Compostela Community Project held at SAFAD theater

Students and faculty of the School of Architecture, Fine Arts and Design (SAFAD) recently held a community event titled the “Community Project: Design Presentation of the Proposed Physical Development Plan of Compostela, Cebu” in the SAFAD theater last Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. The aim of the project was for the school’s up-and-coming architects to create and propose the implementation of various future concepts to improve the municipal layout for the betterment of the community of Compostela. Representatives and officials for the municipality of Compostela came to attend the event, including Compostela Mayor Joel Quiño and Vice Mayor Josephine Abing, in order to watch the vision for their municipality come to life in the form of the community project’s masterplan. The project served as an exercise in community and service to the people.

The project was divided into eight presentations: The detailing of the masterplan, the municipal grounds, the church grounds, the seaport, the terminal, the public market, the resorts within the municipality and the conclusion of the event. The objectives of the project were to create a visual connection among significant areas, to create a unifying element within the municipality, to improve wayfinding within the municipality and to keep up with the plans of the municipality’s administration.

To this effect, plans to implement and improve these aspects of the municipality were proposed, such as the complete pedestrianization of the Paseo de Compostela by constructing more accessible roads and establishing better sidewalks, establishing set patterns onto the sidewalks in order to aid the visually impaired in navigation with emphasis on wide open spaces and more accessible pathways around the community. The creation of a statue landmark, connecting from the nautical highway all the way to the municipal hall, in order to strengthen the communal identity of Compostela, was also discussed.

These concepts, such as the connection to the nautical highway and the landmark, are necessary for the continued prosperity of Compostela. One of the problems the municipality has is that most people who pass through barely realize that they are even in Compostela due to lack of any clear distinctiveness. The municipal leaders were impressed by the presentation, and hope to someday implement these plans in Compostela once their administration secures the necessary funding and budget to make it so.