The same Brutalist icons, but not as you know them
A brutalist landmark, the PNB Financial Center continues to shape the bay area skyline.
It is said that Brutalist architecture asked for patience. Its language was not immediately inviting and resisted quick affection for it stands firm in raw concrete and heavy, geometric forms.
Appreciation for this style came with distance. That return happened around 2019 across cities, including in the Philippines when the culture began to look again and see intent behind the weight. Buildings that were once dismissed as severe began to draw in a new audience. Architects, designers, and the public revisited them with a fresher perspective.
Iconic properties of the Metro skyline
In Makati and Pasay, two such structures are among those that gained renewed attention: the PNB Makati Center and the PNB Financial Center, properties managed by PNB Holdings Corporation (PHC).
From the street, both buildings read as resolute. The PNB Makati Center, designed by Filipino architect Carlos Arguelles, a key figure in modern and Brutalist architecture, holds its place along Ayala Avenue with a sense of order, set against a district in constant evolution.
On the other end, the PNB Financial Center, found nearer the bay, stretches across a wide footprint of almost 90,000 sqm. Designed by noted Filipino architect Gabriel Formoso, it carries the same material honesty, set against an open horizon.
When PHC assumed stewardship, the shift began at the threshold. They ensured not to erase time but work with it, leaning toward adaptive redevelopment. They ensured that the structure remains legible and that interventions respond well to present-day use.
When one steps inside the PNB Makati Center, the experience becomes less measured. Light softens the entry as the lobby leads with clarity. Materials move from exposed concrete to finishes that are easier on the eye and touch.
Workspaces, found from second to penthouse levels, follow a similar intent. Color pops in controlled accents and seamlessly blends with the structure. They feature layouts that support employee interaction without forcing it. There are open zones for team collaboration, alongside areas that allow for focus. The choices reflect the building’s current priorities—health, safety, and a more human-centered way of working.
At the PNB Financial Center, the narrative expands. The building has long functioned as a headquarters. Its expansiveness allowed it to house offices and institutional tenants over time. Under PHC’s direction, parts of the complex have taken on a new role.
Certain interiors have been adapted into event venues. This move leans on the asset that Brutalism provides, volume. Large spans and high ceilings offer a flexible canvas. The spaces can host formal gatherings or more relaxed assemblies. The bay area setting adds another layer. Natural light shifts across the day and gently spills through the windows. The edge between inside and outside becomes part of the event experience.
This reprogramming extends the building’s original identity. Where there were once purely administrative spaces, there are now areas, such as The Grand Atrium, that invite the public in a variety of ways.
Both buildings show that preservation is not fixed, but a process where change unfolds with discipline, allowing the original architecture to remain clear as new interventions settle in with intent. And, when updated with care, they can support contemporary life without losing character. The current work at PNB Makati Center and PNB Financial Center reflects precisely this.
For those who pass by, the first impression may still be distant. The silhouettes have not softened. Yet beyond the facade, the spaces tell a whole new story, one that considers how people move, gather, and work today. In this way, the buildings continue to shape the spaces they hold. They define their legacy not only by what they were, but by how they are used today.
