CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga – The new passenger terminal building of Clark International Airport here was inspired by the local cultural identity and surrounding beautiful mountainscape of Central Luzon.
In fact, the airport terminal’s distinct silhouette echoes the undulating Zambales mountain ranges, and the majestic Mt. Arayat in Pampanga.
BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Designs, one of the firms tapped by Megawide-GMR to collaborate in the design of the infrastructure, had set out to capture and translate the Filipino spirit in the new passenger terminal, introducing to the world the Philippines’ distinct and progressive identity.
“Vernacular elements are amplified, like the frames of the parols or Christmas lanterns, which are evident in the ceiling, and the capiz windows that are interpreted as skylights that generously invite the sunlight in.” said BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Designs Associate Architect, Onet Coronel.
Lahar was also used in the construction of the PTB.
“An ode to the Filipinos’ resiliency during the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, lahar was used as the new architectural fiber,” said Coronel.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade reminisced on how they worked on the blueprint of the new terminal.
“When we said we will use wood, many doubted us. When we said that, when we stand at the lobby, we want to see Arayat and Zambales and green areas that surround the building, nobody believed. Today when they see the wood, they must believe, when they walk there and see Arayat and Zambales on the side and the mountains passing thru the mirrors, they should believe” Tugade said.
He also gave specific orders for the terminal to start operations in six months.
“Let’s make this operational, at the latest, January of next year” he said.
“I remember you have a deadline with me and that deadline is July 30 of this year. So we’ll be late by August, September, October, November, December- 5 months. I am not inclined to make any extensions after that,” he maintained.
The cost for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the Clark International Airport New Terminal Building amounts to P10.295 billion, while works for the fit-out costs amounted to around P6 billion.