Restoration and Adaptive Reuse of Social Hall
Ground Floor, Saint Hildegard Building
St. Scholastica's College, 2560 Leon Guinto Street, Malate, Manila
Completed 2016
Social Hall is on the Ground Floor of Saint Hildegard Building, St. Scholastica's gem of pre-war Neo-Romanesque architecture, designed by architect Cesar H. Concio and inaugurated in 1938 by Vice President Sergio Osmeña. Decades of renovations, including the introduction of mezzanine floors on three of the four corridors that surround the central space, had undermined Concio’s original architectural intent. This project restored the original intent, liberating the richly detailed arches from their mezzanine encrustations, employing a light touch to integrate the requirements of a state-of-the-art education center.
The Benedictine motto "Ora et Labora" etched on sliding glass panels that, when slid close, isolate the main space from the surrounding corridor.
The
high space of this corridor leading to the new guest waiting lounge used to be interrupted by a mezzanine
floor. The window at left used to be covered by concrete hollow block.
The high stepped-pyramid tray ceiling of the new guest waiting lounge
The
high space of this corridor leading from the new guest waiting lounge used to be interrupted by a mezzanine
floor. The engaged pilasters and arches at right were hidden behind two floors of office space that formerly occupied this corridor.
The Benedictine motto "Ora et Labora" etched on sliding glass panels that, when slid close, isolate the main space from the surrounding corridor.
During Construction, existing column capital is stripped of layers of paint to reveal original detail.
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