DMCI Homes Inc., the property development arm of Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc., has donated a 2000 kN universal testing machine to the Construction Materials and Structures Laboratory of the University of the Philippines-Institute of Civil Engineering.
During the ceremony, DMCI Homes president Alfredo Austria turned over the equipment along with laptop computers and laboratory furniture to the laboratory.
“Research is very important for innovation, and in companies like DMCI Homes, we always do a lot of innovations for us to be of service to the community around us and to be able to create value for our customers,” Austria said.
Austria also acknowledged the influence of their education at UP, particularly in civil engineering, instilling a sense of duty to contribute to the country.
“As our chairman Sid (Isidro) Consunji said, ‘what is not measured is not managed.’ We should have the right tools and equipment to enable us to deliver good quality,” he said.
Nathaniel Diola, UP-ICE deputy director for planning development and finance said the 2000 kN universal testing machine will replace an old equipment in the CoMSLab that dates back to the 1950s.
“We want a machine that can be used for research, that can be controlled through computers so we can have accurate and precise assessments,” he said.
Alfonso Aliga Jr., executive director of UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation Inc. thanked the DMCI for their generous donations to UP-ICE through the years, which include professorial chairs, lecture rooms, computational laboratory, canteen and the 260-seat David M. Consunji Theater.
DMCI Homes also spearheaded the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sacrifice popularly known as the UP Chapel in UP Diliman in 2021.
The UP Chapel is the only Philippine structure that features the works of five National Artists that include National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin; National Artist for Painting, Vicente Manansala; National Artist for Visual Arts, Arturo Luz; National Artist for Sculpture; and National Artist for Visual Arts, Ang Kiukok.
It is also the first Philippine structure to feature a remarkable thin-shell concrete dome, conceptualized by Alfredo L. Juinio, and built by the late DMCI founder David M. Consunji.
