Art Deco Trail: A Treasure Hunt for Architectural Gems in Manila
My interest in modern and contemporary architecture and skyscraper designs recently progressed into appreciation for old buildings, especially those falling within the category of the Art Deco, short for Arts Decoratifs, a visual arts movement that began in a 1925 French design exposition. Art Deco covers art, architecture, product and graphic design, and even fashion. It gained popularity in the 1920s to the 1930s and is characterized by simple, stylized forms, linear motifs, zig-zags, lightning bolts, and geometrical patterns. The designs represented the machine age, and a more liberal outlook. In the Philippines, there are still many existing Art Deco structures, but sadly, most of them are way past their glory days. The country has not done a good job in preserving these heritage buildings and valuing the rich history behind them. In the recent years, a group of architects and heritage conservation advocates has started the fight to preserve the heritage buildings on Escolta Street in Manila, where many of these existing buildings, historical archives and museum artifacts still stand proud. I hope that through this short video, I can show my support for this advocacy. This video aims to put the spotlight on the cultural value of Manila's heritage buildings and to support the advocacies to protect and preserve them.
My interest in modern and contemporary architecture and skyscraper designs recently progressed into appreciation for old buildings, especially those falling within the category of the Art Deco, short for Arts Decoratifs, a visual arts movement that began in a 1925 French design exposition. Art Deco covers art, architecture, product and graphic design, and even fashion. It gained popularity in the 1920s to the 1930s and is characterized by simple, stylized forms, linear motifs, zig-zags, lightning bolts, and geometrical patterns. The designs represented the machine age, and a more liberal outlook. In the Philippines, there are still many existing Art Deco structures, but sadly, most of them are way past their glory days. The country has not done a good job in preserving these heritage buildings and valuing the rich history behind them. In the recent years, a group of architects and heritage conservation advocates has started the fight to preserve the heritage buildings on Escolta Street in Manila, where many of these existing buildings, historical archives and museum artifacts still stand proud. I hope that through this short video, I can show my support for this advocacy. This video aims to put the spotlight on the cultural value of Manila's heritage buildings and to support the advocacies to protect and preserve them.