Recent years have shown the destructive effects of climate
change. Thus, building with the
preservation of our environment as a key factor, is no longer a fad but a
necessity. One example is an Eco House--an environmentally low-impact home
designed and built using materials and technology that reduces carbon footprint
and lowers energy needs. The Eco House is a project by National President of
the Philippine Institute of Interior Design and Architect James Jao. Jao is a
pioneer of eco-architecture and sustainable development in the Philippines. He
has translated inspired visions into actual full-scale projects from
stand-alone residences to master-planned communities.
Armed with a degree in Architecture from the University of
Santo Tomas and a post-graduate degree in City Design and Social Science from
the London School of Economics in the UK, Jao embarked on his Eco House
projects when he returned to the Philippines. He has built several residential
buildings designed with a tropical climate in mind — PVC roof,
polystyrene-lined concrete walls that stabilize indoor temperature, and non-toxic
paint, among other things.
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| Architect James Jao |
It was during a trip in Antwerp, Belgium in April of 2008
when Jao first saw a model unit of an Eco House. This started his dream of
designing and building a Filipino version of an Eco House suitable for a
tropical climate. The succeeding year he created the Eco Jao Bahay Kubo, a
1-bedroom take on the indigenous house found in the country’s lowlands but
updated for the modern times with solar panels and Thermawalls.
Eco Houses are made of Thermawall that insulates the
building envelope of the entire house keeping off the heat from coming into the
interior spaces and giving it a comfortable indoor temperature. Here are the
technical requirements according to Jao, “the Thermawall is sandwiched between
a 6 mm. Hardiflex panel with a high-density 1" polystyrene insulation on
the exterior and spaced a minimum of 100 mm. for reinforced concrete and
another 4.5 mm. panel on the inside. It is a load bearing wall built on a mat
foundation.” This can supposedly withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake.
Architect Jao shares the other components that make up an
Eco House, “steel is used to frame the roof and 2 mm. PVC corrugated roofing is
used for the material. The window frame is made of UPVc frame with Low-E glass
and double glazed with clear glass on the inside. Only the door jambs and
panels are made of wood. All bathroom fixtures and fittings are water saver and
all lighting fixtures are energy saver using LED and CFL bulbs. Low VOC
(Volatile Organic Compound) and non-toxic paints are used.” Furthermore,
rainwater is collected in a cistern tank plus, the principle of passive cooling
is used to create cross ventilation into the house.
The Eco House is not site-specific and so it can be built in
any location in the country. Best of all, the materials specified for an Eco
House are readily available in the market. Jao has built Eco House projects all
over the Philippines. His current projects include the first Eco Schools, a
3-hectare master planned campus for the Holy Spirit School of Tagbilaran in
Bohol and the 4-storey academic building of the College of the Holy Spirit in
Tarlac. “My dream project is to build a master planned eco towns throughout the
Philippines with exemplary standards of sustainability. This low-impact
development can survive the impact of climate change, a magnitude 9 earthquake,
strong typhoons and thus, all the structures are climate resilient,” explains
Architect Jao.
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