Saturday, November 24, 2012
WOOD gave way to steel. One-story buildings soared to become high-rise towers. And plain old architecture is transforming into green architecture.
Changes in building trends have kept pace with the growth of Cebu City’s real estate industry in the past three decades.
Engr. Willy Tiu Go, owner of the WTG Construction and Development Corp., has witnessed the structural changes in the city since 1982.
Go, who started his construction company in that decade, said buildings constructed 30 years ago were mostly single-storey, “straightforward” projects.
“They were very simple. Patag ra. Di pa gyud uso ang medium-rise or high-rise sa una (They were mostly one level; medium-rise or high-rise buildings were not the trend then),” he said.
The use of construction materials has evolved, along with building design.
In the 1980s, complex shapes as well as intricate and detailed carvings—almost Baroque, in some cases—were favored.
Now, however, Go said most of the buildings are high-rise structures over 15 levels high, which have significantly changed the city’s skyline.
Although cement continues to be used, most buildings’ façades are now coated with cladding or sheets for a sharper look, he said.
Because of the effects of climate change, engineering trends now give more emphasis on green infrastructure, which means designing buildings that will adapt to weather changes.
“Solar panels are now being used and buildings are naturally ventilated,” he said.
Similar observations were offered by the City Government’s Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW).
Engr. June Nadine Sison, who heads the DEPW’s construction division, said designs and trends in the construction of buildings in the city have “significantly” changed in the last three decades.
Sison said the present engineering trends have made buildings more attractive and able to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
“Before, we were only contented with a plain cement and paint finish, but now we have different claddings like glass, among others. We have also used pre-fabricated wall systems. Before, we used wood in building but now we don’t to prevent the cutting of trees,” she said.
“People now prefer high-rise buildings” because the cost of land keeps them from acquiring more space, she said.
With the help of technology and better equipment, Sison said the construction of buildings has grown faster.
High-rise buildings take just over a year to build, while in the 1980s it took two to three years to build more modest structures.
Both Go and Sison believe that as technology advances, more systems will be developed in the construction industry to make buildings more innovative and eco-friendly.
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