Next Nature Manila Part 1 Project 2024 Bowen Tan Architectural Association London | UK Set in the near future, this project explores speculative scenarios of Manila, the Philippines’ capital, undergoing a spectacular green transformation dubbed "Next Nature." This urban strategy, spearheaded by fictional developers, envisions fusing ecology with technology to reintroduce nature into the city. In 2019, Manila was considered the world’s densest city. Amongst the world’s most climate-vulnerable capitals, it faces scorching temperatures and unyielding floods. Climate challenges, intensified by its teeming population, have dimmed the quality of life, particularly for its most vulnerable residents.Using the language of film, the project examines the stakes of capitalism adapting to climate change. Historically, Manila has experienced mass population exodus in times of crisis, such as during World War II. What if this happened again when E-Coin, a fictional conglomerate, partners with the government under an "Economics = Ecology" philosophy? After they incentivised depopulation, their aim became extensive forestation by retrofitting existing infrastructure. Once shaped by Western economic models, Manila starts serving as a fictional testing ground for a green transformation. However, the ambitious scheme comes at high cost. The film narrates how several urban and architectural interventions of Manila’s transformation could alter the lives, memories and hopes of different citizens. From the personal to the urban scale, the city becomes an intelligent, highly complex and multi-layered place. Tutor(s)