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By Ayn Veronica De Jesus, Subeditor
and Lynda C. Corpuz, Contributor
First of two parts
The Cultural Center of Philippines (CCP) complex
has long been considered the biggest white elephant in Pasay City.
Occupying a vast area on Roxas Boulevard’s reclaimed zone, the
“untouchable” seat of the arts bears the stigma of the
ill-gotten opulence of deposed President Ferdinand Marcos and his
wife, Imelda. The masses have never been drawn to the complex,
believing it be a symbol of inequality in the country.
That negative reputation may soon change.
Efforts are finally moving to make the CCP complex not only as a
symbol of Philippine heritage and arts but as a thriving commercial
hub as well.
Today’s CCP complex has a variety of isolated
establishments—the theater, a hotel, a theme park, a mass concert
venue and a convention center.
The new development plan will change all that.
The complex will evolve into a spanking new venue for the arts and
culture, as well as a magnet for moneymaking ventures, in the
tradition of Singapore’s Esplanade, Australia’s Sydney Opera
House, New York’s Ground Zero, or even the controversial Hong Kong
West Kowloon Cultural project.
Steering the vision
In charge of this colossal project is the CCP
president, Nestor Jardin.
“The past CCP administrations had planned to
develop the complex,” he said. “Several plans were drawn up
[but] the present plan is the most comprehensive and the [only] one
that went through a proper process.”
By “comprehensive,” Jardin meant that
consultations were held with various groups to discuss the
commercial viability of the plan.
“I needed to consult the CCP board, the
management committee, the staff, patrons, resident artists, the
media, businessmen and some government officials within one year in
a series of meetings that covered everything from needs analysis,
environmental issues, comparative analysis of similar projects
abroad, public impact, environmental impact and everything else that
one can think of that all stakeholders should discuss,” Jardin
said.
“So far, I haven’t heard negative comments.
In many parts of the world, in urban countries like Singapore, Hong
Kong, New York and Los Angeles, they have used cultural facilities
as a magnet for commerce.”
Jardin cited the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in
Spain, which overcame skepticism to become a phenomenal success.
He is undaunted by competition from Hong
Kong’s Kowloon project or Singapore’s Esplanade said. “They
have hardware but we have the software. We have a rich heritage, and
many of them are exporting our artists, our curators. We have a rich
tradition of arts and culture. When the CCP is developed, it will
make our arts and culture truly alive,” Jardin said.
World-class arts and culture
Over the years the absence of a comprehensive
development plan for the CCP complex has turned it into a
confused—almost chaotic—site for arts and cultural events,
sports and recreation, convention and trade fairs, dining, transient
living, and ferry terminal operations.
With the post-EDSA I ascension to power of the
institution’s new set of officials in the mid-eighties, the wheels
started to turn around plans to overhaul the complex.
To be sure, the plans were on a par with
world-famous arts and culture centers, and in line with the CCP
charter’s P.D. 15, which seeks:
• The construction, establishment and
maintenance, in a single site, of a national theater, a national
music hall, an art gallery and other such buildings and facilities
for conferences, concerts, seminars and the like;
• To awaken people’s conscious cultural
heritage and to encourage them to assist in its development,
enhancement, preservation and promotion;
• To cultivate and to enhance public interest
in and appreciation of distinctive Philippine arts in various
fields;
• To discover, to assist and to develop
talents connected with Philippine cultural pursuits, and to create
greater opportunities for individual and national self-expression in
cultural affairs; and
• To encourage the organization of cultural
groups, associations or societies, and the holding or the staging of
cultural exhibitions, performances and similar activities.
Development plan for the CCP complex
A key aspect in the development plan for the CCP
complex is the site’s present condition.
The CCP complex sits on the Boulevard 2000
property, which covers about 1,500 hectares of reclaimed land along
Manila Bay’s southern coast. Under the project, the 88-hectare CCP
complex is designated as an arts and entertainment area.
Because it is located along Roxas Boulevard, in
front of Manila Bay, and encompasses a two-kilometer waterfront, the
complex is considered prime land for cultural and commercial
development.
From the sixties to the late seventies, the
developers staggered the reclamation of the property until it was
completed. The landownership dispute from the seventies between the
CCP, Republic Real Estate Corp., the Pasay City Government and
Stonehill Corp. has also been settled: the Supreme Court ruled that
the CCP is the legitimate owner of the property.
Today the complex is ripe for development.
Of the 88 hectares of land, only 62.4, or 71
percent, of the property are owned by the CCP. Twenty-five hectares,
or 29 percent, are owned and managed by various government agencies.
For instance, the Government Service and Insurance System owns the
land of the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel, the Coconut Palace and
Gloria Maris Restaurant. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas owns the
Philippine International Convention Center. The Privatization and
Management Office owns Star City.
With these measurements as the basis, the CCP
administration bid out the project to several development companies.
In August 2002 the CCP bid out the services for
drawing up the master and development plan for the CCP complex. Of
the 10 bidders, which included urban development specialists Palafox
and Associates and Locsin and Associates, Planning Resources and
Operations Systems Inc. (PROS) emerged the winner.
“The plan is a group effort that would
probably withstand even the changes in the CCP administration,”
Jardin said confidently.
The master plan
PROS worked closely with the CCP board and
management to flesh out the following objectives:
• Develop the CCP complex as a center for arts
and culture in Asia and the centerpiece of artistic expression of
the Filipino soul and spirit;
• Maximize the income potentials of CCP’s
real properties;
• Encourage private-sector participation in
the development of the CCP complex; and
• Promote private and public activities in the
CCP complex.
In November 2003 PROS produced a two-volume CCP
business and master development plan, which covered studies,
research and recommendations on the following aspects:
• Approach and methodology
• The regional setting of the CCP
• Existing site conditions
• Potentials and challenges
• The master plan
• Access and circulation strategies
• Engineering studies
• Environmental management plan
• The business plan
• Program of implementation
Design guidelines and standards
Under the plan, 57.8 hectares of the
62.4-hectare property are due for development, including the
existing CCP Main Building and the Production Design Center. Of the
total land area, 50 percent will be used for artistic, residential,
office and commercial spaces, and the rest as open public space.
The PROS plan allocates the land use area
allocation as follows:
“Each cluster shall be treated as a microcosm
of the whole,” said Virginia Bactad, CCP assistant vice president
for complex development, and PROS president Geronimo Manahan, in an
interview with The Manila Times. Great care will also be taken to
ensure that the complex events and concepts will be family-oriented,
will cater to the A to D markets, and demonstrate the skills of
primarily local performers.
“We do not want the CCP to be a Mall of
Asia,” Bactad said.
The precinct approach below shows the land-use
strategy of the plan.
A copy of the plan given to The Manila Times
indicates that Cluster 1, tentatively named the Lucresia Reyes-Urtula
Promenade in honor of the National Artist for Dance, will be the
“cultural mall” of the complex.
This area will be an extension of the present
Baywalk, with some areas leased to include (but not limited to)
retail stores, cafés, restaurants, studios, galleries, residential
lofts, commercial art galleries, bookstores and antique stores.
A visitor center, ferry terminal and yacht club facilities will be
built to serve as gateways for visitors coming in from the bay.
Bactad said the idea of a gateway from the sea
came about after Batangas residents expressed interest in attending
performances. By sea the CCP complex is only 30 minutes from
Batangas. The bay gateway will also serve as the entrance for elite
tourists who choose to arrive by yacht.
Retail outlets in this cluster will feature the
uniform concept of a katig, or outrigger, a layag, or sail (such as
the planned Balay na Daku, or indoor congregation space), and the
Palabas, or entrance marquee. The Promenade’s arts and cultural
facilities will also include a contemporary art museum and the
Lucresia Kasilag Circle.
Cluster 2, the Art Sanctuary, will be a purely
cultural forefront as a strip solely dedicated to the arts, Bactad
said.
With the CCP main building as the anchor, the
proposed Performing Arts Theater is projected to seat 1,000, plus
the expanded library, archives and a highly specialized storage
facility. It will further stretch out to a three-hectare open-air
venue, called Freedom Park, as the focal or endpoint. An elevated
breezeway will connect the two buildings and pedestrian ways at
ground level.
Manahan said that Filipino qualities are to be
intricately woven into the modern structures, taking the cue from
the dominant CCP main building. Interpretations of the salambao, or
fishing boat, as bandstand will be named after the composer and
conductor Lucio San Pedro, and an open space for events and other
activities will be named the Levi Celerio Playground after the
lyricist and composer.
Other arts and cultural venues include the
Antonio Molina Conservatory (within the CCP administration
building), the Production Design Center, and an underground parking
area.
Cluster 3, or the Breezeway, is envisioned as a
mixed-use lateral corridor that links Cluster 2 to spaces for
performances and events. This concept is taken from the Filipino
tambayan, or gathering place where people exchange views and ideas,
mingle or simply hang out, and will feature a tiangge-style gallery.
Facilities in this cluster include an
8,000-capacity multipurpose hall for concerts, cock derbies, sports
events, festivals and sales. The hall will also include the Nick
Joaquín Beer Garden (after the late National Artist for Literature
known for his love of drinking), the Asian Music Gallery, the
National Artists Museum, Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino, and two
artists’ centers called Andrea Veneracion Concourse and Wilfrido
Ma. Guerrero Teatrillo.
To be continued
Part 2 |
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