Part A 1

Affordable buildingtechniques and materials

The adaptation of traditional building technologies, which are in harmony with local conditions,
affordable, durable, reliable and, importantly, functional for the modern life is especially
important. Locally available traditional materials have much smaller environmental impact in
contrast to materials such as bricks, concrete and iron mainly because of the lower embodied
energy.
Some well-known affordable materials with low embodied energy include, for example:
Adobe or compressed earthen blocks, earthen and lime-based plasters, the use of ash as
alternatives to Portland cement, straw-bale, local stone, locally harvested rough sawn lumber,
as well as other local biomass products (bagasse, hemp, bamboo), which are used as raw
material to manufacture durable building materials (CIB and UNEP-IEC, 2002; UN-Habitat,
2011d).
Modern stabilization technology has broadened the range of natural soils suitable for making
compressed stabilized earth blocks, and increased their strength and durability. An interesting
type used in South Africa is also earthbag/sandbag constructions; sandbag walls cannot crack,
are fire proof, good insulators and resist water penetration (Roux and Alexander,2009).
Indigenous knowledge and techniques may be invaluable for improved adaptive capacity of
houses by optimizing constructions for natural hazards. However, there should be careful
considerations of the durability, resilience and resistance of the buildings made with the use of
low-cost indigenous materials, especially in the areas that are prone to natural disaster.
Suitability of particular materials for particular climatic conditions and geographical hazards has
to be assessed before advocating low-cost local methods.
References
UN-Habitat (2011c) Strategy paper: housing sustainability (version2). Unpublished manuscript,
Nairobi.
CIB and UNEP-IEC (2002) Agenda 21for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries. A
Discussion Document. Pretoria, South Africa: The International Council for Research and
Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and United Nations Environment Programme
International Environmental technology Centre (UNEP-IEC), available:
[http://cibworld.xs4all.nl/dl/publications/Agenda21Book.pdf]
Roux, P. and Alexander, A. (2009)‘Sustainable building materials’.In L. Tompson-Smeddle
(ed.),Sustainable Neighbourhood DesignManual: Available at
http://www.sustainabledevelopmentnetwork.com/manuals.php.
Part A 2
It has come to a global consensus that sustainable development is vital as a result of rising
environmental, economic, cultural and social crises. Now, almost no country in the world can
hope to achieve sustainability without including the housing sector into their plan of action.
Zambia as a developing country hopes to achieve sustainably through the improvement of
unplanned settlements.
With the aim of achieving sustainable development and using Zambia compound as a case
study, various observations and questions were asked to members of the community pertaining
to their ways of life, the challenges they face in the different seasons due to their poor house
construction techniques, the drainage, garbage disposal methods, water and sanitation as well
as general household scale in terms of persons per house and the overall settlement.
Retrofitting existing buildings or in this case settlements needs to consider various factors and
aspect of complexities. Based on Wood [2006], retrofit is mentioned as a buildings adaption to
a new use; which reduces the operational energy and maximizes the enduring benefit of the
embodied energy that is already incorporated in their ‘bricks-and-mortar’. Meanwhile, Swan et
al. [2013] explains retrofitting as upgrades to the fabric or system or physical characteristics of a
property that reduces energy use, generate renewable energy and improve environmental
performance. Additionally, the U.S Green Building Council broadly describes retrofitting as any
kind of upgrade of an existing building that is wholly or partially occupied to improve its energy
efficiency and environmental performance, reduce water use, and improve the comfort and
quality of the space in terms of natural light, air quality, and noise, all of which is done in a way
that it is financially beneficial to the owner [2011].
ZAMBIA COMPOUND GENERAL HOUSE CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
Most of the houses in the area are made from bricks which was assessed to not be of good
quality as houses tend to melt down in the rain season. Small windows, extremely flat roofs,
unfished floors among other. The average house accommodation was three spaces which
included the living space and two bedrooms. Hence the kitchen and toilets outside.
Solution
It is good practice that building materials can be accessed locally by people of Zambia
compound, however adding to the mix an amount of cement would help the houses stand in the
case of rain, increasing window size for natural lighting and ventilation.
THE ROAD AND DRAINAGE
Narrow roads for vehicular access and extremely narrow roads and no passage for community
people. trespassing is the order of the day. There are no proper drainages as damps of water
where seen and other places water flowing down the slope.
Solution
Widening the roads and general creation of access through the entire settlement.
creating drainages
SOCIAL AMENITIES
The area has no recreational facilities for children, churches are present but small and in poor
conditions, no schools in the area, very small clinic
Solution
Providing spaces that will fulfil the needs of the community such as schools, proper clinic
WATER AND SANITATION
Over 100 households use one tap to draw water which isn’t readily available. there isn’t enough
yard space to dig up pits therefore the council picks up the garbage at the main road access.
Solution
All households should have access to water as it is a basic need therefore incorporating water
supply to house designs.in addition, the creating a proper road network will allow for easy
collection of garbage.
OVERALL VIEW OF SETTLEMENT

Solution
Brooke, C. (2011) Retrofitting Existing Buildings: The Low Cost, High Volume Solution to Climate
Change. Sustainability Asia Pacific, Issue 4, pp. 10-15
Swan, W., Ruddock, L., Smith, L., and Fitton, R. (2013) Adoption of Sustainable Retrofit in UK
Social Housing. Structural Survey, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 181-193
Wood, B. (2006) The Role of Existing Buildings in The Sustainability Agenda. Facilities, Vol. 24,
No. ½, pp. 61-67