House of Modular, Instant, and Economic (HOMIE), an eco-friendly house design concept based on Green Material designed by three students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia (DTSL FTUI) won an essay competition held by Civil Engineering Student Association of Universitas Trisakti, Civil Engineering Trisakti in Action (CETA) 2022. The FTUI Team won 2nd place in the category of sub-theme essay Application of Eco-Friendly Materials and Materials for Implementing Eco-Friendly Construction in Residential Buildings.
Juan Fidel Ferdani (Civil Engineering 2019), Elgrytha Victoria Tybeyuliana (Environmental Engineering 2019), and Nada Laili Nurfadhilah (Environmental Engineering 2019) created this innovative, eco-friendly design concept under the guidance of a DSTL FTUI lecturer, Dr. Nyoman Suwartha, ST., MT., MAgr. The eco-friendly house design concept departs from the many problems of implementing conventional construction methods which take longer due to low efficiency and global energy consumption. Data from Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (2021) shows that the construction sector is responsible for 37% of carbon dioxide emissions and 36% of global energy consumption.
“HOMIE is a new eco-friendly home concept. The concept of this house is inspired by children’s toy, which is lego. The Lego concept is represented through the application of the modular construction method in the development process. Unlike the conventional construction method, the modular construction method does not carry out the construction of the structure directly at the construction site, but manufactures the components of the modular structure separately (offsite) at the fabrication plant. Thus, the HOMIE concept can be a solution to the problems of the conventional construction method in Indonesia,” said Juan.
By replacing the conventional construction method, HOMIE applies a modular construction method that is faster, cheaper, and eco-friendly. Based on the results of the team’s calculations, the cost of constructing a HOMIE house can be reduced by up to three times cheaper than the cost of conventional house construction in general. In addition, the use of green material in the form of glass waste as a partial substitute for cement in concrete can reduce the production and use of cement. Hence, it potentially reduces carbon emissions produced during the cement production process.
“Cement, which is one of the main components of concrete in construction materials, is a material that has a negative impact on the environment. In the HOMIE construction, the FTUI team used green material in the form of glass waste as a partial substitute for cement in the manufacture of reinforced concrete. Based on the results of the compressive strength test, we found that by using a 20% glass waste substitute composition, the resulting concrete could reach a compressive strength of up to 60 MPa within 365 days. It is 13.2% stronger than normal concrete without substitution,” explained Dr. Nyoman Suwartha.
Dean of FTUI Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, ST., M.Eng., IPU expressed his hopes for the HOMIE application in the future. “In the midst of limitations, HOMIE’s innovation can be an applicable solution in overcoming the problems of the construction sector in Indonesia. By replacing the conventional construction method, HOMIE applies a modular construction method that is faster, cheaper, and eco- friendly. HOMIE can be an alternative solution for providing more affordable livable housing. HOMIE also provides effective and implementable solutions, which is the application of modular construction method to provide livable housing in realizing the targets of SDGs points 11 and 13 in Indonesia.”
