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Future of housing in developing economies?

by Firehiwot Kedir, 21.03.2019
Planned development, Cape Town, South Africa (photo credit: Firehiwot Kedir/ETH Zurich)
Industrialization is an indicator for a country’s development and generally carries a positive connotation. With Industrialized Construction, society possesses the potential to alleviate the gap between the enormous demand and delivery of housing. Using Industrial Construction methods, houses can be built faster reducing unplanned developments in cities and with controlled construction operations scaling down construction waste. There is a question however, as to whether delivering housing through Industrialized Construction methodologies is the solution to the housing demand in developing economies and beyond. Experiences from different corners of the world caution society not to look at housing just as another product. Housing is a personal and often once in a lifetime investment. It also requires foresight into the millions of residential buildings that must be constructed and the negative contribution of the construction industry on the environment. Considerations should include but not be limited to choice and sourcing of construction materials and elements. There is a unique opportunity here to do a better job. Today’s researchers take a wider perspective than just a technological shift.

Researchers at ETH Zurich’s chair of Innovative and Industrial Construction focused on the cities of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Nairobi in Kenya, and Cape Town in South Africa. As part of the project, I made a three-week long data collection trip to each city. The dynamics of housing need is similar in that thousands are waiting on decent housing. There is a backlog on housing delivery and construction operations are inefficient. The go-to material for constructing structures is concrete with a 5 - 20% waste recorded on most of the construction projects. Through supporting literature, expert’s opinion and my own field trip to the case study cities, it can be said that:
Industrialized Construction is at an ad hoc level in many developing economies including the case study cities. Only a handful of companies introduce alternative construction materials and methodologies. The justification has many dimensions; first, the issue of industrialization brings about a conversation over jobs in countries that record high rates of unemployment and cost of labor is attractive enough to disregard the use of machinery. Many government officials fear depriving many low-level workers of their wages. Second, there is fear of novelty from customers; unlike the uptake of the newest version of iPhone, houses built using alternative methods and materials do not have a satisfactory level of uptake. Third, compared with conventional materials and methodologies, current alternatives do not compete with market price and the initial cost of setting up a manufacturing plant presents a deterrent.
Conventional construction site, Addis Ababa (photo credit: Firehiwot Kedir/ETH Zurich)
The overarching goal of the project is to highlight and evaluate the status quo of housing construction in developing economies and alternatives present with Industrialized Construction. Last, but not least, the research aims to create a comprehensive guideline or index that identifies customer, economic, industry, technical, and environmental demands that need to be considered when applying industrialized housing construction in developing economies. For example, which mix of parameters in terms of industrialization, environmental sustainability, and many other considerations are suitable now and will be suitable in different time-periods in the future? We will keep you updated on our findings at Homepage - IC – Innovative and Industrial Construction | ETH Zurich.

About the author

Firehiwot Nesro Kedir is a doctoral researcher at the chair of Innovative and Industrial Construction at ETH Zurich. Her research focuses on identifying and assessing the sustainability potential of constructing buildings using Industrialized Construction methodologies.
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