UST, UP students win Build Forward climate-adaptive design competition

Fifth year architecture students from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and the University of Santo Tomas won the Build Forward competition, in which students submit their designs for climate-adaptive houses and schools. UST student Lara Therese Cruz won first place in the House Design Category for her piece, the "Bambox Hut", a house made of bamboo that has the ability to float during extreme floods. The house is flanked by two pillars that will keep the house in place even as it floats. Meanwhile, a team of UP Diliman which included Mervin Afan, Corenne Martin, and Rafael Khemlani won first place in the Public School category. The schools in this category were required to double as an evacuation center. The trio's design called "Taklob" is a concave, half-cylinder that was "inspired by aerodynamic airplane hangars designed to weather powerful jet streams." A requirement for the designs was that the structures should be able to withstand a maximum wind speed of 250 kph, which is the minimum wind speed of a Category 5 typhoon, as per the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Super typhoon Yolanda had sustained winds of 315 kph. Another requirement is that the finalists had to give up their rights to their designs so they can be available for free and easily modified and improved during the prototype-making phase. The templates of the 10 finalists' designs were thus posted in the Build Forward website and can be downloaded for free. Meanwhile, the winning designs will be used in a housing site in Tacloban. One prototype will be made for each of the categories: House Design and Public School Design. "Titingnan muna natin, maybe there will be improvements and modifications [of the original designs] before building [them]," said Joey F. Santos, General Manager of Ortigas & Company's Real Estate Division. The Build Forward project was a collaboration among property company Ortigas & Company, Habitat for Humanity Philippines, and the Department of Science and Technology. Also, all five finalists in each category received cash rewards. First placers received P150,000, second placers P50,000, third placers P30,000, fourth placers P15,000, and fifth placers P10,000. The runner ups' designs may also be used in other sites, said Habitat for Humanity Philippines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Charlito S. Ayco. "Lahat ng designs puro magaganda. There are certain designs na magfi-fit sa ibang areas," he said. For instance, the house design by third placer Christian Jay Noble from the Technological Institute of the Philippines-Manila "Neobalay" can be a template for a new Badjao house. The Badjaos usually build their houses on stilts since they are located close to the shore. Noble's design is an octagonal structure inspired by the nipa hut, also mounted on stilts., "We will discuss pa with Ortigas (& Company). We will consult with the community muna," Ayco said. — DVM, GMA News