Architext Guanzon on CICC: 'Ahead of time'

"I was afraid I can't hit the November 15 deadline but I can hit October 31st," architect Manuel Guanzon said yesterday when asked about whether the Cebu International Convention Center would be ready as venue for the 12th Asean Summit in December.

Call him being too cocky but the architect of the P450-million CICC has bases for his assertiveness. "The building is fully done", and that Cebuanos have nothing to worry about, he even added.

The man who had built-ahead of project period he said-several landmark buildings in Cebu is certainly not talking empty although concerns of delay may be understandable also.

Guanzon offered before a P500,000 bet to those who believed the CICC will not be finished for the Asean Summit. So far, no one took the bet.

"Di ko ka blame nila," Guanzon said quoting the famous philosopher Francis Bacon who said, "When does unmet dreams resides? It will reside in their soul. If not resides, it will result into mental sickness."

Acknowledging however the concern of the public, Guanzon took out his past cards of performances, citing for one the Parklane Hotel, to be finished today, September 30, although it has been in operation since it was opened to the public last August 19.

The Parklane Hotel architect added some of his "fast" projects: Cebu Grand Convention Center, Pag-Ibig Tower, Robinson's Place, Marco Polo Hotel (renovation), Banilad Town Center, and the soon-to-be opened Golden Prince Residential Suites.

Previous records would not translate of course to the realization of the CICC, but Guanzon asserted that, as the project works are going right now, there would be no reason to worry that there would be no CICC for the summit.

Guanzon yesterday said he is just waiting for Malacañang to provide him the flags of the Asean member countries and have these displayed by early next week. "I wanted the flags to fly in front of CICC on Monday (October 2)," he said.

Guanzon wished he could bring people inside to see the actual progress but then security policy could not let him do it. He said though that people afar the three-hectare complex could not assess the works and even appreciate the interiors.

"Today (September 30), the building is watertight," Guanzon said after yesterday's pouring of cement on a small portion of flooring at the lower ground floor, upper ground floor and second floor.

Watertight means that no more rain could get inside, no more flooding of the interiors, and that the ceiling and air-conditioning facilities are already in place. Guanzon said that after the flooring is done, the walling of the exterior would follow for 15 days.

Guanzon admitted that the works are being fast tracked, but he said that expenses could go higher if not for Governor Gwen Garcia's better financial management.

The CICC was not designed only for the Asean Summit but also to become an economic enterprise of Cebu province, said Guanzon.

Governor Garcia and Mayor Thadeo Ouano of Mandaue City, where the CICC is located, have wanted the edifice's architectural design as a cultural resource. The Guanzon design for the CICC

The CICC is being built to cater, for now, to the complex needs of the Asean Summit but its use after the international gathering would be for local and national conferences, exhibits, seminars, dialogues, cultural presentations, and a regular place for specialty shops, restaurants, and entertainment centers.

For these views, Guanzon came out with a design that would respond to these functional needs by putting in flexibility in form as the guiding feature.

The building would become a place of two rectangular blocks, solid and massive-pure geometrical forms that would suggest the strength of the Asean nations-one for exclusive use of the main functions; the other, for support facilities and exhibits.

A luminous lobby, connecting these blocks, would be portrayed as fragile, soft and natural by letting in natural light through the glass roof. The contrast between the massive blocks and the luminous lobby create a dynamic tension for visual impact in a unified composition.

The geometry of these two major blocks represents the pristine and clear intentions expected of the delegates and future users while the lobby serves as the focal point in that geometrical forms.

The concept of the building design was based on a "Spaceship Planet Earth" milieu with environment as the intended purpose. For the first time, a "fragile spaceship earth" has become the inspiration of the design concept to be shown in the CICC lobby.

The idea of spaceship as "link" is carried further to include a parabolic steel arc making the lobby roof appear as floating, suspended by the steel arc. The arc also reminds us of a ring as a symbol of unity.

The metal arc, as a dominating element of the CICC design, reminds us of the carabao yoke, which is translated as sebu in Cebuano dialect to mean equal and fitting. -Gregg M. Rubio/RAE