The JF Ledesma Foundation Inc. (JFLFI), in collaboration with the Asian Rural-Urban Development and Peace Institute, Inc., organized its own YP Design Challenge for young professionals and students in the Visayas and Mindanao region. (JFLFI is the partner organization of TAO-Pilipinas which spearheads YP activities in Visayas and Mindanao while TAO-Pilipinas organizes those in Luzon.) The design competition was themed “Incremental Housing Design and Development for the Slum Dwellers: The YP-VisMin MDG Challenge.”

The team from West Negros University Civil Engineering Department garnered first place for their entry which used interlocking reinforced eco-blocks made of recycled plastic mineral water bottles filled with sand and cement mortar. The team is composed of Engr. Rey A. Ramos, Ryan Christopher Leyte, Marfalo Sungkip, Annie Montales, and Betha Lou Rufin.

Second place award went to Danilo Ravina of the University of San Carlos Technological Center – College of Architecture. Architect Ravina’s design solution comprised of building the structure in five phases/increments namely, phase 1: structural frame and roof; phase 2: masonry works; phase 3: wall framing, cladding, doors and windows; phase 4: floor; and phase 5: utilities.

Third place was awarded to the team from Mindanao University of Science and Technology composed of Anne Barillo, Rico Doydora, Jay-Ar Lituañas, Ricsie Lucero, Juricel Magsigay, and Beginno Monsanto. Their design was a one-story housing unit made of composite and readily available construction materials (concrete, steel, and wood).

The awarding ceremony for the winning teams was conducted by JFLFI in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental last December 2009. For more information about the YP Design Challenge in VisMin, email Ms. Maricel Binghay at jflfi@yahoo.com.