Projects

Bonifacio global City | METRO Manila

This project set out to reimagine the future of Manila with the creation of a new central business district—one that would not only provide space for growth but also embody a vision of urban life that the city had long struggled to achieve. The work began with a master plan, supported by detailed strategies in planning, urban design, and landscape architecture, all designed to ensure the vision could become reality.

From the outset, the project brought together a diverse, multi-disciplinary team: government leaders, developers, urban planners, architects, landscape architects, and civil and transportation engineers. Their shared goal was ambitious yet clear. The new district would:

Reflect and respect Manila’s culture, context, and climate.
Include a flexible land-use strategy adaptable to every stage of its development.
Create vibrant neighborhoods, each anchored by memorable public spaces.
Prioritize walking and transit while reducing reliance on cars.
Be guided by clear controls and standards to ensure the master plan was faithfully implemented.

The urgency of this vision was shaped by Manila’s history. By the late 20th century, the city’s explosive growth had overtaken its infrastructure. Roads were gridlocked, pollution was rampant, and the pedestrian experience was harsh and unwelcoming. Green spaces were scarce, and the population of nearly 30 million made Manila one of the largest urban areas in the world. Its main commercial hub, Makati, was already at capacity.

Amid these challenges, an extraordinary opportunity emerged. The government decommissioned Fort Bonifacio, a military base spanning more than 1,000 acres, and opened the land for redevelopment. This rare piece of urban territory, located at the city’s heart, became the site for a bold, world-class experiment in city-building.

The project’s guiding aspiration was simple yet profound: to create a new urban center that would avoid the mistakes of Manila’s past while offering a model for its future. In the mid-1990s, a competition was held to identify the best team to carry the vision forward. HOK was awarded the commission, setting in motion a design process that combined big-picture ambition with meticulous attention to detail. Once the road networks and land-use patterns were established, a diverse team of consultants and specialists joined forces to bring the master plan off the page and shape it into a thriving city.

Key Facts:

Land Area is 440 hectares (1,100 acres, or 1.7 square miles), of which the central area of approximately 240 hectares was largely developed according to the plan
Approximately 8 million square meters of mixed use development has been completed as of 2025, out of a total of 12 million planned
After 30 years, about 80% of the land has been developed. For some portions of the land, the first wave of development was below what entitlements allowed; redevelopment to higher densities will occur over time.
Planned eventual capacity of approximately 250,000 residents and 500,000 daily workers and visitors
A successful Public-Private Partnership project with a consortium led by private developers and BCDA, a government entity. Original developer Metro-Pacific sold some of its holdings to Ayala and Evergreen. SM Group and Filinvest own some land and have developed projects as well. Megaworld developed some areas outside the core.
Bonifacio is now considered the largest, nicest, and most significant business district of Manila, displacing Makati
Scope of the project included the Master Plan, Urban Design and Landscape Guidelines, and Parcel Plans with Covenants & Deed Restrictions for Property Sales
The planning for this project was completed by HOK San Francisco and HOK Hong Kong in the mid 1990s; Brian worked in both offices for several years on the project as a Senior Urban Designer and was responsible for creating many of the graphics shown here, although the original design framework of the plan was by others on the team.

More on the project can be found here.

The plan follows a modified grid, with an overlay of concentric circles that created parks at key intersections and where land use and density transitioned from one neighborhood to another. A large, existing golf course lies to the west between the project area and a high end single family residential neighborhood (Forbes Park). Another large-scale open space lies to the south (the American War Memorial, dedicated to US servicemen who died in the Pacific Theater during WWII). The presence of cemetery (even a beautiful, well-maintained one) was a challenge from a real estate perspective, and various consultants were brought in to help address the issue (including feng-shui experts).

The main land use patterns in the larger northern section consist of office and retail at the center, with high density residential at the periphery. There were also some other large land uses such as an international school, a hospital, and transit terminal. To the south was an extension meant for low rise residential at a later date.

Transit was proposed from the beginning (along with district-level shared parking). However, the city had limited transit infrastructure when the project was first conceived, instead largely relying on informal, ad hoc systems such as jeepneys and buses. This continued for the first few decades. Nevertheless, Manila has finally started to make significant investments in mass transit infrastructure (proper high-capacity subways that are now under construction) and stations within Bonifacio are included in those plans.

Progress on the plan started rapidly with basic road and infrastructure work in the late 90s, and some early residential towers overlooking the golf course, then stalled after various political and economic crises, leaving the original developers in a difficult financial situation. The project was then taken up by other parties, who injected new capital and made design changes. Most notable among these was a reconfiguration of the center of the plan, which had not been well received by the market, given awkward shaped blocks and parcels created by the circular forms (something the planning team had noted at the time). A new consultant - Roma Design - was brought in to reconfigure this portion of the plan with low rise retail along a major linear E-W park (SWA Group and later, AIDEA). This area is now known as Bonifacio High Street, and is something akin to an open air lifestyle center. The open space is landscaped with fountains and artwork and lined with shops and restaurants/cafes; it is one of the most desirable leisure spaces in the Philippines. The lower density retail buildings may be redeveloped at a later date (some of this has already started with the development formerly known as "The Strip").

Once High Street had been developed and shown to be successful, other projects continued at a rapid pace: new residential, offices, and hotels. All of this development is very high density, with most towers ranging from 20-50 stories.

The roads, sidewalks, colonnades, and landscaped parks are unlike anything seen elsewhere in the city; the development is undeniably world class and it has attracted businesses and residents from around the metro area, indeed many from abroad. This isn't just an real estate or urban planning project, it has been the centerpiece of a broader economic development effort, attracting foreign direct investment capital with significant multiplier effects.

Guidelines promoted colonnades throughout the commercial areas, but these were not consistently implemented, unfortunately.

Now that the project has largely been completed, it is worth noting its scale: it is similar in scale to Midtown Manhattan and the Chicago Loop, as shown below.

This project has been featured as a Case Study by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Click the image to be taken to that document.

The article notes some of the mistakes that were made by the original designers, and how these were corrected over time as market conditions and developers changed.

Compelling geometry helped sell the plan, but ultimately it was the grid that prevailed in the end, due to its efficiency and flexibility. Tower spacing is tighter as a result, for better (economics) or worse (views). Once the plan is fully built out, the density will rival midtown Manhattan.

After the Overall Master Plan was developed, a Specific Plan was created for the first phase, translating the broader vision into detailed guidelines, technical and legal documents that would ensure the fulfillment of the plan through the many buildings that would bring it to life. The Specific Plan looked at what was required on each individual lot, and how systems for the broader city would be interpreted at a more detailed level on such topics as zoning restrictions, easements and setbacks, skywalks and arcades. It addressed critical dimensions, differentiated types and locations of streets and open spaces, and established signage and lighting guidelines.

Working closely with the client and a team of legal consultants, the most important rules were incorporated into Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R), which were attached to each deed. In addition, a set of Design Standards and Guidelines were written. As part of each individual deed, an information sheet was prepared that lays out in simple graphic format the restrictions and requirements for each lot, giving specific dimensions and percentages.

Some preliminary studies were done for anchor developments in key locations, such as a central shopping mall, and a covered/shaded shopping street, although these were never implemented. Instead, an outdoor lifestyle retail mall centered on open space was built first, along with smaller strip malls surrounded by surface parking. Much later, large multistory enclosed malls with structured parking were added in various locations throughout the plan.