SM Prime Holdings, Inc. was a major commercial developer in the Philippines that had plans to develop and build various properties in the Philippines. Many buildings in the Philippines are of the traditional column/beam frame building system. The SM developments such as the Super Center Muntinlupa had such a configuration. As an attempt to build more energy-efficient buildings than the traditional ones in the country, SM Prime Holdings, in conjunction with Mage Packaging Corp of Philippines, was interested in introducing the Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) Wall System technology from the United States to the Philippines.
BuildBlock Building Systems, LLC was a U.S.-based company that manufactured BuildBlock ICF Walls. The BuildBlock ICF Wall system consisted of foam forms with molded-in plastic webs that received cast-in-place concrete pours. The system eliminated the traditional assembling and dismantling of wood forms for walls and produces a structural wall element that can carry gravity loads and lateral shears.
ICFs were hollow foam blocks which were stacked into the shape of the exterior walls of a building, reinforced with steel rebar, and then filled with concrete. ICFs combined one of the finest insulating materials, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), with one of the strongest structural building materials—steel reinforced concrete. The result was a wall system of unmatched comfort, energy efficiency, strength, and noise reduction.
In order to determine the viability of ICF wall systems in possible applications for development projects in the Philippines, BuildBlock Building Systems retained VCA Engineers to perform a consulting structural feasibility investigation on a case project—the SM Super Center, Muntinlupa—SM Prime Holdings’ recent development project.
PacRim Engineering served as a technical expert for the American delegate and performed a feasibility study of the applicability of the ICF Walls to Philippine’s market. PacRim traveled to the Philippines in October 2008 to introduce the material and technology to the local developers, architects, and engineers. Adoption of this technology has been underway.