The "Dura-Quick" building design, which shortens the construction period of a typical two-classroom school building to only 12 days at a much lower cost than conventional materials, was approved and endorsed by DPWH Secretary Florante Soriquez and concurred in by Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani.

The accreditation for school building design and structure using Iso-Panel pre-fabricated materials was given to a consortium of five Korean companies, which offered the technology to the Philippine government in line with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s program of addressing classroom shortage.

The consortium was led by Lee Cheol-woo, president of Union Steel Corp., South Korea’s biggest steel firm; and Lee Kyu-cheol, president of Kyoung Won Steel Corp.

Their representative in the Philippines, Dr. Chang Ik-jin of Bo-Ryong Realty and Development Corp., presented to the DPWH Bureau of Design, headed by Director Danilo C. Manalong, the proposal, which was found to be suitable to solve the perennial classroom shortage, following long researches and studies.

The Matrix of Comparative Analysis prepared by the DPWH Bureau of Design demonstrated the great advantage of IsoPanel modular material over hollow blocks and concrete in the areas of insulation, cost, construction period, and maintenance.

The adoption of the IsoPanel or Dura-Quick system, according to the analysis, will greatly benefit government contractors of school buildings and school children in the future.

The system, which uses a metal cladding with expanded polystyrene insulation, is widely used in various buildings in Korea and is ideal for schoolbuildings because of its quick installation, comfortable ambient temperature, low maintenance, and durable features, made available at very affordable prices.

Dr. Chang, chairman of Bo-Ryong Realty, said the firm has actually built prototype buildings and donated them as a gesture of goodwill to the Filipino people.