Ecuador's largest ever affordable housing project has used Holcim's ECOPact low-carbon concrete for a 3,500 unit housing development.
Holcim says that ECOPact enabled a total of 60% less CO2 emissions in the Casa Laguna project compared to conventional concrete.
With today’s rapid urbanisation, over three billion people are expected to need affordable housing by 2030, which Holcim says drives the requirement for ‘green’ buildings.
The Casa Laguna project is in Ecuador’s largest city Guayaquil. Each year the city’s population grows by more than 1%, and is projected to reach almost 4 million inhabitants by 2035. This is almost one million more than in 2022, creating a need for affordable housing.
Ritofa launched the Casa Laguna construction project on the outskirts of Guayaquil to ensure affordable housing for 3,500 families. Sustainability and ensuring that this housing development was as climate friendly as possible were key priorities for the developer.
The type of construction for the houses in Casa Laguna entailed a system of load-bearing walls, necessitating a monolithic concrete element.
Holcim says the ECOPact range of low-carbon concrete offers 30% to 100% less carbon emissions compared to standard (CEM I) concrete. It adds that, where regulatory conditions allow, ECOPact+ concrete integrates upcycled construction and demolition materials, further closing the resource loop to reduce the environmental footprint.
Holcim Ecuador supplied all of the ready-mix concrete needed to complete the project, totaling a volume of 13,000m³ of ECOPact to meet the sustainability requirements of Ritofa.
Casa Laguna was completed in March 2022. The result is a total of 3,500 houses, with nine housing models ranging from 111 to 160m² per unit, and a reduction of 98kg of CO₂ equivalent for each cubic meter sold. This amounts to 60% less CO₂ emissions (or a total of 1,100 tons of CO₂ saved).
Holcim Ecuador has won the prestigious “Saco de Oro” (Golden Sack) award in the sustainability category with the Casa Laguna project.
