Luis Felipe Lopez on July 1, 2024 took over as the new general manager of Base Bahay (BASE) succeeding Dr. Pablo Jorillo, who transitioned to a senior consultancy role with the foundation.
Under Jorillo’s leadership, BASE has achieved numerous milestones, laying the groundwork for Base’s vision in bamboo and sustainable construction.
BASE was initiated by the Hilti Foundation to provide alternative building technologies using locally grown and renewable materials to create housing envelopes and designs suited to the needs of local communities. Already, Base has enabled a network of partners to build quality socialized homes for over 10,500 inividuals that are sustainable, disaster-resilient, and comfortable using BASE’s Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology while providing livelihood to countless more.
A native of Colombia and a civil engineer graduated at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2000), Lopez moved to the Philippines in 2014 to take on the role of BASE’s head of Product Development for Bamboo Housing. Previous to his appointment with BASE, he had worked with the Hilti Foundation as a consultant in 2012 and 2013.
Lopez has been instrumental in efforts to promote the creation of our own National Structural Code for Bamboo together with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP. At the Base Innovation Center in Makati which he manages, BASE continues to conduct research and leverage technology to innovate and bring Bamboo into the mainstream construction as a sustainable and reliable building material.
“For 10 years, we have witnessed the growth of BASE from building houses and to different structures. We have seen how our network of partners has grown to one where we collaborate with different organizations around the world. From a bamboo research and testing center, the Base Innovation Center has transitioned to an internationally accredited laboratory and is now a global leader in bamboo construction,” Lopez said.
“With our dedicated team and strong partners, we at BASE will continue to work toward our shared vision of becoming a leading competent global center and scale up bamboo construction to provide underserved families with a safe place to live in.”
