What can a civic building mean for its people?

Successful civic buildings become powerful symbols for their communities that bring people together, embody their aspirations, and project their shared identity to the world. Our design for the new Capitol of the Philippines’ Camarines Sur Province embraces the region’s landscape, material culture, and indigenous heritage to create a new public symbol of the Province’s strength and unity. The project builds on the possibility of designing a new future for Camsur, re-purposing the endangered material of indigenous cultures and local industry. A spiraling assembly hall takes the shape of Pili nut-shaped husks, creating a series of roof terraces organized around a covered open-air atrium. A dramatic helicoid ramp terminates at a public roof deck that offers commanding views of the nearby volcano, Mt. Isarog.

A NEW FUTURE ROOTED IN HERITAGE

The project builds on the possibility of designing a new future for Camsur, repurposing the endangered material of indigenous cultures and local industry. A spiraling assembly hall takes the shape of Pili nut-shaped husks—a vernacular building material—creating a series of roof terraces organized around a covered open-air atrium. A dramatic helicoid ramp terminates at a public roof deck that offers commanding views of Mt. Isarog, a nearby volcano central to the Province’s cultural history.

ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP

The building synthesizes landscape and architecture, using organic forms and materials to modulate light and heat. A metal mesh made from modules shaped like Pili nut husks sheathe the open-air assembly hall, protecting the interiors from light and heat while maximizing natural ventilation. The mesh acts as a matrix for plantings, creating a living façade that improves air quality and helps regulate interior temperatures through shading and transpiration.

CLICK HERE FOR PROJECT TRAILER

• SIZE: 140,469 SQF
• PROJECT TEAM: Carlos Arnaiz, Laura del Pino, Alden Ching, Kate Sarmiento, Jun Deng, Ignacio Revenga, Gaby San Roman, Valentina Buratti, Haoran Wang, Magdalena Fronska