Company launches house design contest for students

CEBU, Philippines - Property developer Ortigas & Co. is calling on architecture students in the country to help in the rehabilitation efforts in Yolanda-hit areas in the Visayas by making climate-adaptive housing designs through Build Forward.

Build Forward is a nationwide contest of Ortigas, the Department of Science and Technology and Habitat for Humanity Philippines, challenging students in architecture to come up with house and school designs that can adapt to climate devastation.

The company's executives, who recently visited Cebu, said the country needs to build climate-adaptive structures that can survive calamities such as typhoons and earthquakes.

"We go beyond giving of relief goods and immediate response to the victims," said Jaymelyn Nikkie T. Uy, communications supervisor of OCLP Holdings, Inc., an Ortigas company.

The company will choose five designs and the DOST will conduct wind tunnel tests that imitates the wind gusts of super typhoon Yolanda to see if the proposed designs can survive. Designs must be strong enough to withstand a strong earthquake and typhoon with 250 kph wind gusts.

Interested participants may submit their piece from January to March 28.

Habitat for Humanity, a Christian housing ministry, will use the winning design for building 300,000 houses for Yolanda survivors. It will also give 300,000 shelter repair kits in the next three years.

The organization will identify the project's potential beneficiaries, especially those who have lost houses when Yolanda hit the Visayas.

Allowable budget for house construction is P200,000 and for school building is P1,200,000. The designs should also pass the requirement on durability, cost and construction time.

The house should be built for a month and a half and the school's construction time is two months.

Uy also said the design should be versatile, making the school an evacuation center in times of emergencies.

The non-profit organization will need P6 billion for the realization of the said project.

In a statement Charlie Ayco, its CEO and general manager, said: "It's a tough mission for us, but we are glad to have some corporate partners like Ortigas & Co. who are willing to lend their resources and expertise." (FREEMAN)