Senate chooses firm to design Taguig site

By Camille A. Aguinaldo
THE SENATE has chosen architectural firm AECOM to design the new Senate building to be constructed in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
AECOM won the Senate’s Global Conceptual Design Competition on Monday with a mere 0.36-point lead from the runner-up, besting four other firms, Leeser Architecture, Aidea Inc., Henning Larsen Architects and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.
The Senate and the Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) opened the competition last February to search for a design for the new Senate building that will “symbolize the Senate for what it stands for” and “take the Senate of the Philippines to the next 100 years.”
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A total of 40 architectural firms, 24 of which were foreign and 16 local, expressed interest to participate in the competition but only five were chosen to present their concept design proposals to senators.
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, chair of the committee on accounts, said AECOM would undertake the “Detailed Architectural Design of the Project” upon the selection of the contractor by the Department of Public Works and Highways for the construction of the new Senate building.
He said the five firms were judged using a scoring system with three components: Technical Score (40%), People’s Choice (5%), and the Executive Ranking (55%).
“We like to extend our warmest congratulations to AECOM. There is no doubt that your conceptual design for the Senate’s permanent home best represents the honor, dignity, and legacy of this independent institution,” Mr. Lacson said.
He added that he was looking for a two-year timeline for the construction of the new Senate building in a parcel of land located at the Navy Village in Taguig City from January 2019 to December 2020.
He also hopes the Senate would open the third regular session of the 18^th Congress in its new building in Taguig City.