Baguio Convention and Cultural Center

Originally built as the Baguio Convention Center (BCC), this facility, sitting on a 10,000 sq. m. lot, with over 3,000 sq. m. building footprint, was established for the holding of conventions, gatherings, and other big events in the city.

Designed in the Brutalist architectural style by Architect Jorge Y. Ramos, it was inaugurated on July 17, 1978 by the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos during the opening of the World Chess Tournament championship series between Russian grandmaster Anatoly Karpov and Russian defector Victor Korchnoi.    From 2017 to 2020, it was renovated to provide a better venue for cultural and creative endeavors and, in 2022, it was renamed as the Baguio Convention and Cultural Center (BCCC).

Entrance portico with their four huge columns with halipan ((rat guard) motif

Situated across the University of the Philippines College Baguio and flanked by the summer courthouses of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, it exudes an ethnic flavor, with its pyramidal roof and huge concrete posts, resembling a traditional Ifugao bale with its halipan (rat guard) on its four posts at the entrance.  Considered the most spacious edifice North of Manila, it continues to cater to conferences, conventions, meetings, and other social functions in the city.

Jandy at the entrance

It boasts a large, pillar-less main hall, equipped with high-definition audio-visual equipment, that can accommodate more than 2,000 persons (500 on each side), making it ideal for conferences, exhibitions, trade shows and conventions.

The lobby with its two murals

It also has several function rooms for meetings, break-out sessions and other smaller events.   The center is also the venue for the Baguio Arts Festival, housing a permanent exhibit hall where local artists may have their works displayed and showcased. The basement also houses the city’s command center.

The center’s main hall

Two murals, an interconnected diptych with a red string running through it, were painted by local Baguio artists Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera (National Artist for the Visual Arts in 2006), Leonard Aguinaldo, Roland Bay-an, Kawayan de Guia, Venazir Marinez and John Frank Subido.  Based on the quincentennial of the arrival of the Europeans in the Philippines, both are permanently displayed at the lobby.

Seating area

Baguio Convention and Cultural Center: Governor Pack Rd., 2600 Baguio City.  Tel:  (074) 446 2009. Mobile number: (0928) 193-7336. E-mail: baguiocc2022@gmail.com.