BOARD 1: Sanota, Chloe
BOARD 2: Santos, Nicole
BOARD 3: Maligaya, Margaret
BOARD 4: Plazuela, Windrose
Intro [board 1]
There is no dead corner in Quiapo, do you believe that? Of course by now, we all know this to
be true. Even our ward at the edge of the district was not safe from constant movement,
change, and growth.
It made us wonder, how do you *reimagine* a place that already feels so alive? How do you
intervene without interrupting? These were the questions that shaped our plans for Ward 4 of
Quiapo, Manila.
Good morning to the jury and the audience here today, we are students from 4ar7, here to
present a reimagining of our assigned ward, one rooted in rhythm, resilience, and respect.
First, where is ward 4? This 6.7 hectare area is located south of Quiapo abutted by Arlegui
street and casal street on the north and east side and the Estero de San Miguel on the south
and west side. It is mostly composed of a dense residential, commercial, and institutional
landscape and its current major landmark is the Technological Institute of the Philippines, here,
occupying this large area along Casal.
Before anything else, we had to know what we were dealing with exactly. As the third most
populous district of Manila with a count of around 3,406, we assumed that we have a
demographic of various types, needs, and ages. With the population growth rate of a whopping
3.29%, Quiapo will only get denser and denser. Thus, we needed to prioritize safety, livability,
inclusivity, and identity.
For the current landscape, we went back to our map and identified 3 key matrices that make up
our area. With the commonality of schools in the locale, we named a Campus tissue, or
institutions which makes up most of the site, followed by an elastic tissue which means it could
be (changed, rearranged, easily redeveloped), and then we have the static tissue which is the
opposite of that. Both are composed of residential and mixed-use buildings.
For physical characteristics, more than 90% of the buildings are low-rise and one currently in
construction is a high-rise. Most are made of concrete, very few are made of wood and a
miscellaneous of materials.
We turn to the SWOT and we see that most areas exhibit weaknesses and threats, notably the
lack of proper communal spaces which lead to improper use of sidewalks and potential
relocation. The few strengths and opportunities that the ward possesses are the amount of
bystanders as security and the shophouses that could serve as third places especially for
students.
Concept [board 2]
Now that we have had an overview on Ward 4, let’s now go look through the lens on what it
could be. Introducing ward 4 as your local neighborhood unit! This concept with the very same
name is from Clarence Perry back in the 1920s. It is a planning framework aimed at creating
livable, human-scale communities. It proposes that neighborhoods should be designed as
self-contained, walkable areas centered around shared facilities like schools, parks, and local
shops. The main rationale on why this concept was chosen is because we believe that Quiapo’s
identity is built not on order and uniformity, but on organic complexity. This is not only reflected
in the current physical structure of Quiapo but also in its history from colonial times up to the
modern era now. This urban fabric, though often viewed as chaotic, possesses a natural rhythm
and history that we seek to respect and preserve. In order to fully realize the neighborhood unit
concept, there are a few requirements that we have to tick off. First is street connectivity and
transit as well as community anchors. This is reflected in the Institutional part of our ward with
29%. Majority of it is from the TIP campus and some from our proposed terminals as well as our
redesigned barangay hall. TIP itself also serves as a community anchor as it generates a lot of
activity for the ward. The next requirement is housing diversity with our residential space at
22.5% which includes our proposed mid-rise socialized housing. Under here are also the basic
services structures with two proposed parking buildings. This addresses the problem of informal
settlements, overcrowding and lack of rental options within the ward as well as underutilized
lots, and absence of accessible public facilities. The next requirement is Mixed-use
development at 15.6% with the majority of it serving as low-rise shophouses. The previous
high-rise mixed-use building that is currently in construction along Arlegui street is restricted to
be a mid-rise mixed-use building. As you can see in the map, majority of the shophouses are
placed along Vergara Street thereby giving it a solid foundation to serve as a high street for the
ward. The next requirement is a pedestrian-oriented design which can be reflected in our road
traffic map here. As you can see we now have a clear designation of bike lanes, sidewalks and
public use areas. We also have Fraternal street here that we converted to be a pedestrian only
street as it serves as our heritage walk. Meanwhile Vergara is a one-way street with a clear
designation of sidewalk and public use space as it serves as our high- street. The next
requirement is Green and Open spaces which is 11% of the site. The last is a robust and
adaptable urban form which can be reflected in our heritage walk which is about 7% of the site.
This addresses the heritage degradation and structural vulnerability of some of the buildings.
Solutions [board 3]
As part of the goal of providing better street conditions for barangay 385, the redevelopment
plan includes road widening through sectioning strategies as means of creating more pedestrian
oriented, vibrant, and safe streets within the barangay as part of the local neighborhood unit
concept. As shown, pedestrian and bike lanes are provided with green buffers and street lights,
public use spaces are improved within the RROWs given how the CLUP of manila encourages
the use of shophouses but this time with better integration and management, street parking was
prohibited and solved through designated parking spaces within the ward, and similarly, trees
and street furniture were added throughout the barangay - all in all contributing to the creation of
functional, safe, and productive shared streets in order to cater to the needs of its residents.
The elevations provided show that the buildings within the ward are limited to 6 storeys at a
maximum and utilize a spanish colonial style in order to preserve the existing character and
identity of the ward and respect its heritage. Moreover, modern design additions are applied with
a warm tone aesthetic for a cohesive look.
Barangay 385 is a quaint community within Quiapo and this redevelopment aims to strengthen
such identity by further defining its character and providing better living conditions for its
residents. One strategy involves the provision and rejuvenation of green and open spaces within
the ward. The estero de san miguel esplanade is a greenway park that was once an informal
settlement beside TIP and adjacent to the estero. It was redeveloped into a vibrant space for the
community to enjoy, filled with green spaces, interactive nodes, and lively areas, providing a
shared space where they can unwind, learn, and live. Its features are in consideration with the
esplanades of neighbouring wards as well as in relation to its adjacent streets within barangay
385, serving as both an introduction to the barangay and a transition space between
neighboring wards. A major feature of the esplanade is its tree buffers that double as a bioswale
drainage for the ward, contributing to both the presence of vegetation and water control within
the barangay.
Solutions through infrastructure/buildings [board 4]
Now we move on to the buildings designed to solve the ward's previous issues.
First, two parking buildings were designed along Casal Street and Arlegui Street to alleviate the
on-street parking problem within the ward. These 2 parking buildings are able to accommodate
a total of 137 cars in total. In terms of the look, the building remains a midrise so as not to take
the attention away from the rest of the ward. The facade remains simple, organic, and designed
with greens to give that modern look, but still remaining faithful to the heritage that is inspired
from the spanish-filipino style
An MRF is also located at the ground floor of the smaller parking building for accessibility to the
main street as well as the inner streets of the ward. There is a basketball court as well located at
the roofdeck for community use.
For the mid-rise socialized housing building, this aimed to solve the issue of informal settlers
around the estero particularly around Duque street. By doing a spatial analysis, we were able to
compute a number of 260 units required, but to accommodate further growth, the building
holds 326 socialized housing units.
In terms of design, the facade takes its inspiration from the people itself. The colorful stacking of
Filipino shanties is the inspiration for this building. To add a more filipino twist, the same
weaving used in the parking buildings was used in the facade of this structure. This was also
added to increase privacy for users. It also features a community center as the previous informal
settlement had a makeshift structure for community gatherings.
Now onto the mixed-use rehabilitated building, this building is where the nursery of the ward can
be found with a playground in the open space. commercial shops can also be found on the
ground floor. this way shopowners can attend to their business while their children are still
attended to. the second floor is for their intended residential use. whilet he third floor is
recreationsl space open to the public.
The barangay hall was also redesigned to fit the Filipino aesthetic of the ward. To address
issues of connectivity, a PUV terminal and tricycle terminal is proposed to make commuting
more convenient especially for TIP students and staff. The PUV terminal also features food
stalls on the second floor. Accessibility was also a priority. A proposed TIP bridge also connects
both TIP buildings found on opposite sides of Casal Street, which also connects to the proposed
terminals.
To address the problem of flooding hazards, a proposed drainage system with a primary
waterway forming a cross, connects the highest points of the ward down towards the estero as
well as to retention ponds found around the ward. The secondary waterway follows the same
logic. These waterways are lined with bioswales which naturally collect water to be used in the
watering system of plants around the ward, as well as filtering the water before it reaches the
natural body of water. This away, water that could cause harm becomes used to the ward’s
advantage
The ward remains true to the Filipino culture of Quiapo with hints of modernity. It is an inclusive
neighborhood unit that honors the culture of the past and the present of all who live there and
turns it into what could be the future. In the heart of movement and memory, this ward stands as
proof that progress doesn't have to erase — it can coexist, uplift, and make space for what’s
next.
After all, in Quiapo, nothing stays still. Even at the edges, life exists - and so we asked
ourselves: how do you reimagine what’s already alive?