2019 Young Builders Challenge with Haraya : A New Typology for K-12 Schools

Holcim Philppines Vice President Cara Ramirez (leftmost) and President and CEO John Stull (rightmost) with 2019 Young Builders Challenge top prize winners and class adviser Architect Perry Sanga during the awarding ceremony on May 5, 2019.

A team of senior students from Mapua University’s School of Architecture, Industrial Design, and The Built Environment topped the leading cement maker Holcim Philippines, Inc.’s sustainable design contest. Dexter Pangan, Czarrina Hernandez, Kendrick Supnet, and Erik Joshua Isip bagged the first place in the 2019 Young Builders Challenge (YBC) with Haraya: A New Typology for K-12 Schools, which proposes a playful school layout that enhances the student’s learning experience though active social interaction.  The proposed project also aims to reduce construction and maintenance costs by using renewable local materials.

The students realized that schools’ design lack some elements that would make it more conducive for learning and encouraging students’ imagination. They believe that better facilities can provide better education for students. They are so happy that their team got this opportunity to share their ideas through this competition. They consider their win as a wake-up call for future builders to focus on importance of sustainable construction.

The Mapua students topped 13 other entries from eight schools all over the country and won a total cash prize of Php100,000.

Meanwhile, juniors Marc Joseph Espino and Cheaster Marie Seville of University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Architecture won 2nd place with a proposal for a modular and lightweight concrete house that is highly replicable and can easily adapt to the changing needs of the urban poor.

While students from Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science & Technology-College of Architecture and Fine Arts (EARIST-CAFA) named Ben John Basco, Christian Barrameda, and Paulo Piolino of, bagged the third spot for a prototype coastal community center that would act as a base of operations for evacuation during storm surges.

Holcim Philippines Vice President for Communications Cara Ramirez commended the winners and all the participants for the outstanding design concepts the contest received from across the country.

“Sustainability has never been more imperative than now. It is important to instill this mindset to our future builders during their formative stage. We are glad to receive remarkable ideas from our future builders through this competition,” added Ramirez.

Holcim President and CEO John Stull also noted that “these proposals inspire us to continue advocating sustainable construction among our next generation of builders. The YBC is a testament that our young builders are capable of generating ideas that can benefit our society, leading to a more sustainable future.”

Inspired by the “Next Generation” category of the global design contest LafargeHolcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, the Young Builders Challenge aims to encourage aspiring 

builders that their future projects would not just be economically viable but also environmentally and socially beneficial.