Designed by Sean Dix, Manam features minimalist interiors and colorful artworks that portray fun Filipiniana and pop art.
Manam’s flagship store in Ayala Triangle holds a more sophisticated look than its other outposts. Its designer, Sean Dix, an American interior architect based in Hong Kong, wanted it exactly like that. For his design brief, he wasn’t given a specific aesthetic to follow but instead a vibe that one should feel when dining in the restaurant.
“We knew that this Manam should ‘up’ the Manam game without intimidating people. It had to be welcoming, cozy and homey. Hip but friendly, informal but professional. It needed to be a place in which Filipinos would want to bring visitors, but also, importantly, the kind of place that locals would want to return to often. Bright and sunny in the day, a little bit sexy at night. The kind of place you’d feel comfortable with your grandma or on a date,” he amuses. “Or on a date with a grandma.”
Photos by Jar Concengco
Dix is just giddy from the recent news that four of the restaurants he designed in Hong Kong have just received Michelin stars. “Creating a great experience is critical to the success of any restaurant, and a big part of creating that experience (in addition to serving great food, providing friendly and efficient service) comes from the design,” he says.
Manam At The Triangle is Dix’s first project with the Moment Group and for this he dug deep into the “special relationship and cultural overlaps between Filipinos and Americans.”
The restaurant features a mid-century sensibility with a pebble dash facade reminiscent of the finishes Leandro Locsin would add to his iconic brutalist structures. Dix added a textured popcorn ceiling (which was wildly popular in the 50s to the 70s) that effectively helps reduce echoes and improve acoustics in a space. “As a creative team of a noisy American and noisy Filipinos, we knew that finding lots of hidden ways of absorbing sound within the space was going to be important!” he says.
Wooden dividers line the window evoking the skeletons of capiz windows from older Filipino homes. They protect the diners and give just enough privacy without completely blocking the view of one of the last green spaces of Makati-Ayala Triangle gardens.
All furniture pieces were designed by Dix and feature soft curves and either upholstered in powder pink hue or soft teal. He also made sure that the space highlighted local craftsmanship. “We wanted there to be quiet references to the craft tradition of the Philippines without being too obvious about it—little details that Filipinos might recognize. I loved that we had the opportunity to work with Filipino craftspeople to produce some of the signature elements of the space,” he explains.
The lamps made of fabric recall both traditional fish traps and mid-century modern bubble lamps. The central bar area is cladded with a wooden tile that creates an illusion of a woven basket. Light wooden paneling line the interior walls adding warmth to the space while pops of colorful artwork by Manam’s design team headed by Miguel Wylengco portray fun Filipiniana and pop art. The restroom’s wallpaper has a montage of lyrics from Filipino songs such as Legs Legs Legs, Bongga Ka Day and Manila Girl.
“I think there’s a general misconception about what design is, even among some designers,” says Dix. “It seems a lot of people think of design as decoration. While obviously there is some decoration in our work, the main part of what we do is more than just the obvious aesthetic design—colors and materials and whatnot.”
“There are all of these other things that come into play—the way the space is laid out for flow and efficiency, for the comfort of the guest. There’s the color temperature and precision and quantity of the lighting, the sound system, the acoustics, the way the wait stations are strategically positioned so that they are useful for the waiters but basically invisible to the guests,” he explains.
A long table in the back partially hides behind a column, allowing guests a little more privacy. This space is called sulok and can be reserved by groups up to three months in advance. A striped Missoni rug adds just the right amount of color to tie everything together.
“I’m influenced by design of the late 1950s through the early 1960s. There are echoes of this design period in almost everything I touch. Then there was a sensitivity and appreciation for materials, composition, and design logic that I find often lacking in contemporary design and architecture,” he shares.
Although the restaurant can seat 164, it doesn’t feel cramped. The furniture is spaced apart appropriately without unnecessary decor. “I like designs that are concise—that use just the right amount of stuff to get the job done. I hate busy designs with decorative elements added just to fill up an empty space or to try to hide a lack of clarity in the design,” Dix adds.
“Because I like concision, I personally gravitate towards very minimal spaces and objects that eliminate everything but the essential. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that my work is minimalist. I guess you could call my style ‘friendly minimalism,’ as close to minimalism as you can get while still keeping guests comfortable.”
