We got wind that photographers were being asked not to take pictures of this 100-year-old building, requested by the new owners, now revealed to be MegaWorld Developers. They don't really have a track record of turning cultural heritage building for adaptive reuse.
This building has been a hot topic of late, since it switched owners and the tenants were asked to vacate lat February 20th, and only two security guards are there. Rumors started coming that it would be demolished to give way to a spanking new mall and condominium...
The security guards never asked us not to take pictures when they saw us. The story would have been different if a camera group came here instead of a sketching one. I asked everyone to refrain from taking picture shots of the building, well when the guards aren't looking anyway.
I guess sketching can't be considered as intrusive as taking pictorial records.
Sketching is close to observation, and the activity had 20 attendees this sketch walk. It was an enjoyable morning in Manila. We hope the El Hogar building stays, and it could still be viable for a beautiful hotel or residence.
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