Heritage preservation applied to a hotel
By Tats Rejante-Manahan
More recently, the term “adaptive reuse” has slowly found itself in the vocabulary of structural heritage preservation aficionados and those concerned with their preservation. It was around the mid-‘70s that the term came into consciousness, owing to the rising concern over spaces for further development and the challenge of dwindling natural resources. Environmental impact drove initiatives where climate change and environmental sustainability were concerned. Since then, the act of re-using existing buildings “ since evolved to incorporate an ethical and cultural obligation for preservation,” according to authors Plevoets, Bie, and Koenraad van Cleempoel.
The Philippines has been slack where adaptive reuse is concerned. Developers more often than not, choose to demolish heritage structures rather preserve it, and construct spanking new buildings, re-defining a previously significant historical landscape, and with it, the memory of place. Adaptive reuse redefines the use of a building, assigning it another role that may differ entirely to its original intent, optimizing the structures’ role, and oftentimes, increasing its monetary value. The building however, should maintain its architectural significance in its outstanding details and design, and more importantly, its location in which it was chosen to be erected, contextualizing the structure’s purpose.
Although the Philippines may be slow in catching up, there are, however, several noteworthy redevelopments. Among those that have attracted the attention of many is the Henry Hotel on F.B. Harrison St. in Pasay, situated in a compound of 1950’s houses. The hotel consists of five houses put together that total 32 rooms, surrounded by lush green gardens and a driveway lined with mid-century acacia trees, its landscape originally designed by National Artist for Landscape Architecture, Ildefonso Santos.
More recently, Henry Hotels has taken on yet another development, this time, an ancestral abode in Quezon City, situated in a vast space. And at the center of it all, in the middle of this sprawling lawn is the stately Art Deco Benitez residence, where once resided Sen. Helena Benitez, the last family member to live in this family home, is now declared as a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP). The Benitez house is not only an architectural masterpiece. In 1939, it found itself at the center of a pre-war developing area, which would be designated as the new capital following the destruction of the city of Manila during the 29 day battle in 1945, that decimated many of the prime properties in what was then the capital. As oral history would have it, the name Mira-Nila was conjured when Helena, viewing Manila from the torre—the highest point of the house which remains to this day—saw Ateneo de Manila in Intramuros on fire. Calling her brothers to join her, she called “Mira à Manila! Mira à Manila!,” (Look at Manila!) and thus the name “Mira-Nila” stuck after Helena won a family contest to name the house.
The house is now a house museum, which contains not just family memorabilia and precious artifacts, objects and important pieces of art, but also a library containing 4,000 books and a catalogue of 2,000 objects. One striking feature I was attracted to were the library shelves, which were handcrafted by the inmates of the Old Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa, specifically trained by master craftsmen in furniture making. These pieces are identifiable by the signature twisted posts called tornos or salamonica. These also adorn the front porch posts and the twisted grill bars seen on all the windows of the house. Also made by the prisoners is the encasement of the old grandfather’s clock in the main hall and the furniture in the middle bedroom on the second floor. It was a well-known fact then that some of the best furniture was made at the prison.
There is a music alcove just below the grand winding staircase with a Steinway piano with unusually elaborately carved legs, reminiscent of the Rococo revival style prevalent in the period of Louis XV of France, with curved lines, shell and rock motifs (also known as Grotto furniture, which originated in Venice).
Other furniture pieces are of the 19th century mixed with mid-century Chinese pieces like a six-panel coromandel screen and a Chinese couch of dark hardwood with mother-of-pearl in-lays. The coromandel screen’s feature are 49 highborn women depicted in carved bone and jade, busy at gardening tasks in a noble house. This mix of European and Asian furniture is characteristic of collectors of the time, owing to the cross-cultural influences perhaps, that manifested themselves in Manila. Portraits of family members painted by well known artists of the period like Fernando Amorsolo and Macario Vitalis add up to a total of 16 Filipino masters.
Spaces all over the house carry memories of significant events like in the small dining room, where the Nacionalista party held meetings in the ‘60s; the establishment of the Quezon City Citizen’s League for Good Governance; the founding of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement. The tangible architectural details of the house, coupled with the intangible significance in the historic events that occurred within add up to its designation as a Heritage Home. The extremely informative hour-long tour conducted by Petty Benitez-Johannot, one of Helena’s nieces, reveals even more stories that definitely surpass “Downton Abbey.”
Apart from the foundation set up by Sen. Benitez to sustain the property, developer Hanky Lee and interior designer Eric Paras were called in to transform the four apartments designed by Rosary Benitez next to the house, to rooms and suites for rent to further sustain the property.
Redesigning and operating an innovative hotel as this, which is now called the Henry Mira-Nila,, “challenges conventions what a hotel can be, by working with like-minded people,” says Lee, adding that there needs to be that necessary balance between economics and aesthetics.
“Adapting the seven reconfigured rooms up for rent into comfortable suites, was the viability in terms of return on investment,” Paras agrees. “Which areas to keep and which to sacrifice to maximize the potential for business, at the same time marrying it with aesthetics and guest amenities and special requirements like fire exits, considerations for the handicapped, while making the surroundings interesting and unique.”
“It is a leap of faith,” adds Lee.
Research on the property and the possible market was one of the prime considerations before taking on the project. Some say that the Mira-Nila location is “out of the way” from where commercial rental places are concerned, Lee counters by saying that it is a place of destination, spotlighting the heritage structure and honoring it, underscoring the “sense of place.” Add to that the present day amenities like the two restaurants, Bizu and Blue Leaf within the complex, relying on the innately good Filipino hospitality and further lifting it. Although Henry Mira-Nila has only seven units, room service will be made available, as well as car rentals, and a listing of good eating places within the area, and other amenities that may enrich the guests’ experience other hotels may not offer. And if there is one attraction available at the Henry Mira-Nila that cannot be found in any other hotel, it’s the accessibility to lounge in the midst of the garden, under the shade of a big old tree—with food service to boot.
Thus, the Henry Hotel group has adapted the tagline “Like No Other.” A visit to any of the Henry Hotels, five in all in the country and all adaptively reused structures will attest to that. Apart from the one in Pasay and the Mira-Nila, a Henry Hotel is also in Cebu (the Henry Hotel Cebu with quirky designs, and imaginative artwork), in Batangas (the Henry Resort Taramindu Laiya with its seaview deck lounge with workstations), and in Dumaguete (the Henry Resort Dumaguete, overlooking Southern Tañon seascape, and has communal spaces filled with heritage artwork).
Each of them unique, and each like no other.