5 firms shortlisted to design the new Senate building

The Senate is finally moving out of Pasay City. Since 1996, the Upper House has leased six floors of the Government Service Insurance System complex and a portion of the Social Security System complex parking lot. Year 2020 will be different as a new Senate building will be built in Taguig City.

A majority (14-2) of the senators voted for their relocation to Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The Senate and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) signed an MOU for the purchase of a 18,320-square-meter lot at the Navy Village.

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Taking cues from the design competition for the New Supreme Court, a call for expressions of interest to design the new home of the Philippine Senate or Bagong Senado was made this February with a deadline set on 16 March 2018. No designs were required at this first stage.

A total of 40 firms, 16 local and 24 foreign, expressed their interest. From that pool, five were chosen: AECOM, Aidea, Henning Larsen Architects, Leeser Architecture, and Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects.

The official announcement stated: “To pave the way for the building phase of this project, the BCDA rolls out a Conceptual Design Competition and invites technically-competent firms to participate in designing the new Senate building. The winning design is envisioned to be a national landmark that will usher Philippine Senate to its next 100 years.”

The official briefing of the shortlisted firms will happen tomorrow 4 April 2018. Designs will be presented on 28 May 2018, the same day the winner will be announced.

Construction of the new Senate building is expected to happen from January 2019 to December 2020.