The construction of a provincial capitol building will trigger the implementation of Camarines Sur’s owned “Build, Build, Build” program, a pro-Duterte administration official said on Friday.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte said the world-class capitol, designed by architect and urban design consultant Carlos Arnaiz, would be an “a groundbreaking and unique” structure that would instantly become a recognizable symbol of the province.
Villafuerte said the other projects included the expansion of the Naga Airport in the town of Pili; the modernization of the Philippine National Railways line; the CamSur West Coast Tourism Highway that will connect the towns of Balatan, Pasacao and Ragay; and the Bicol River bridge that will connect the town of Libmanan to Naga City, which would begin construction next year.
“I always say that do not expect extraordinary things to happen if you keep doing ordinary things every day. We want CamSur to be extraordinary. We want CamSur to be different. We want CamSur to set new standards,” said Villafuerte, a vice chairman of the House committee on local government, said.
The former governor said the CamSur capitol building, featuring several Pili-shaped roofs, was designed as an eco-friendly structure, reflecting its commitment to sustainable development and the preservation of Bicol’s culture.
He said Arnaiz of the design firm CAZA conceptualized the building as a spiraling assembly of Pili-shaped husks that appears like a mountain from the horizon and like a flower from the sky.
Each Pili-shaped volume is a metal sunscreen protecting the building’s interior from the intense tropical sun and creating a series of shaped roof terraces.
The Capitol’s spiral organization of Pili-shaped volumes produces a covered open-air atrium in the center of the building with a dramatic interior helicoid ramp terminating at the Mt. Isarog viewing deck.
“Our Camsur Capitol is a visionary project that builds on what is endemic to CamSur in order to propel the province into a future of technological advancement, environmental sustainability, and civic engagement,” Villafuerte said.
CAZA, a Brooklyn-based design studio, and think tank has offices in the Philippines and Colombia.
Among its projects in the Philippines are the BCDA Iconic Building and Bonifacio Theater Park in Taguig City, Caticlan Airport in Aklan, the Baguio Apartments in Baguio City and the Baler Hospital in Aurora province.