Philippine flag and ‘barong Tagalog’ serve as inspirations for new senate building

A futuristic design inspired by Filipino culture has been chosen as the look of the Philippine Senate’s new building.

The senate announced yesterday that it picked Los Angeles-based architectural firm AECOM as the winner of the Global Conceptual Design Competition for the new home of the Philippine Senate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCvHCu4fDjc

Inspired by the sun in the Philippine flag and the barong tagalog (a sheer traditional costume worn by men), AECOM’s design will serve as the blueprint for the new building which will be constructed from Jan. 2019 – Dec. 2020.

The new building will rise on an 18,320 square meter area owned by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, according to GMA News Online. It is located at the Navy Village in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

After months of deliberation, the Senate finally has a new architectural design for our new home. Congratulations to AECOM for this amazing concept.

A post shared by Sherwin Gatchalian (@stgatchalian74) on May 28, 2018 at 1:29am PDT

AECOM bested other firms such as Leeser Architecture, Aidea Inc., Henning Larsen Architects, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a total of 40 firms, including those based overseas, joined the competition.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, the chairman of the committee on accounts, said the winner was chosen based on a scoring system comprised of technical score (40 percent), people’s choice (5 percent), and executive ranking (55 percent).

AECOM’s design promises to use environmentally-friendly materials and the building is envisioned to reduce water consumption by as much as 50 percent.