IN the emerging property markets around the globe, sustainable home design has become a popular initiative, although admittedly more as a necessity than anything else. In fact, according to a report by McGraw-Hill Construction, green buildings are slowly but surely taking over the world.
Property developers even foresee that the bulk of their future works would be of sustainable properties and green buildings. French businessman François-Henri Pinault even said, “Sustainable development is a fundamental break that’s going to reshuffle the entire deck. There are companies today that are going to dominate in the future simply because they understand that.”
In the property sector, in particular, the rise of sustainable structure seems to be an intervention that stemmed from the current environmental problem that the world is facing. Every day we hear and read about issues on climate change, the scarcity of natural resources, and the volatility of energy markets that threaten the current and future generations.
The start of a worldwide initiative
According to building scientist and professor John Straube, sustainable housing is “one that uses energy and material more effectively, both in production and operation, while polluting and damaging natural systems as little as possible.”
Back in the 1970s an oil embargo took a massive swing at the energy prices of the western world. In response, a group of Americans designed the pioneered sustainable home which they called “superinsulation,” and was made of solar panels. Although the idea of conservation seemed to have died down during President Ronald Reagan’s administration, the idea was revived in 2002, when a young German architect in Illinois broke ground on the first American “superinsulation” home prototype.From then on, sustainable houses swept the real-estate sector by storm. There is the passive solar design of Aughey O’Flaherty Architects’s prefabricated timber-frame house in Ireland, Germany’s heat-recovery-ventilated WeberHaus-designed home, and the two-story environmentally conscious house in France by Arch. Djuric Tardio. With these, it is clear that clean, sustainable and eco-friendly structures are now being taken seriously as a property development option. Closer to home, Asia has also kept up with the trend of sustainable development.
In Vietnam architectural company Vo Trong Ngia won the World Architecture Festival in 2012 for their Stacking Green house design.
Gaining momentum in the Philippines
The trend toward green technology in property development is no longer just limited to high-rise buildings. Property developers have started building prototype sustainable homes, which I hope will catch on in the coming years.
Aside from the Project Smart Home in Marikina that I wrote about in my column last year, eco-friendly sustainable abodes continue to rise from landed properties to condominiums, like Arya Residences, which make use of double-glazed windows and new technology glass to let natural light and wind inside the place. Other notable green condominium projects are Paseo Verde at Real, and Botanika Nature Residences—which are all Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE)-certified projects.
Moreover, there is the bahay-kubo-inspired home of Arch. Gelo Mañosa—which makes use of sustainable materials like rattan, red cedar wood, and recycled teak. Interestingly, Architect Mañosa’s household also practices segregation, composting, recycling and the use of organic products—taking the “sustainable home” concept a bit further.
Growing trend, growing suppliers
With the increasing demand for sustainable homes, suppliers of new technology for sustainable living in the Philippines have also grown in number.
For one thing, Japanese solar-and wind-energy developer Eguchi Holdings Co. Ltd. is reportedly entering the Philippines to develop renewable-energy sources in the country at the household and grid level. Eguchi Holdings is said to be partnering with Fujisan Solar and Wind Energy Corp. to introduce Japanese technology to certified solar panels for household use.
This new technology will benefit and upgrade the current products of companies known for supplying eco-friendly house materials from solar panel photovoltaic and wind technology. Some of the prominent suppliers in the country include Solar Philippines, Accent Micro Technologies Inc., Meister Solar, and United Solar. Despite the continuing threat of global warming, the increase of sustainable homes and structures in the Philippines has made me feel very hopeful for the future. This signifies that we Filipinos are starting to be more environmentally conscious and are starting to take the initiative toward an eco-friendly way of living.
As Secretary Mary Ann Lucille Sering of Climate Change Commission puts it, inaction is unacceptable, as global warming consequences are now felt in various forms of disasters. While building sustainable homes may be considered just baby steps toward environment conservation; still, they clearly indicate that people are finally acknowledging the fact that we all should do our share to save our planet.
Image credits: Accent Micro Technologies Inc.