The PICC Reborn: Reclaiming the Philippine International Convention Center as Public Space in 2026

To the uninitiated, the Philippine International Convention Center isn’t just another structure in Pasay City. It is a National Cultural Treasure, designed in the 1970s by National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin. It stands among some of the country’s most iconic modern landmarks, alongside the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Manila Film Center—structures that emerged during an era when brutalism dominated the country’s architectural scene.

Originally built to host massive international conferences and state events, the PICC spans nearly 12 hectares and has fulfilled that role for close to five decades. Over the years, it has undergone several renovations, adapting to changing needs and updating an ageing structure while continuing to host everything from diplomatic summits to personal milestones. Its most recent update prior to 2025 took place in 2019—but in the years since, both expectations and requirements for public spaces have evolved significantly.

With the upcoming ASEAN Summit on the horizon and the PICC’s 50th anniversary approaching, it became clear that the building needed not only major updates but also a careful reworking—one that would prepare it for the future without severing its ties to the past.

It’s well understood that the PICC can feel intimidating from the outside. Its hard brutalist lines, cold geometry, and imposing concrete exterior make it impossible to ignore. But that daunting aura begins to dissolve the moment you step into the Delegation Lobby.

Inside, the shift is immediate. Light from 3,068 droplights reflects softly off the marble floors, bathing the space in a warm, inviting glow that gently draws you in. It’s here that the intent of the renovation becomes most apparent. At first glance, nothing seems radically new—yet nearly everything has been carefully worked on.

Each of the 3,068 droplights has been painstakingly cleaned and restored. The marble flooring has been reworked, blending original stone with new pieces to create a smoother surface, allowing light to bounce more freely through the space. Overhead, the ceiling has been hand-painted back to its original metallic finish, while the concrete surfaces were laser-cleaned—revived without compromising the building’s structural integrity.

The result is unmistakably the PICC—but one that feels warmer, more generous, as if the building itself is easing visitors in rather than holding them at a distance.

Beyond its architectural impact, the Delegation Lobby now acts as a fitting gateway to the PICC’s art collection, featuring paintings and sculptures loaned from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Museum. Works like Sultan Kudarat by Abdulmari Asia Imao and one of PICC’s most renowned art pieces, Ang Pagdiriwang by Jose Joya, stand quietly within the flow of foot traffic, reinforcing the idea that art here is not cordoned off, but integrated as you move from one area to another.

Renovations also extended to the adjacent Delegation Lounge, formerly known as the President’s Hall. Reserved for VIP guests, the space has been redesigned to feel more intimate and welcoming. Mood lighting, updated furnishings, and an Amorsolo displayed prominently give the lounge a distinctly stately warmth—one befitting not just VIPs, but visiting dignitaries and royalty alike.

For many Filipinos, the PICC is synonymous with the Plenary Hall, as this is where most events are held. With such an indelible mark on the collective consciousness, the renovation did not seek to erase our familiarity with the Plenary Hall but rather only to refine it.

The seats were stripped, sanded, and revarnished, revealing the natural grain of the Narra wood. Overhead, the ceiling was repainted and refreshed. New brass-finished signages were introduced to improve wayfinding, making movement through the hall feel more intuitive. And perhaps the most high-tech improvement—new LED screens and improved acoustics so that even those seated at the farthest corners can feel fully engaged at whatever is happening up front.

During our tour of the facilities, Cruz noted that she is particularly proud of the work done at the Plenary Hall: “Everyone who visits feels the gravity of the effort, the artistry of a project of this magnitude.” It’s certainly hard to disagree. Stepping foot into the revamped hall feels like a blast from the past, conjuring memories of diplomas handed over or medals placed around one’s neck. The Plenary Hall has always bestowed an overwhelming sense of pride on any and all proceedings held therein—the improvements have not changed its worthiness, but have magnified it.

If the Plenary Hall is about preserving familiarity for collective memory, the Reception Hall is all about upping the grandeur for ceremony—and it does so with renewed confidence.

Still the PICC’s premier venue for banquets and celebrations, the Reception Hall emerges from the renovation with its grandeur sharpened rather than exaggerated. Upon entering, the effect is immediate. Thousands of polished globule chandeliers catch the light overhead, set against ornamented ceilings, refreshed fabric walls, and refinished woodwork. Every surface feels considered—restored, not replaced—allowing the space to retain its sense of occasion and the grandeur Locsin imagined for it, while remaining modern enough for 2026.

Those who have ventured around the PICC outside its most lavish events know that the 12-hectare complex holds far more than the Plenary and Reception Halls. Lining its corridors are meeting rooms, office spaces, and function halls—quieter, more utilitarian spaces that operate behind the scenes, ready to be activated for more intimate gatherings.

As part of the renovation, these areas were carefully revitalized to meet the demands of 21st-century conventions. Wayfinding was made more intuitive, minimizing the once-familiar experience of getting lost on the way to an important meeting or event (a confusion not limited to guests alone). The hallways leading to these rooms were also improved in terms of ambiance, with better lighting, refreshed concrete surfaces, and restored wooden details—executed with the same precision seen in the PICC’s more public-facing spaces.

In doing so, these corridors now double as informal galleries, worthy homes for the PICC’s growing art collection. Works on loan from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas sit alongside permanent pieces such as Arturo Luz’s steel sculpture Grid, Napoleon Abueva’s carved wooden furniture, and Jose Joya’s Suso sculpture. Walking around the PICC’s interiors feels like navigating an art gallery, except that art is everywhere, built in and around the natural rhythm of everyday movement through its halls. Precious art pieces displayed openly, Abueva-made furniture ready to be used—it is in these details that the PICC feels reclaimed and lived-in, not something to be admired from a distance but a space to be discovered.

Together with new LED panels, improved soundproofing, and updated furnishings, these once-overlooked spaces are now fully equipped to support the PICC’s continued role as a premier Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) venue—prepared, polished, and subtly enriched, waiting for their moment to come into focus.

But the renovation’s most dramatic transformation doesn’t unfold in a hall or behind a door. It reveals itself outdoors, in a space that reaffirms the PICC not just as a venue, but as a museum you can walk through: The Courtyard.

Long one of the PICC’s most striking features, the Courtyard spans more than 3,400 square meters—an open expanse that offers a rare pause amid the complex’s monumental concrete forms. It has always been a natural breather, a place where the architecture loosens its grip and light takes over.

For years, however, the space remained largely underutilized—passed through more often than paused in. The renovation set out to change that, reclaiming the Courtyard as a destination in its own right.

Today, it functions as the PICC’s open-air museum, home to more than 20 sculptures donated by different ASEAN nations, each reflecting the culture and identity of its origins.

These sculptures that now define the Courtyard were once scattered across the PICC lawns, often seen only from a distance, if at all. They existed as decoration rather than points of engagement. By relocating more than 20 of these works into the Courtyard, the renovation fundamentally changes how they are experienced. Now, visitors can move closer, study finer details, and encounter the sculptures not as background elements, but as works meant to be engaged with rather than merely occupying space.

Anchoring the space is Anito by Arturo Luz, a commanding concrete form that stands watch at the center of the Courtyard. Around it, the original pebble-wash flooring has been carefully restored, echoing the brutalist language of the surrounding structures while grounding the artworks in a landscape that softens it through scale and openness.

It’s no surprise then that this has become Atty. Cruz’s favorite section of the complex. She passes through the Courtyard every day, she shared, and it never gets old. This is where she comes to decompress after a long day—where the building feels less like an institution and more like a place of calm. That sense of pause, of gentle reprieve, is precisely what the PICC hopes the Courtyard can offer more people.

In case you didn’t know, The Courtyard (much like most of the PICC) is open to the public. The space isn’t solely reserved for ticketed events or official programs. Anyone can walk in, appreciate the artworks, and take their time to explore the entire complex.