The First United Building Story
A fully illustrated historical narrative with integrated musical elements, developed as a webcomic with a printed graphic novel adaptation. Created as part of my undergraduate thesis in collaboration with local cultural heritage preservation movements, it explores the history of one of Old Manila's surviving historic buildings—The First United Building.
Location
Escolta, Manila
Year
2017
Project type
Web and Printed Graphic Novel
Collaborators
The Heritage Collective, 98B Collaboratory
Told through the anthropomorphized building itself, the story follows its journey from inception through the destruction of war, to its present-day role as a hub for Old Manila's cultural revival and preservation through creative collectives. By giving the building a voice and memory of its own, the work explores how architecture can witness history, and how the past stays alive by finding new meaning in the present.
Next project
Genjitsu Stargazing Society