As part of their Rejuvenating Pasig River for a Livable Manila (REPALM) initiative, the Asian Development Bank, with support from the Urban Resilience Trust Fund financed by the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, commissioned public open space conceptual designs on selected sites to illustrate how riverfront areas could contribute to improve livability. The Intramuros Park presents one of Manila’s most significant opportunities to enhance everyday life for residents by transforming underused land into an accessible, climate-adaptive and socially inclusive metropolitan park. The project aims to reconnect people to the Pasig River while creating a network of spaces that promote cultural activity and environmental resilience.

We designed a new public park for the Intramuros area, bringing Manila’s historic landscape back to life through a resilient and inclusive space. Integrating landscape, urban, environmental and civil design strategies, the proposal improves walkability, supports everyday uses and strengthens climate resilience. Developed through an extensive stakeholder consultation process, the project offers a practical and implementable vision for high-quality public space in central Manila.

This project addresses a long-standing need for accessible green space in the urban core of Manila. The new park provides opportunities for recreation, wellbeing and social interaction while responding to climate risk and urban growth. It also offers a replicable model for resilient urban regeneration, demonstrating how public space can reconnect communities with their waterways while enhancing environmental resilience, social inclusion and urban liveability.

Landscape driven design connects public spaces for walking, cycling and activities

Metro Manila is one of the most densely populated urban regions in the world and faces growing demand for accessible and revitalised green space. Designing a large-scale public park around Manila’s historic Intramuros district presents a significant opportunity to meet this need, but a precinct approaching 500 years of national significance requires a careful balance between preservation and change.

Our design approach placed landscape at the centre of the vision, using open spaces to connect key destinations and create welcoming environments for everyone. We drew on expertise from our Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and Madrid offices to develop a masterplan that responds to heritage, climate and urban challenges. Working closely with ADB, representatives from the Local Government Units (LGU) and other key stakeholders, we re-envisioned this area as a network of connected public spaces designed to host activities and events, supporting walking, cycling and everyday community life.

Our plan links key functions in Manila through four primary zones, enabling city-scale transformation and respecting local heritage:

  • Pasig Gateway, a waterfront with a lively promenade of kiosks offering local crafts, street food and everyday items that will boost business and enhance safety.
  • Rizal Gateway, opening and organising the space between Rizal Park and the General Luna entrance, to support events, gatherings and everyday public use.
  • Campus Garden, an accessible shared landscape connecting public institutions within Intramuros to surrounding destinations, including the university, City Hall, and the National Museum of Fine Arts.
  • Malecon Park, restoring the historic moat to support stormwater retention and former waterfront to create multifunctional activity spaces, sports areas and to enhance the visibility of the historic walls.
A stone wall with a moat and people walking around.

Artist drawing of Malecon Park, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Urban Resilience Trust Fund, UK International Development and Arup

Artist illustration of gardens with lake for recreation

Artist drawing of the Garden Campus, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Urban Resilience Trust Fund, UK International Development and Arup

Embedding nature-based solutions to strengthen climate resilience

Flooding and extreme weather events pose ongoing challenges for Manila. We help address these impacts by integrating nature-based solutions throughout the design, supporting flood mitigation, water management and urban cooling while enhancing biodiversity and amenity value.

Landscape systems were designed to absorb, store and channel stormwater during heavy rainfall events, reducing surface water impacts and improving long term resilience. At the same time, they restore historic landscape character and enhance the protection and visibility of the Intramuros walls.

Beyond their environmental benefits, these systems also play an important role in raising public awareness of water management and river health. By making water processes visible, the design encourages understanding of the relationship between the park, the river and daily urban life, fostering collective responsibility for a cleaner river system and helping reduce pollution, particularly plastic waste.

These interventions demonstrate how environmental performance can be integrated with heritage preservation as a visible and valuable part of the public realm, rather than as hidden infrastructure.

Honouring heritage through integrated urban design

Intramuros is one of Manila’s most historically significant areas, home to centuries-old landmarks that play a central role in the city’s identity. Our approach sought to strengthen this heritage by making it a central part of the masterplan vision, rather than treating it as a constraint.

Placemaking strategies were developed to enhance connections between heritage assets, frame key views and improve legibility across the site. By aligning cultural preservation with contemporary public space design, the masterplan reinforces Intramuros as both a living district and a place of national significance.

Partners & collaborators

Gerbrand van Bork | Planades