When you think about #Poblacion, you envision the burgeoning, vivid nightlife scene, a place where restaurants and cocktail bars are aplenty. It’s only recently that its local coffee culture has been reimagined with one-of-a-kind, independent spaces that compete with commercial coffee chains scattered around the metro. ☕️ @assemblyhallph is your newest community-based café located in the heart of Makati—its more gritty, less curated side, that is. Their doors are open whether you’re in the mood to coop up and work all day, or maybe just catch up with friends. And you’ve probably seen it on your Instagram and TikTok feeds: the mirror that launched a thousand selfies. 🏕 The space, which occupies HMA 773 Building’s entire second floor, is raw and induces nostalgia. At the helm of the project is @maramanalo of @studio__mara. #AssemblyHall founder @harveyalumisin reveals their inspiration behind the brand’s aesthetic: the beauty of imperfection. He notes, “There’s something so beautiful about [rawness]. [When you look at] the concrete floor, it’s incomplete. At the end of the day, it’s actually paint that’s splattered on the floor—not intentionally—because we didn’t have time to clean it. But it works!” He adds, “We’re not pretentious, we’re not trying to be anyone else but ourselves.” Given all the overwhelming support for such a young brand that’s just a month-old, Harvey believes they’ve succeeded despite initial issues. He reveals, “We had it against all odds. The three people I work with [and I] are not in the F&B industry...Second, we’re off-the-grid; we’re not in a mall, we’re not in the city center. You have to walk up a staircase to come here and there’s barely any parking. But I realized if you’re able to deliver something, and it has elements of what you’re trying to do—you tick all the boxes, and people will come.” ✨ The full story on @wondermagph 🤍