At the corner of Arellano and Ayala Streets in Malate, Manila, a new campus will soon rise as the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) commemorates the construction of its new Academic Building with a recent groundbreaking ceremony.
College officials DLS-CSB President Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC, some members of the Board of Trustees Mayo Ongsingko, Br. Victor Franco FSC, and Br. Michael Valenzuela FSC, and Benilde Chancellor Robert Tang did the honors.
In his opening remarks, Tang said the new campus will assist in finding new ways to enhance the teaching and learning experience of its faculty and students.
“The facility aims to develop a school culture that is solidly anchored on our Lasallian and Benildean values. In making this vision a reality, Benilde would like to encourage everyone to be actively involved in our pursuit in developing future leaders of our country who are sensitive to the needs of the least, the last, and the lost,” he declared.
The new property will be the hub of the incoming freshmen classes, as well as the venue for the programs of the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPaCE), School of Hotel, Restaurant, Institution Management (SHRIM), and the Lasallian Mission and Student Life (LMSL).
The building’s ground floor will be the new location of Solomon Restaurant, one of SHRIM’s student-run-and-managed bistros, making it more accessible to the community. The place will likewise be equipped with Master Chef-style kitchen-laboratories and the first school-based Oenology Center, which focuses on the study of wines.
The development will have its own Learning Resource Center and Cafeteria, and will house the future Initiative Learning Studios. There will also be publicly accessible chapel. The whole property will be armed with a heat stack ventilation system.
Dubbed with the operational name Academic Building 4, it is set to be completed and open by January 2019.