Awareness in sustainability is indeed catching fire in the country. Before, people’s notion of being environment-friendly was to segregate and recycle their garbage. This then moved a notch higher by outfitting their houses with energy- and water-saving devices. Now, a model house to serve as a highlight at the ManilaCon 2010, arguably one of the country’s pre-eminent construction shows, will reveal how people can weave ecological advantages in their own homes right from the start of the building process.

The house, to be unveiled tomorrow at the parking lot across Mall of Asia’s SMX Convention Center (where the booths of the construction show can be found), is the brainchild of Archt. James Jao who has, for three years in a row, exhibited true-to-life models of eco-houses. All part of the ManilaCon, the first model was the LuzViMinda eco house followed by the runaway winner, the Bahay Kubo Eco House.

For this year’s offering, Archt. Jao partnered with James Hardie, maker of Hardie Flex, to construct what is billed as the “James Hardie Eco House.” With corporate support on his side, Archt. Jao had more elbow room to conceptualize a bi-level house with a total floor area of 95 square meters. Envisioned as “a catalyst for improving the overall being and quality of life of every Filipino through a sustainable built environment,” the house looks every bit livable: visitors can enter the house, inspect its features and climb to the second floor to see how an eco-house can be at once practical and modern.

The eco-house is designed using light-frame construction; its external wall panels feature thermal insulation. “The main architectural feature,” Archt. Jao adds, “is a modern A-frame interpretation for today’s lifestyle. The A-frame features a revolutionary home design with pitched gable roof to accommodate a high ceiling with high windows to admit natural light and cross-ventilation. It has a bold but minimal design element that is compact and less expensive to build.”

Compactness and ease of construction are what make the Hardie Flex Fiber Cement boards, the house’s chief building envelope, ecological since less energy is used in the manufacturing, shipment and installation of parts. The walls, with their thermal insulation feature, reduce the consumption of energy, particularly that of cooling devices, because they easily dissipate heat and trap cold air within the interior. 

Danny de Guzman, general manager of James Hardie Philippines, quickly said yes to the project since it resonates with their advocacy of changing building technology towards sustainable materials.

“It’s a good, solid way to share to home builders and home owners what a lightweight house is…rather than through a small booth,” he says. “I think that’s an appealing concept for us.”

One particular issue they want to address is the concept of “lightweight.” Compared to blocks, Hardie Flex, made from fiber cement and silica, is far less cumbersome but is not, in any way, fragile. “It does have the durability, strength and impact resistance that any homeowner will demand,” de Guzman says. Compared to wood, the boards are many times more resistant from weathering, fire and termites.

“Once the education process is in place,” de Guzman says that company is ready to follow it through with more dynamic collaborations with architects and builders to “demonstrate the advantages” of the product. 

The eco-house will not be truly eco with the building envelope alone. Archt. Jao has also partnered with other companies for the house’s other features, including Top One Trading for the roofing made of PVC with carbon fiber material; Boysen (Knout and Healthy Home) for the interior and exterior paints with low volatile organic compound; Speedsteel for the steel framing; Apo Real Wood for the engineered eco wood flooring; Mercury for the solar panels; Megaman for the low-energy consumption lighting; Toto for the water-saving toilet fixtures and faucets; Lexcorps for the eco-shutters and abaca shades; and Samsung for the energy-saving appliances.

Archt. Jao hopes that the James Hardie Eco House will draw attention from the economic housing market which has great leverage in propagating sustainability on a large scale. The model offers flexible space planning “to accommodate different markets for the developers…without altering the structural form of the house. The plan can be made into a duplex or even quadruplex, depending on the lot configuration of the development.”

ManilaCon will run until Sept. 5. For details on the James Hardie Eco House, contact 0917-3250107.