Mapping new possibilities for architecture
When Hallee Berry T. Mañoza began mapping Dasmariñas, Cavite, she was working on a class requirement, not preparing an entry for a national competition. She and her assessment partner wanted to understand how the city had changed from an agricultural landscape into a growing urban center. Along the way, they found a story worth sharing beyond the classroom.
The project, “Agri-Urban: From Agricultural Ground to Metropolitan City of Dasmariñas, Cavite,” eventually earned second place in the Mapping competition at the recent WTA Anthology ASEAN Architecture Festival.
For the urban design student from Far Eastern University’s Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts (FEU IARFA), the recognition came as a surprise.
“Honestly, I was surprised and really grateful,” she said. “I put a lot of time and thought into every work I submit to different competitions, and for me, even being shortlisted is already a milestone.”
To be recognized in a national competition alongside urban designers, geologists, and other professionals made the achievement especially meaningful. She also credits FEU IARFA and the professors who have supported her growth.
But before the recognition, there was a city to understand, a new mapping tool to learn, and a question at the heart of the project: as a place develops, what happens to the things that were already there?
Reading a city
Mañoza’s entry began as a class requirement for Urban Design 2. The task was to map the historical layers of a city, and her assessment partner, Justino Iñigo Marcelino A. Lucas, suggested Dasmariñas, Cavite, a familiar place to him.
The choice gave them an opportunity to study how agricultural lands, road networks, settlements, and commercial development had contributed to the city’s transformation.
Their work was not simply about identifying what had been built. They wanted to understand how the different parts of the city had changed together, and what those changes meant for the relationship between people and the land.
“What stood out to us was that the city’s transformation wasn’t just about agricultural lands being replaced by subdivisions and commercial establishments,” Mañoza said. “The expansion of road networks, settlements, and other urban activities all contributed to the city’s urban sprawl and shaped how it grew.”
To bring these changes into view, Mañoza and her partner explored QGIS, a geographic information system (GIS) software. Their Urban Design professor, Ar. Vannesa Cabiedes, had encouraged them to explore the tool and consider how mapping could be used beyond locating features on a site.
For Mañoza, it opened up another way of looking at a city.
As architecture students, they were accustomed to using maps for site analysis. This project challenged them to look at the wider urban environment—to see how networks, nodes, and different layers interact rather than examine buildings or locations in isolation.
Mapping helped them bring these elements together in a visual story of Dasmariñas. What began as an academic exercise became an opportunity to make the city’s transformation more understandable to a wider audience.
What remains
Not everything in Dasmariñas has changed at the same pace. One of the features Mañoza and her partner highlighted was the Immaculate Conception Church, a landmark established in the 19th century that continues to serve as a place of worship and an important part of the city’s historical identity.
They included it to show how places can retain their significance even as the landscape around them changes.
“We highlighted the Immaculate Conception Church because it played an important role in shaping the historical identity of Dasmariñas,” Mañoza said. “We wanted to highlight how, despite the city’s rapid urbanization, some places continue to carry its history and identity.”
The church became an example of what the project described as a “layer that remains”—a reminder that a city’s identity is shaped not only by new roads, buildings, and developments, but also by the places and histories that communities continue to value.
For Mañoza, this has implications for the work of architects and urban planners. Development should respond to a city’s existing identity rather than disregard it.
One lesson from her Urban Design class has stayed with her: heritage should not be treated as something frozen in time. It can continue to evolve alongside a city’s culture, traditions, and social practices.
“I think architects and urban planners should look beyond the physical structures and consider how development affects the relationships between people, their cultural identity, and the spaces they have used and valued over time,” she said.
The challenge, as she sees it, is to make room for change without disrupting the things that make a place distinct. It is a perspective that extends beyond Dasmariñas. Cities will continue to grow, but understanding what they carry from the past can help inform how they develop in the future.
Two days to learn
Translating that perspective into a visual map was not without its challenges. Mañoza had only around two days to familiarize herself with QGIS while also working on her architectural thesis.
She downloaded the software, spent hours watching tutorials, and applied what she learned directly to the project.
“I’ve always enjoyed creating visuals, but this experience taught me that learning new tools takes time and effort, and that developing these skills is important for us as aspiring architects and urban designers,” she said.
The process pushed her to work with an unfamiliar tool under time pressure. It also showed her how new skills could expand the ways she approaches architectural and urban design questions.
When she saw her work featured at the WTA Anthology ASEAN Architecture Festival, the recognition was only part of the experience. She also valued listening to talks and conversations with established architects and practitioners from the Philippines and international partners.
The festival is an annual three-day event that brings together architecture and design practitioners and other stakeholders from the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It aims to raise awareness of the role architecture and design play in urban societies.
For Mañoza, being part of that wider conversation changed how she viewed her work as a student.
“Sometimes, we tend to see our outputs as just academic requirements, but this experience showed me that they can also offer perspectives on real urban issues and share them with a wider audience,” she said.
She left the festival feeling inspired to explore more possibilities beyond what she had experienced at the university. The experience gave her greater confidence in the ideas she wanted to pursue, but it also encouraged her to keep challenging herself.
Working beyond the classroom
Mañoza was not the only FEU IARFA student whose work received recognition at the festival. Mark Lawrence Rillon and Von Nicolae Puzon were shortlisted in the Photography competition, adding to the institute’s representation in the regional architecture and design event.
Mañoza said she was happy to see fellow students sharing their work beyond the university, particularly those from younger batches.
“I think it shows how much talent and potential we have in our institute, and how much more we can explore and achieve beyond what we usually do in school,” she said.
She hopes more FEU IARFA students will take the opportunity to join competitions and put their ideas forward, even when they are unsure whether or not their work is ready.
Her advice is straightforward: try.
“You don’t have to be the best or have everything figured out to start joining,” she said. “Sometimes, you just have to take that first step, prepare what you can, and have just enough audacity to hit submit.”
It is advice shaped by her own experience. Her entry began with a class requirement, and learning the software took time she had to make alongside other academic responsibilities. Yet the process gave her a chance to explore a different way of understanding a city—and eventually brought her work to an audience beyond the classroom.
Looking ahead, Mañoza hopes to carry that curiosity into future projects. She wants to be more critical of how cities are understood and represented, and how this understanding influences the places architects and urban designers eventually shape.
Mañoza began with a map of Dasmariñas and a question about how the city had changed. Along the way, she discovered that mapping could reveal more than the growth of roads, subdivisions, and commercial spaces. It could also bring into view the history, identity, and relationships that remain beneath the surface.
What began as a classroom requirement gave her a new way to look at the places people call home—and a reminder that understanding a city is part of learning how to shape its future.
Before architects and urban designers decide what a place could become, they must first learn to read what is already there.
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