Book on indigenous building technologies published

A compendium of indigenous building materials and technologies (CIBMAT) for contractors, architects, developers, and builders of low-cost housing system is now available.

The new resource book was produced by the University of the Philippines-Building Research Service with the cooperation of the UP Engineering research and Development Foundation Inc. (ERDFI).

The project was funded and monitored by the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD), an agency under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) headed by executive director Graciano P. Yumul Jr.

The compendium (abstract) contains 130 indigenous building material and technology entries, low-cost housing package schemes, and performance assessment of indigenous building materials.

Each of the 130 entries also includes information on the types of building elements, type of material used, other applications of the material, general description of the material or technology, technical information and other important facts regarding the technology or material.

PCIERD explained that indigenous building materials include those that are locally-produced and manufactured naturally-occurring and abundant in certain regions.

Building materials that are manufactured locally even if the raw materials used in the production are imported can also be considered as indigenous building materials.

Indigenous building technologies, on the other hand, are the skills, knowledge or methods in building construction that are local in origin.