ALMOST THREE years after the SEA Games, the twin structures of the Athletics Stadium and the Aquatics Center remain two of the Philippines’ architectural marvels.
Because of the pandemic lockdowns, not too many people have been inside the New Clark City sports hub since the biennial tournament. (Though that is rapidly changing, with sports events booking schedules there and the nearby National Academy of Sports already enshrined into law). Which is a shame: there are still a lot of undiscovered details to be explored within the nooks and crannies of these sports venues.
Take, for example, the Athletics Stadium. With a seating capacity of 20,000, its silhouette is meant to evoke the crater of Mt. Pinatubo. More than 30 years ago, ashes from its eruption carpeted the site where New Clark City stands now — a world-shaking event that inspired the creation of the stadium, down to the choice of colors.
Architect explains little known details in New Clark City sports hub
“We call it active orange, a color that’s patented to the Philippines,” said Royal Pineda, the architect who designed the sports hub, to Esquire’s Paul John Caña.
“We wanted a color that would put adrenaline to the stadium. It’s a sports complex. It cannot be all gray or graphite. So what you see is a mix of those colors; a mixture of the nature of the Philippines. Like Mount Pinatubo.”
In partnership with Lexus, Pineda, who heads the design and architectural firm Royal Pineda+, took members of the press to an exclusive tour of his creations.
During the tour, Pineda pointed out other pertinent details in the building that was a finalist at the World Architecture Festival 2021: the pixelated effect of the seat colors when viewed from the track oval, the T-frame pillars inspired by Pampanga parols.
But form, Pineda told Esquire, follows function.
“If you notice, it’s naked architecture,” he said. “There are no decorative elements. It’s all stripped off. You see the battens, the rafters, the supports — the structure is its architecture because we didn’t want any extra cost. We call it ‘Practical Luxury.’ It’s cost-effective. When a problem arises later on, it would be easy to find it.”
Read the full profile on Royal Pineda — including how he got his regal name — in Esquire Philippines.
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