This unit is arguably the most modern bahay kubo ever, with a Smart IOT home hub (Amazon Alex acompatible), finger print-activated locks and integrated security cameras that guard the canopied front deck and other exterior areas. On the other end of the scale, the 63.5 sqm Sarangani Smart – a stylish flagship model – boasts luxurious amenities such as a fully-tiled bathroom with walk-in shower, three bedrooms and a kitchen with floating base and wall cabinets. Currently the most basic model is the 21.5 sqm Bulacan Starter which starts at PHP899,000 (SGD22,000). It only costs around SGD2,000, and building it takes a mere four hours. So efficient is the result that CUBO’s simplest unit – the tiny 6.5 sqm Batanes model (which has since been phased out but available upon request) – came with bathroom, kitchen and living areas, not to mention complete plumbing and electrical wiring. Then he implemented a modular design that made for highly customiseable plans. The 27-yearold designer felt that the bahay kubo offered a template that could result in cheaper, sustainable and easy-to mass-produce housing.įorlales looked to the same basic material that gave the nipa house its versatility - bamboo - but engineered to enhance its structural capacity and weather resilience. Earl estimates that only 200,000 houses are built each year – a shortfall that is no doubt influenced by the sizeable time, labour and materials costs of building conventional concrete structures. In the Philippines alone, surveys report a need for at least 6.5 million new homes to serve the growing population. A graduate of Materials Science and Engineering from the prestigious Ateneo University of Manila, he was pondering a solution to the housing shortage that besets much of Asia. Forlales’ knowledge of the bahay kubo runs deep – after all, he spent part of his childhood in one.
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