PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The city government is pondering the construction of an iconic building in Puerto Princesa that resembles the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) thread-like chain.
Richard Delera, a member of the architectural design team under the City Mayor’s Office (CMO), said Friday morning that he has submitted the first design draft of the building to Mayor Lucilo Bayron, including the proposed PHP8-million budget.
The building is supposed to attract tourists to stay within the structure that will be operated like a mall. Two sites in Barangay Santa Monica here are being considered for its location.
“We’re still waiting for additional comments from Mayor Bayron because he has a consultant, and maybe there will be changes in the design of the building,” he said.
In their submitted draft, the building height was originally 127 meters, but the consultant, Engr. Rolando Garcia, suggested to scale it up to 200 meters to accommodate two elevators, a three-level restaurant area, commercial spaces, and 65 floors.
Garcia is said to be a structural engineer, inventor, and founder and CEO of Roliie Rack International, who holds 17 patents in the same number of countries, and is known is Geneva, Switzerland as a Filipino inventor.
Delera added that the building proposal is now being reviewed by the city government with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) as it has a policy of not allowing tall structures that can hinder flight paths.
“It’s not going to be constructed anytime soon because the mayor is still asking for comments from CAAP, and eventually, its approval,” he said, adding more consultations will be done.
He said Bayron was inspired to grace the city landscape with a DNA-like building after visiting Korea some time ago, where he saw one being frequented by tourists due to its unique architectural design.
“The concept is like a helix that is why we are calling it DNA tower. Mayor Bayron had a trip to Korea and he was inspired by building design there,” Delera said.
He added that it will be a solar-powered building.
It will also have a 360-degree panoramic viewing area on one of the floors for tourists to appreciate the city’s landscape, especially Puerto Princesa Bay.
“The first floor and second floors in the first draft are being proposed for commercial spaces. It will also have accommodations,” he said. (PNA)
