January 27, 2021, Makati, Philippines—In line with their goals of promoting sustainable housing technologies, Base Bahay, the pioneering foundation that provides alternative building technologies for socialized housing, has launched the Base Innovation Center (BIC) last January 27.

Located in the Foundation’s Makati office, the BIC is the first research and testing facility for sustainable and disaster-resilient construction technologies in the country. It houses a Universal Testing Machine, a Bamboo Wall Panel Reaction Frame, fabrication tables, and a model house, wherein new materials and building techniques are tested.

Base Bahay Head of Technology Luis Felipe Lopez Munoz shared, “A key part of our commitment to promoting sustainable housing technologies is constant innovation.”

He added, “With the launch of this innovation center, we aim to further our research on bamboo construction technology, that we may continue to provide Filipinos with more affordable and resistant solutions to housing.”

Together with their partners, Habitat for Humanity Philippines and the Hilti Foundation, they are hoping to further optimize bamboo construction technology and promote its widespread use in the country.

With the launch of the BIC, they are targeting to build 10,000 cement bamboo houses by 2024, in response to the growing need for socialized homes in various disaster-prone areas within the Luzon and Visayas regions.

As of 2020, Base has built over 800 houses, 10 communities, 5 supply facilities, and housed over 4,000 individuals across the Luzon and Visayas areas. They’ve also trained over 100 TESDA-certified workers on masonry, carpentry, and in the application of cement bamboo technology in the
country.

Currently, Base has ongoing research projects with the De La Salle University which focus on the determining the strength and mechanical properties of various bamboo species.

Base Bahay General Manager Dr. Pablo Jorillo said that these studies are being conducted to guide the development of a local structural code for bamboo, aligned with the Philippine National Standard (PNS) 22157 and the proposed International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 22156. The former determines the specific testing procedures for obtained bamboo culms, while the latter is meant to institutionalize the use of bamboo in structural design.

Dr. Jorillo shared, “As leaders in the field of sustainable housing technologies, we recognize that we play a pivotal role in ensuring that every Filipino has access to a home.”

He added, “Through the Base Innovation Center, we are looking to open more doors with our partners, that we may continue to provide Filipino families strong cement bamboo structures for their homes, intensive research that will encourage innovation, and comprehensive technology training.”

To know more about Base Bahay Foundation and their projects, you may visit http://www.base-builds.com/.