DESIGNED by Andres Luna in 1928, the Perez-Samanillo Building, aka First United Building (FUB), is a celebrated heritage Art Deco structure in Escolta. This June, it received the Malasakit Award, the coveted top prize for the Good Design Award (GDA) Philippines. When asked what winning meant for her, 68-year-old Vice President Lorraine Sylianteng almost cried because she recalled the hardships she and her husband, Roberto, had to go through. The couple had turned down offers from a bank and a big delivery service to buy their property because they “believed in doing something different in Escolta.”
Entering the awards involved strengthening the organization itself. Robby Sylianteng, the couple’s son and the company’s manager for business development, had to forgo making a scale model because funds were needed to repair the building elevators. Holding a minor in Architecture and Urban Design from the New York-based Parsons School of Design, he believes that good design means trailblazing and requires empathy. Around May, he underwent surgery and presented before jurors in his hospital gown. “We knew we had to argue for our own truth,” he says.
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