Tokyo Tower marked its 60th anniversary in December. Although times have changed since its opening in 1958 — during the postwar reconstruction era — the tower remains a beloved symbol of Tokyo even today. This is a story about the passions of people involved in supporting the tower’s attractiveness.
Visitors are mesmerized by the blow-ups of misty waterfalls and awe-inspiring landscapes in the Philippines. Benigno “Bengy” Toda III holds the distinction of being the first photographer to have a permanent collection at National Art Museum.
José Maria Zaragoza (1912-1994) played a key role in the reconstruction of postwar Philippines, helping reshape the landscape of Manila ravaged by the Second World War through his striking structures that melded modernism and Philippine motifs and styles.
Spotlight was on Cebu’s rich heritage when the island-province became the venue of the closing ceremonies of the National Heritage Month (NHM) with the theme “Pamanang Pinoy: Taoid 2014” last May 31.
It takes only a statement project to spark interest in the gentrification of a degenerating city. Daniel Libeskind, dubbed by the New York Times as a “starchitect,” could have been describing the redevelopment of the World Trade Center, of which he was the master planner. But he was actually referring to his Philippine project, the mixed-use high-rise Century Spire.
The local government of Baliuag, Bulacan, will be restoring its old municipal hall building for its importance as a heritage structure.
Among the basic principles of conservation followed internationally is the stipulation that all angles of architectural monuments or heritage buildings should always remain in full view to the public.
Here is an interesting response to last week’s column about leaving seriously damaged Bohol churches as ruins rather than totally reconstructing them.
While most heritage advocates push for adaptive reuse of important structures, an exit of the historic Fort Bonifacio War Tunnel was recently discovered to have been “converted” and “reused” into a septic tank.
The general sentiment is that Bohol churches devastated by the recent earthquake will rise again from the rubble, reconstructed faithfully, patiently, carefully rebuilt stone by stone, until each damaged structure returns to what it used to be.
