POPULARIZED BY

NOREEN ANN ELEINE A. TARAC

ENG13 – C5

ECOWALL

The Economic Wall System for Socialized

Housing in the Philippines
ECOWALL: The Economic
Wall System for Socialized
Housing in the Philippines

Thesis Project by Evaristo, Kolimlim & Yatco

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
School of Civil, Environmental and Geological Engineering
June 2013

Technical Report by Noreen Ann Eleine A. Tarac

Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Course ENG13
School of Languages, Humanities, and Social Sciences
September 2017
What is an Ecowall?
An Ecowall is a lightweight precast hollow core wall system that
can be an alternative design material for the traditional Concrete
Hollow Blocks.

The rapid growth of the global population causes

many social problems. One of these is the lack of
affordable housing. Hence, low-income families are
forced to reside along sidewalks, railroads, and other
areas listed as danger zones. Government and
private groups around the world are innovating
traditional ways of building safe yet cost-efficient
houses.

Mission: “We provide decent,

National Housing authority adequate and affordable housing to
(NHA) is the government the greatest number of people and
department that is responsible ensure the provision of community
facilities and utilities and social
for housing in the Philippines.
services and economic
opportunities.”

The use of alternative method of

constructing socialized housing for
the National Housing Authority will
not only speed up the construction
period but will also be more cost-
efficient.
Lightweight Precast Hollow Core Wall simply
known as the “Ecowall” gives the most
economical benefits among the innovated and
improved methods of construction in housing
here in the Philippines.

Four Main Economic Aspects

of using Ecowall

WORKABILITY
MATERIALS

LABOUR COST DURABILITY

ECONOMIC ASPECTS
MATERIALS
In the study, decreasing the volume of
materials and replacing the materials and
structural members with an innovative design
and property will also decrease the cost and
installation time of the wall system.
Increasing the strength of the upper and side
portions of the wall eliminates the
construction of beams and columns.
WORKABILITY
There is a substantial decrease in the time
and cost without affecting quality, thus
improving the method of construction when
Ecowall is applied as the wall system
compared to the conventional CHB wall.
LABOUR COST
The Ecowall is proven to be more cost and
time-efficient. The study showed that using
Ecowall panels for existing NHA project is
more efficient in terms of materials, costs
and labour compared to a conventional CHB
wall.
DURABILITY
Reduction and replacement in the volume of
materials and structural members with an
innovative design and property of an Ecowall
don’t eliminate the strength and quality of the
entire structure.
DESIGN NORMS CONSIDERED

The structural and economical

aspect of the Ecowall design

takes an important

consideration for the product.

The design should comply with

existing structural codes and

building codes in the

Philippines such as the

National Structural Code of the

Philippines (NSCP) and the

National Building Code (NBC).

PHOTO OF NATIONAL STRUCTURAL CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES 2010 VERSION

The cost of the design will also be a factor since it can highly affect the

whole project especially during the bidding process. Hence, the cost

efficiency, aesthetic value and safety of the housing project will be

considered during the design process.

SIGNIFICANCE
Sustainable Development

A sustainable development is to have resources that will meet human needs

while ensuring the sustainability of the environment. This use of Ecowall will
greatly reduce the impact to the environment since Ecowall’s panel is
classified as a sustainable material and uses by-products of agriculture
industry as its main components.

Innovative Approach

The Ecowall will be an innovation of the traditional wall system which will make
the method of installing a wall system faster and easier. The use of precast
hollow core wall will be a suitable alternative for Concrete Hollow Blocks in
socialized housing which is cheaper and stronger. The Ecowall will also benefit
several construction companies by promoting the innovative approaches on
construction methodology that could potentially increase their sales.
 SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS
The estimate of the original NHA plan (Conventional
CHB) and the innovated NHA plan (Ecowall) were
focused on the cost of formworks, reinforcing steels,
ECOWALL concrete and finishing which are the components that
CAN SAVE comprise most of the total cost of a concrete structure.
26 DAYS The use of the Ecowall panel as the wall system
resulted to a time difference of 26 days in construction
compared to the conventional CHB thus confirming the
benefit in terms of time efficiency using the Ecowall
system.

CONCLUSION
The study innovated and improved the methods of
construction in housing for NHA through the use of an
Ecowall Panel instead of conventional CHB wall. The
Ecowall panel proved to be more cost and time-
efficient. The study has proven that using Ecowall
panels for existing NHA project is more efficient in
terms of materials, costs and labour compared to a
conventional CHB wall. There is a substantial decrease
in the time and cost without affecting quality, thus
improving the method of construction when Ecowall is
applied as the wall system compared to the
conventional CHB wall.