Escolta’s First United Building wins highest prize at 2024 Good Design Award Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The restored First United Building (FUB), one of the oldest buildings in Escolta, Manila, was hailed the winner of the Malasakit Gran Prix Award, the highest prize, at the 2024 Good Design Philippines on Saturday.

The structure, formerly known as Perez-Samanillo Building, was designed by architect Andres Luna de San Pedro, son of renowned painter Juan Luna. It was the tallest building in Manila upon completion in 1928.

The Department of Trade and Industry's attached agency, Design Center of the Philippines, awarded it on Saturday as the historic Art Deco landmark embodies the power of restoration and “adaptive reuse” in driving urban regeneration. The building now serves as a hub for creative communities in Old Manila as well as a model of “sustainable preservation.”

It currently houses various local businesses and shops as well as the First United Building Community Museum that offers a glimpse into Escolta's golden era as Manila's premier business district.

"The historic building's transformation shows the power of placemaking, where it's not just the walls and posts that make a place but the communities that flourish in it. The restored First United Building in Escolta revitalized the district, attracting creative tenants and drawing a new demographic of visitors and regular audiences that come to Escolta to escape the cookie cutter spaces that proliferate in many urban areas,” Mylene Abiva, Good Design Award Philippines 2024 Jury Chair and Co-chair of Design Center’s Design Advisory Council 2024-2027, said.

“Despite challenges, the building's revival showcases the power of design and preservation, not only in restoring its past but also in fostering Escolta's economic resurgence that caters to the next generation of the creative class,” she added.

The FUB owner also welcomed this victory.

“We see this award as a validation that what is organic drives sustainability. Both take time and patience. Hindi makakahon,” Robert Sylianteng, owner and President of FUB told Philstar.com.

Quezon City’s “Right to Care Card,” a program that allows its resident LGBTQI couples to make medical decisions for their partners during emergencies, also won an