THE Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Terminal 2 (T2) bagged another global recognition after it won this year’s International Architecture Awards (IAA) for Airports and Transportation Centers category.

MCIA T2 was designed by renowned architectural firm, Hong Kong-based Integrated Design Associates and local designers Budji Layug, Royal Pineda and Kenneth Cobonpue.

“The IAA are the oldest and largest global awards in the industry, recognizing projects based on design vision, innovation, engagement, accessibility and sustainability,” the MCIA said in its official Facebook page.

Organized by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, IAA honors new skyscrapers, commercial buildings, urban plans, private residences and real estate projects that achieve a high standard of excellence to design.

This year’s winners hail from 41 nations around the world, recognized across a variety of categories from airports to private houses. The selection by a jury for IAA 2019 was held in the Department of Architecture Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Vilnius, Lithuania.

Dubbed as the “World’s Friendliest Resort Airport,” the MCIA is considered as the second busiest airport in the Philippines.

T2 is said to be the first airport in Asia to use glulam (glue-laminated) on its roof structure which form the roof curvature and define its geometry and modularity.

The arches span every 30 meters, which enables T2 to be column-free as possible.

T2 caters to Cebu’s international departures and arrivals. T2 is a product of the country’s first public-private partnership project, with commercial operations started in July 2018.

Aside from the T2, the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), MCIA’s private operator, is currently modernizing the Terminal 1 (T1) of MCIA that caters to domestic operations.

T1, according to GMCAC commercial advisor Ravishankar Saravu, will be completed this year. It will bring the capacity of MCIA to 16 million passengers per year.

Meanwhile, the departure road in front of T1 for domestic travel will be closed on Friday, July 12, until Saturday, July 13, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., for the installation of temporary covered walkways from the T1 departure drop-off to the road across the Waterfront Airport Hotel. The covered walkway will be for the convenience of the public. Road signs will be placed to direct the public.

MCIA is home to nine local and 19 foreign airline partners, and serves direct connections to 29 domestic and 22 international destinations. (JOB with KOC/FVQ)

Published July 10, 2019