📍 Iloilo City, Philippines
While it might look like an aging concrete mushroom to the untrained eye, this structure is a "waiting shed", a quintessential part of Filipino urban infrastructure. This specific one is located near the Iloilo City Hall, right at the heart of the city’s downtown area.
It was originally built in 1983-84 by the Iloilo Integrated Lions and Lioness Club, as you can faintly see on the weathered inscription carved into its surface. Although decades have passed, this simple structure still serves a purpose..
🚎 Jeepneys to Buses: A Shift in Transport Culture
Back then, waiting sheds were built as shelters for jeepney commuters. Jeepneys are the most iconic mode of transportation in the Philippines, often artistically designed and deeply woven into the country's identity.
But times are changing.
With the city's recent transport modernization efforts, traditional jeepneys are slowly being phased out and replaced with modernized jeepneys — which are more like mini-buses than the classic jeeps of the past. As a result, these waiting sheds now serve as bus stops, adapting to the evolving transport system of Iloilo City.
What makes this particular shed interesting isn't just its function, but the visible traces of time. You’ll notice:
Moss and small plants growing from its concrete top 🍃
A faded plaque, barely readable now
It stands while the city around it transforms with scaffolding and new signage
These images show not just a waiting shed, but a piece of local history standing quietly amidst change.
Here’s a creative take on the structure through three different photo treatments:
Vivid Color – Showing life and movement
Partial Desaturation – Highlighting the old shed against a modernizing backdrop
Full Monochrome – Emphasizing the timelessness and neglect of the structure
Urban modernization often focuses on big buildings, roads, or bridges. But structures like this waiting shed offer a glimpse into the daily lives of locals,, past and present
In a way, it's a time capsule: an artifact of a community's changing rhythm. It may not be glamorous, but it holds memories of conversations, commutes, and the slow march of progress.
Texts and images by @vvodjiu
