Earl Forlales, a graduate in Materials Science and Engineering, took inspiration from the bamboo hut his grandparents lived in outside Manila and created a house made of bamboo that can be put together in four hours to solve the chronic（长期的）shortage of affordable accommodation in the Philippines. His design won a £50,000 top prize from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors（RICS）in its Cities for our Future competition.
His house, known as Cubo, could be produced in a week, constructed in four hours and costs £60 per square meter. Its use of bamboo — which releases 35% more oxygen into the environment than trees — was praised by the judges. The ability of the houses to be constructed in any bamboo-producing area was one of the key attractions.
“The world's cities are growing all the time and there is a real need to make sure they are safe, clean and comfortable places to live in,” John Hughes, the competition's head judge and president at RICS, said. “As we look at our competitors, who are our next generation of leaders, I believe that real progress will be made in tackling the world's biggest issues.”
Forlales has already identified a suitable area of land to start building his Cubo houses. He plans to begin the work next year with experts from the RICS in an attempt to help relieve the huge pressure on housing in Manila, where a third of the 12 million population live in poor districts. He said, “I would like to thank RICS for the opportunity, and look forward to working with them to put this money to good use in Manila and then hopefully elsewhere around the world.”