Video: Breaking News - 'Four-hour' bamboo house wins top prize - Courtesy Breaking News Today.

Earl Forlales, a twenty-three-year-old in the Philippines has recently been awarded £50,000 for the Cities of our Future price for his use of low cost sustainable material and also considering the speed of construction. This is a bamboo house which is affordable and can also be built in just four hours. 

Forlales is a graduate in material science engineering and was awarded the first prize by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) for his house known as Cubo. This house is not only a low-cost but made of sustainable material. The thought of making this type of houses came to him from the bamboo hut in which his grandparents used to live. 

John Hughes, the competition head judge and Rics president, said: “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 for future generations.

“There were many exciting, original designs among the submissions. However, Earl’s idea stood out for its simple yet well thought through solution to the world’s growing slum problem. As we look at our entrants, who are our next generation of leaders, I believe that real progress will be made in tackling the world’s biggest issues.” 

Dr Beth Taylor, a competition judge and the chair of the UK National Commission for Unesco, said: “One of the reasons Earl’s entry stood out from the other finalists was through its use of traditional, sustainable technologies and materials, to solve an issue facing modern cities across the world.” 

Earl's low cost Cubo house is truly a great solution to the world.