Medina Mansion, Forbes Park
The Medina residence was designed as a mirror to the Young Mansion. Its construction was commissioned by Kristina Medina and Cherrie Young, who were close friends and envisioned their Manila homes as companion estates rather than separate households. Because of this shared vision, the two mansions were built to reflect one another in scale, orientation, and garden layout along Tamarind Road.
At the center of the Medina property is a large swimming pool that became one of the most recognizable features of the home. During her youth, Alex Gil Medina was often seen resting on a floating pool bed under the sun, a familiar scene remembered by friends of the family who visited the residence.
For many years, the Medina Mansion and the Young Mansion shared a large garden planted with Balayong trees. The garden was intentionally created by Kristina Medina and Cherrie Young so their families could move freely between the two homes without barriers. Under the shade of the flowering trees, Cassandra Young and Alex Gil Medina spent much of their childhood playing together.
The shared garden changed permanently after the passing of Kristina Medina and the remarriage within the Medina household. At the request of the new lady of the Medina home, a thick dividing wall was constructed between the two properties, separating the once open garden into two private estates.
The construction of the wall coincided with Alex Gil Medina’s departure for boarding school in Switzerland, marking the end of the childhood world that Cass Young and Alex had shared between the two houses.
Years later, the memory of that once-open garden would inspire Alex Gil Medina to write the children’s book The Garden with No Walls