ARCHITECTURAL LANDMARKS IN DAVAO CITY: VALUE-BASED APPROACH TO THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

For years, Davao City (and Mindanao in general) has been caught up in the myth that it is the Land of Promise. As such, it has suffered an identity crisis because of the flux of migrants and the clash of cultures caught up in the web of historical processes that emphasized change and progress. It is difficult to plot the historical trajectories of change without archaeological or architectural basis.  This research is supports the assertion that it is more desirable to study Architecture within the context of the cultures that produced it. Specifically, it aims to identify and classify the architectural landmarks in Davao City through a Workshop conducted with the Davao Historical Institute. The initial output of the research was to produce a compilation of architectural landmarks presented in a video documentary for the purpose of formal documentation and interpretation. The video documentary features the architectural landmarks as the outgrowth of the historic, symbolic, social, economic and aesthetic values of a place and its people. These are the values that associate or connect people with structures.  The identified and categorized landmarks are intended to instil knowledge and appreciation of architectural works as monuments the local community would take pride in not merely on the basis of its form and function, but on the basis of the values placed on these structures.