Vista Land inaugurates floating village in Laguna Lake

VISTA Land and Lifescapes Inc., in partnership with Laguna Lake Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways and Dutch construction company Dura Vermeer with Kingspan Unidek, inaugurated on Friday a floating village project called “Vintahanan” in Laguna Lake.

Located in Lakefront, Barangay Sucat, Muntinlupa City, the Vintahanan project was conceptualized and is spearheaded by Vista Land’s president and CEO Manuel Paolo A. Villar. The project is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, through its operating subsidiary, Camella Homes.

Vintahanan is derived from the words “vinta,” a type of traditional boat, and “tahanan,” or home. The floating houses (vintahanan) are built to serve as a model of a floating village with proper waste management system in place. It is made up of four 22-square-meter bungalow houses, an information center that will serve as its office, and an event center for social activities.

The houses, designed to drift on floodwaters, are built on a structure fastened to 15-foot-long mooring posts with sliding rings, allowing it to float when the water level rises.

“The floating village and the pioneering technology utilized in construction are perfect for an archipelagic country like the Philippines, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. It is an effective way of mitigating the damaging effects of climate change, particularly massive flooding and rising sea levels,” Villar said.

As the country’s biggest home builder, Vista Land is at the forefront of new innovations, one of which is the Vintahanan project that can be duplicated in the country’s flood-prone communities.