HOUSES OF THE STORM

Volunteer architects use bamboo, earth blocks and ‘bayanihan spirit’ for post-Yolanda houses designs   

At a glance, the house looks like a nipa hut on stilts with oddly slanted walls and a tin roof.

The design allows for rainwater to slide off and reduces the impact of strong winds.   It also maximizes space inside for sleeping and household chores.

No ugly bunk houses were built for Yolanda survivors in  Daanbantayan town, north Cebu.

Shelters of bamboo and earth blocks are examples of how Cebu volunteers and the local government found creative solutions and balanced tight budgets to respond to the housing backlog in north Cebu for survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

By using a simple design which residents could build themselves, this model of housing aid was not a  passive doleout but brought out the “bayanihan” spirit of community action.

A rose design adds a touch of a color to a ‘transitional house’in Lola Inke Village in Daanbantayan town, North Cebu, the first project site of volunteer architects of the University of San Carlos (USC) for Yolanda survivors. The units use local materials and can be built by residents themselves. (COURTESY OF YUMI ESPINA)

Both designs were contributed for public service by  architecture students and professionals of the University of San Carlos.

In broad strokes, the Cebu provincial government last year set a target of 18,000 housing units in its rehabilitation plan, dwellings  to be built by both the public sector and benevolent givers.

On Monday, the Capitol will give its progress report for the 2nd commemoration of supertyphoon Yolanda, which struck exactly two years ago today.

National agencies held a two-day review of the rehabilitation plan last week.

“All of the regional agencies will present what they promised to achieve and what was approved by the national government,” Carmel Ulanday, Capitol consultant on rehabilitation, told Cebu Daily News.

JAPANESE DESIGN

Daanbantayan, where the eye of the typhoon visited the northernmost tip of Cebu mainland,  was the first project site of the Isiguro Daan “transition shelter”  influenced by Japanese design.

This led to a one-storey prototype made by architecture students of USC’s Institute for Planning and Design (IPD).

Pre-fabricated wood frames were assembled for a light but stable  structure that can be put together by residents themselves and transferred, if needed, to another site.

Amacan or woven bamboo strips are later attached, with a combination of bamboo slats. The flexible design can attach a porch, or make room for a backyard vegetable garden.

The first cluster of ten units was set up last year in barangay Sulangan with donations from Rotary Switzerland and other donors.

“It’s called Lola Ingke Village in honor of the lot owner who donated a portion of her land for a cluster of informal settlers all over the property,” said architect Joseph Michael “Yumi” Espina, dean of the USC College of Fine Arts and Architecture.

He said the houses were built by residents themselves after  the IPD gave them seminar workshops. The availability of local materials ensures the  project is a sustainable solution.

The “transitional units” are not emergency shelters or permanent houses.   Families can comfortably live in them while the government looks for permanent relocation sites and wait for the land to be  titled.

The design has been adopted in 42 units in barangay Saba and 49 units in barangay Batik of San Remigio town.

The same model is being used for the shelter program of the Young Pioneer Disaster Response, an NGO of foreign volunteers in Bantayan island.

EARTH BLOCKS

Meanwhile, over 300  earth block houses stand in northern Cebu for families displaced by typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The design was one of several submitted by a team of architecture students and professors of USC’s College of Architecture and Fine Arts.

Each unit costs P70,000 to P80,000 to build, excluding land acquisition and development, said Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., chief of the Capitol’s Taskforce Paglig-on for rehabilitation.

Another 400 more units will be ready for construction by January next year.

“The number depends on the takers. The more we have, the better,” he told CDN, referring to partners to roll them out.

The main material is earth blocks – a mixture of limestone and concrete – and galvanized iron (GI) roof sheets for one-story units.

The Capitol targets to build at least 1,000 earth block units across northern Cebu, said Tribunalo.

The province provides logistics—transporting materials to the sites, preparing land, technical designs — but relies on partners to implement them.

Among the “takers” are Hilfswerk Austria International, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc., Cebu Chamber and Commerce and Industry (CCCI) Bantayan Chapter, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and Caritas International.

A total of 155 housing units funded by Hilfswerk Austria International in barangay Maño, San Remegio will be turned over on Dec. 9 this year.

In Madridejos town in Bantayan island, the construction of 160 earth block houses was funded by Caritas International.

Earth block houses are also found in Bantayan town. The additional 400 units will be built starting next year n Kinatarcan Island, Sta. Fe.

The abundance of limestone in an area was one criteria in identifying sites for construction, said Tribunalo.

Each unit can house five persons, and has a toilet inside.  (This feature was added to the initial design proposal.)

Earth blocks have been used extensively in low-cost housing projects for the Badjao community in Cebu City, informal settlers in Mandaue City and urban poor neighborhoods under the Community Mortgage Program.

The design uses Interlocking Compressed Earth Blocks (ICEB), which allows more houses to built without sacrificing the quality of the structure.

After mixing limestone with concrete, the material is molded into blocks using an ICEB machine.

University volunteers said these blocks have a “high compressive strength that could be used as a load bearing wall or shear wall for a two- or three-story building.

Looking ahead, Tribunalo said more needs to be done next year.

He said he hopes the construction of school buildings, daycare centers, and barangay health stations will be completed before the third anniversary of Yolanda.

He said the work shouldn’t stop with rehabilitation and recovery, but capacity building among individuals should be pushed as well.

“This component should be included so that the people will be strengthened, especially emergency response teams,” he said.

All  barangays should have a disaster risk reduction and management plan and a climate change action plan.

“That is my dream for the whole province of Cebu leading toward 2016,” he said.