Eco House: This is Jao to do it

CEBU, Philippines - Adopting eco living is the only way to a sustainable future.

However, Architect James Jao warns the public to be wary of green-washing.

"A lot of development projects nowadays ride the bandwagon of going green even if these don't add up to the matrix of sustainability," he said.

Archt. Jao returned to the Philippines, deciding to continue an established practice here, after completing a Masters in Science Degree in City Design and Social Science at the London School of Economics.

From October 2004 to July 2005, the modules he tackled were on design studio course, urban morphology, urban infrastructure, international housing and social change, cost benefit analysis, economic aspects of urban change, and foundations of urban studies.

From these new learnings, an advocacy to push for green building technology overwhelmed him.

Eco living, he said, starts with a carbon neutral house or a zero net energy dwelling which is a general term applied to a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually.

This is "Jao" he does it:

• Through the "Eco Jao Bahay Kubo." He describes this as a modern interpretation of the vernacular Filipino architecture that is NOT site-specific and can be built by the seaside or on the hillside. It aims for improving the overall being and quality of life of every Filipino through a sustainably built environment.

• Challenge if a project is for real. Are the materials available? Where? And can it be done? Where? Technology and materials should be available here in the Philippines. The Eco Jao Bahay Kubo highlights the fact that it is a habitable, a concrete answer to sustainable living, and a practical and model solution to lessen the impact on the environment.

• Off grid. The Eco Jao Bahay Kubo is a house that is built in a way that minimizes the use of energy and water and reduces harmful emissions like carbon dioxide. It is a zero energy building autonomous from the energy grid supply or that energy is produced on-site, as in the use of solar panels.

Archt. Jao is a proponent of the LuzViMinda Eco House 2008, exhibited during the Manilacon in Pasay City. The house is now built in Bulusan, Sorsogon. The owner, Miss Edith Gapas-Dome, agreed to open her house a few hours each week for viewing by appointment. Since then Archt. Jao has been designing and building eco houses and eco commercial buildings all over the country. (Photo grabbed from ImageShack, with permission from Archt. James Jao)