THE Sto. Niño Chapel, one of the highlights of the Carbon District in Cebu City, won the Decorative Concrete category of the recent Philippine Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards (Pecca) held last March 30, 2023.
The iconic chapel features a 30-foot image of the Sr. Sto. Niño and is part of Cebu City’s redevelopment of the Carbon Market under a joint venture agreement with Megawide Construction Corp. and its subsidiary, Cebu2World.
“It is an honor for Cebu2World to bring Cebu’s deeply rooted heritage to life through the Carbon Modernization project, and showcase design and architecture that is reflective of our culture,” shared Lydwena Eco, deputy general manager of Cebu2World.
In the last two Pecca ceremonies, Megawide also won the Best Infrastructure category for Mactan-Cebu International Airport Terminal 2 and the Decorative Concrete category for Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, both in 2021; and the Mid-Rise Structures category for the Plumera Mactan, a project of Johndorf Ventures, in 2022.
The Sto. Niño Chapel is a 378-square-meter building located in the historic downtown area of Cebu, offering an attractive view of the city’s waterfront and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway. It can accommodate at least 150 parishioners.
The chapel’s design is inspired by the shape of the Sto. Niño’s crown and the wave-like roofing element are influenced by the fluid motion of Cebu’s Sinulog dance.
Among the project’s most distinctive features is the undulating roof made of reinforced concrete. The use of reinforced concrete special molds and formworks helped the successful application of this material.
The 30-foot Grand Sto. Niño sits atop the chapel facing towards the Mactan Channel.
Pecca is organized by the Philippine Constructors Association and the American Concrete Institute Philippines. The award recognizes projects with outstanding use of innovation and technology, and for inspiring excellence throughout the global concrete design and construction community. (PR)