Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1166361
16 | IT'S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES CASE STUDY P h i l i p p i n e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n v e n t i o n C e n t e r A sprawling venue in a lively city with plenty of history To accommodate the thousands of delegates expected in the city, over a dozen hotels were built and opened: among them were the 476- room Century Park Sheraton, the first Sheraton in the Philippines; the Peninsula Manila Hotel, on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue, in what was then a sparsely populated downtown CBD; the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, a reclaimed area by Manila Bay. On the same year and for the same reason, Asia's first international convention center opened in the same reclaimed land as the Sofitel. The Philippine International Convention Center comprised of four buildings, spread across a whopping 70,000sqm. Designed by the late Leandro Locsin, one of the country's most esteemed architects who was named National Artist for Architecture in 1990, it has more than 40 halls and can accommodate 10,000 delegates at one time. Rendered in the preferred Brutalist style of the time, the PICC looks like one gray slab on the outside. Inside, however, are sweeping corridors and long hallways, as well as a grand, marble-floor lobby with an impressive ceiling installation of 3,000 drop lights. In the mid-1990s it underwent a major renovation project and facilities upgrade, reinforcing its position as a preferred MICE venue for contemporary times. The venue has hosted large-scale events such as the Miss Universe pageant, concerts of globally famous musical acts – from Luciano Pavarotti to Burt Bacharach, Ricky Martin to Lea Salonga – to conferences of such magnitude as the APEC and ASEAN meetings. The 1976 IMF-World Bank Annual Meeting in Manila inspired a flurry of construction across the Philippines' capital • The complex is strategically located and enjoys close proximity to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and to downtown Manila • Meeting rooms are equipped with Simultaneous Interpretation System (SIS), which can facilitate two to seven language translations • There are ramps and lifts that aid mobility for the physically challenged More about PICC