Martinez, Jewel May P.

November 28, 2019

THU 3:00 – 5:00 PM Prof. Christopher Figueroa

The Philippines’ Newest Sports Complex is ready for SEA Games 2019
September 7, 2019
(SPOT.ph) With less than three months before the much-awaited 2019 Southeast Asian
Games, the Philippines' newest sports facility—the New Clark City Sports Hub—has finally
taken shape amid verdant land in Capas, Tarlac. By November 30, thousands of athletes from all
over the world are set to occupy this 60-hectare development, which houses the Athletic
Stadium, Aquatic Center, and Athletes' Village. The venue has also been chosen to host the
Southeast Asian Games' (SEA Games) closing ceremonies on December 11.

A World-Class Sports Complex

All the facilities within the New Clark City Sports Hub, initially dubbed the Philippine
Sports City or Philippine Olympic City, adhere to world-class standards. “Itong facilities na
itinayo natin are in accordance to the latest technology for Olympics,” Engineer Isaac David,
chairman of MTD Philippines, tells SPOT.ph in an interview.

The Athletic Stadium has nine running tracks,

which have been classified with the
International Association of Athletics
Federations' Class 1 certificate.

It will be used for the SEA Games' athletics

events, which includes competitive running and
walking, relay races, and throwing.

The Athletic Stadium, for example, was built to conform to the guidelines of the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It has nine 400-meter running tracks,
which were certified by the Federation to be under the Class 1 classification. The Stadium also

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has an outdoor warm-up area with four 400-meter lanes and an indoor warm-up space with two
100-meter lanes.

But what makes the Athletic Stadium stand out is the distinctive color that's been used for
the steel bars and columns, dubbed "B+R Active-Orange." This color was created and patented
by BUDJI + ROYAL Architecture + Design—the architecture firm behind the conceptual design
of New Clark City—to mimic the color of lava coming from Mt. Pinatubo. The anti-corrosive
orange paint was manufactured by Jotun, a Norwegian chemical company that also supplies the
paint for the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Athletics Stadium has glass-walled booths

for VIPs, the media, and other special guests
for the upcoming international competitions.

"B+R Active Orange,” which was inspired by

the colors of molten lava, was created and
patented especially for use at the Athletic
Stadium.

Following a design that was inspired by the nearby

volcano, the Stadium's ringed roofline looks like a crater opening
towards the sky. The walls, in fact, were made from lahar and
volcanic debris, instead of the usual cement mix. The chairs, on
the other hand, have orange and gray colors arranged randomly,
which creates the overall visual effect of flowing lava. The use of
alternating colors, incidentally, is a trick used by stadiums around
the world to create the illusion of a packed venue—at least when
the camera pans past the seats.

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 The 2,000-seater Aquatic Center is equally jaw-dropping. It was accredited by
the Fédération internationale de natation (or the International Swimming Federation), making it
suitable for international competitions such as the SEA Games and even the Olympics. The
Aquatic Center features three swimming pools: an Olympic-sized swimming pool (50 meters by
25 meters) with 10 lanes at a depth of three meters (about 10 feet), a training pool (50 meters by
21 meters) with a depth of two meters (6.5 feet), and a diving pool (25 meters by 25 meters) with
a depth of five meters (16 feet).

While the Aquatics Center still needed

finishing touches in mid-August, it was up and
running by September 1—just in time for the
Philippine National Open Swimming
Championship.

The roof's design was inspired by

the parol, Pampanga's famous Christmas
staple.

While the Athletic Stadium was inspired by the natural wonder that is Mt. Pinatubo, the
Aquatic Center takes after the design of a Christmas lantern. Locally known as parol, the holiday
decoration is one of Pampanga's most well-known products—particularly San Fernando, a.k.a.
the Christmas capital of the Philippines. San Fernando also hosts the Giant Lantern Festival, a
big celebration of lights, music, and parol every December.

The New Clark City Sports Hub has 4.5

hectares of no-build zone, which is allotted for
the River Park Corridor and other green
spaces.

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 Aside from the sports facilities, the New Clark City Sports Hub also houses the Athlete's
Village, which is slated to be the home of our national athletes. It has 525 units and can
accommodate up to 1,000 people. The residence also has its own swimming pool and basketball
court. Leading to the Athlete’s Village is the River Park Corridor, which is a boardwalk with
pocket gardens and green spaces stretching along the 1.4-kilometer riverbank.

"As Filipinos, we're proud that the Philippine government is putting up this kind of
facility. Every Filipino should be proud about this, that the Philippines has this kind of facility
that's comparable with the facilities all over the world," says David.

(Source: www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/79012/new-clark-city-sports-hub-
a833-20190907-lfrm)

The New Clark City Sports Hub article provides readers an overview of the development
of the said facility in preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). This article
was chosen as the application is timely and every Filipino citizen has a grasp of this information
regardless of amount and relation, and it shows how the practical use of logic can support a
simple idea into a world-class output. It is also understood as a method of promoting innovative
design solutions through adapting architectural concepts, while unifying them with rationality.

The previous article depicts the application and significance of logic in the exemplary
path of architecture. Logic has always been present in the architectural field, from the planning
and predesign phase of ideas and concepts to the construction and erection of the building. The
intellect from possessing correct reasoning aids the production of designs that cater to the needs
of the building users and occupants, the foundations established by logic predicts potential
problems during future habitation and creates innovative solutions through architectural
intervention.

One of the most important things about applying logic in architecture is that the career is
made not only by one, but by the social expertise and logic coming from different people.
Continuous arguments, reasoning and critical thinking form repetitious revisions of construction
and conceptual plans, in attempt to minimize problems and reach a certain level of ‘correctness’.
There is no such thing as a perfect design; regardless of how polished the framework could be, or

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how professional the architects involved in the project may be, there will always be gaps and
lapses throughout the process formed by human error. Fortunately through logical responses,
these gaps are filled through the connecting, socialized minds and skills of various professionals
that although distinctively unique in perspective, there is a compromisation to overlap and relate
these ideas through correct reasoning. By entertaining the point of view of one, it emphasizes the
point of view of a broader range of people in the future.

Another factor to highlight is how logic values the presence of art. Logic is not purely
about understanding scientific and technical knowledge, but is a field that pushes a creative kind
of thinking. As defined by Alma Santiago-Espartinez, “art is the power to perform certain actions
guided by special knowledge and executed with skill.” As humans are naturally equipped with
creativity, we have the ability to test and create things through our talents and skills fueled by
knowledge of the truth and the presumable truth. In the article a higher level of expertise is
essential to ‘mimic’ the natural landform of a volcano not only through the physical structural
design, but also through the materials used such as lahar and volcanic debris, color appropriation
through customized and patented colors and utilization of theories and illusions in harmonizing
the overall design. The stadium is not only “volcanic” in terms of the physical design, but it
became one through the comprehensive allocation of skills guided by critical understanding and
scientific knowledge.

Lastly, logic is relevant to the future of architecture. The philosophical field gives way to
a deeper and more complex understanding of things that although the situation that required
understanding does not exist at present, it is still possible to happen in the future. The role of
prediction and insight is significant to architects. All of them envision “a sustainable design” that
can benefit generations ahead of us. With the use of logic, architects have been putting their feet
on the shoes of the future generations; the risks of unpredictable natural and man-made disasters,
seasonal occasions in the site, disadvantages brought by natural features and other unforeseen
events are the common debatable topics of collaborating professionals in the architectural field.
Logic aids architects in altering every feature of the building to maximize the comfort of the
future users, never compromising the timelessness, aesthetic and quality of work in the overall
output.