The Government will be tapping into the local pool of architectural talent to design the layout for the US$2.5-billion Vernamfield Development project.
Dubbed ‘Aerotropolis Jamaica’, the project is intended to transform the Vernamfield property in Clarendon, which was previously an army base, into an aerodrome to provide international air cargo and logistics; aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services; and an aeronautical training school.
“We want our buildings to not only be aesthetically pleasing but of architectural significance and to be smart buildings”
— Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, Project Manager for the Vernamfield Development, Lieutenant Colonel
For the design of the proposed Aerotropolis, which is still in its early planning stage, the project team will be calling on the knowledge and expertise of professional institutions and academia, including students at the University of Technology (UTech) and the Caribbean School of Architecture (CSA).
“This will enable it (the project) to be pretty much Caribbean or Jamaican in its look when it is done”
— Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, Project Manager for the Vernamfield Development, Lieutenant Colonel
The CSA was established in 1988 to provide for the education of architects for the English-speaking territories of the Caribbean. It is a hub for research on towns and cities of the Caribbean.
Project Manager for the Vernamfield Development, Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, says that the Administration is looking at the CSA to “ help us in formulating our plans and to build out our airport and all the structures around it that will be networked to the airport”.
“We believe that UTech offers a skill and a capacity that will help us and reduce the extent to which we have to go overseas for the kind of expertise that we need in the development of the area. This will enable it (the project) to be pretty much Caribbean or Jamaican in its look when it is done,” he adds.
“Our young people can see a whole career in this development”
— Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, Project Manager for the Vernamfield Development, Lieutenant Colonel
Lt. Col. Derby says the project team is of the belief that the proposed engagement is a good opportunity for young people to bring their creativity to a major development.
“The good thing about the development is that it is not an overnight thing. While the airport can be built within two to five years, the development around it is going to be over the next 20 years. So our young people can see a whole career in this development,” he notes.
“We want our buildings to not only be aesthetically pleasing but of architectural significance and to be smart buildings, incorporating technology that exists and that will come into existence over the life of the project,” he adds.
