facility will accommodate the vehicles currently parked on the streets.
The Manila Arts and Culture District, together with the pedestrian links that shall be established to connect with the surrounding areas shall create an additional destination point for both foreign and domestic tourists. It adds a much needed third day to their itineraries, a walkable and thoroughly enriching destination that shall bring together the walled city of Intramuros and Rizal Park.
