ANZA 4: From the ground up

ISSN 1821-8695

AN Z A E AST

AFRICAN

A RCHITECTURE

From the ground up!

ISSUE #4

AN Z A E AST

AFRICAN

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EDITORIAL: BADARU COMFORT BRANDING: JOHN PAUL SENYONYI MANAGERIAL: ANITAH S. HAKIKA BUSINESS AND PRODUCTION: COMFORT MOSHA COVER: THE USE OF DIFFERENT BUILDING MATERIALS, TANZANIA (CLEMENS KUBICEK) COLLABORATING TEAM: Clemens Kubicek Dickson Wetaka Franklin Kasumba Kanwanyi S Kanwanyi Kezia Ayikoru Khalid Mussa Mtoni Paul K Bomani Steven Missaga Sarah Senyonyi Tonny Kazimoto Publisher:

Bracom Associates, P.O. Box 6139, Dar es salaam,Tanzania.

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Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

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editorial

FROM THE GROUND UP‌ Like watching the progress of a child from the day it is born, so is the construction process of buildings.

We literally see how the structure is started right from the ground all the way till it is completed.

During the process, we have to deal with all the challenges that come up, some challenges greater than others. This then puts us in a position where we have to come up with solutions that can also be used by those who wish to follow the same path. At the end of the day however, we have to accept the outcome and the reactions that come with it.

In this issue we explore the past, present, possibilities and the power that the East African construction industry has continued to express over and over again. We see how burnt bricks have always been used and are now being improved further developed to great stronger structures.

Get to see how this is done and even more excitingly who is actually involved in the process of construction. The possibility of a new material for construction in East Africa: tried and tested. Author Alice Tesca takes us through the process of using coffee wood for construction of homes in Rwanda.

Sustainability has become the anthem for architecture all over the world. The UN Habitat presents an article that explains the importance of construction that is efficient and most importantly fitting the local context. Clemens also writes arguing the use of old techniques versus the new construction methods in one of the cities in East Africa. The featured project is one of the most fascinating projects that was recognized by the East African Community. It only goes to prove that one can use that which is within his reach to create a stable and beautiful home.

Enjoy the issue!

Comfort Editor

Prologue

by Kezia Ayikoru

Bit by bit, a building evolves Up from the ground, it thrives Subtle change by subtle change Taking on a character As seen fit by its creators “From the ground up� reminds me of playing with lego blocks as a child. I am reminded of placing one lego block atop another and another. A simple process that started with one lego block would transform into an object; a structure. The shape and outlook of the structure was only limited by two things; the creator and the material. In this case, I was the creator and block by block, I would make the legos obey my creativity and also succumb to my limitations. The material: the lego block, was also a big determinant of the outcome.

The size, shape, character and colour of the block determined what kind of contribution the block could make to the other blocks. This process of a child playing with lego blocks is in fact a construction process.

The difference here is, this is real life. We do not have the luxury to break down and rebuild as easily as a child would with lego blocks. It is therefore important that we learn to get it right. We, the creators (the whole construction team, clients and other various stakeholders) need to correctly understand the whole process of construction and make the right decisions based on all necessary factors. Such factors include appropriate materials, appropriate construction techniques and contextual issues such as climate, site conditions and many others.

May we learn to make the right decisions from the ground up for a better East Africa!

Pangani river, Tanzania photo: Clemens Kubicek

CONTENTS...

Brick by BRICK Rwanda

Brick by Brick, a positive change is being made in Rwanda through the use of locally improved earth bricks to build for the community

State of Construction Industry in Tanzania A closer look at every nook and cranny of the Tanzanian Construction Industry

Reciprocal action: The concept of constructing in East Africa and abroad TANZANIA Highlights different positions based on experience in Tanzania and different European countries.

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Sustainable Architecture East Africa

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Coffee Wood Rwanda

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A sustainable energy efficient solution for the built environment lies in our own local East African context

A new innovative building material and its potential benefits

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Feature

Projects

Projects

Learning from

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Earthbag Ecovillage Uganda

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Biryogo Collective Housing Rwanda

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Permanence and Adaptation Kenya

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Urban-Rural Transformations in Ethiopia

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The project showcases an ecovillage designed to alleviate poverty and demonstrate sustainable building with earthbags.

The project explains the urban housing curried out to make the community economically independent.

An exploration of how infrastructural development can provide a basis for future growth

The NESTown (New Ethiopian Sustainable Town) project explores ways to create small rural-urban centers in a sustainable way by involving the community through transfer of knowledge

New Vs Old East Africa

New does not necessarily mean better. Taking a closer look at the advantages of the old traditional building materials

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AN Z A

People and spaces

ARTICLE

MAKING A CHANGE...

When Rwanda is mentioned in a conversation, Newspaper, Magazine or any other broadcasting channel, it is mostly about the 1994 genocide. It has been 19 years since the genocide ended and Rwanda has achieved a level of development that is double that which existed before the incident.

photo on the previous page by CLEMENS KUBICEK in Pangani, Tanzania

by Alain Yves Twizeyimana & Tyler Survant

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he fabric of housing in Rwanda is being changed by both the government and Rwandans from predominantly used wood, dirt mixed with straw to bricks and blocks. In 1991 statistics showed that 22% of the houses were constructed with adobe bricks, and 9 years later the number went up to 35%.

It is clear that rebuilding Rwanda, particularly its fabric, is aiming towards use of bricks as the main construction material. However in some parts of Rwanda, the use of bricks is a cause for concern.. This made me question whether brick construction is what we need as Rwandans and East Africans for that matter to achieve the change we are aiming for. By evaluating the options in terms of building materials, timber cannot be a sustainable choice of material as timber is scarce in the country. A web of rivers in the western part of the country provides a fair amount of stones used to build foundations but that alone cannot solve the construction materials issue entirely. The solution hence lies down under our feet, specifically the ground.

We use what we have to shape our daily environment and activities. Part of what we constantly have access to, is the earth on which we stand, walk and build our houses. The earth can be a structural element of our buildings and principal raw material

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for bricks . These are considered the most used construction materials in Rwanda but bearing those names does not give them the quality that Rwandans take advantage of, when they experience brick-built spaces.

Bricks are not just, molded water and earth dough mixture dried and piled to make a wall. Although they are easy, locally made and cheap construction materials, bricks are not limited to what we are accustomed to. They can be improved in terms of raw material mixing, brick molding and construction techniques to create new products.

There are mainly two types of bricks used in the country; adobe and fired bricks. Fired bricks are more abundant in cities and other urban centers across the country while adobe bricks are more frequent in the countryside. The making of fired bricks requires a significant amount of timber and manpower making their production very expensive. Because

Brick technology is not limited to what we are accustomed to. of this, fired bricks are considered as a sign of wealth by Rwandans.

In rural areas like the western province for example, buildings with fired bricks are considered to be landmarks and hence everyone’s dream is to own one.

WOC classrooms credit: SHARON DAVIS DESIGN

11 percent of Rwanda is composed of marshlands and wetlands; an ecologically fragile environment protected by the government from buildings and other infrastructural features susceptible to harm it.

Clay, the core raw material in brick making is found near and sometimes inside these wetlands and various other parts of the country. However despite the production techniques, bricks are an affordable and feasible construction material that can be used by anyone to bring drastic change. As much as bricks have been used for a while now in our country, this change won’t be accomplished if nothing about its potential is explored and exhausted.

In the Eastern province of Rwanda, change has started with the blocks.

Blocks are larger in size than bricks

In 90 min drive from Kigali city center to the Eastern province, on a twoand-a- half-acre site in, the Women’s Opportunity Center is a changemaking campus that empowers one small community and, in turn, reframes the way architects engage the world.

Created in collaboration with Women for Women International - a humanitarian organization helping women survivors of wars rebuild their lives - this mini-village in Rwanda transforms unsustainable urban agglomeration and subsistence farming with an architectural agenda to rebuild social infrastructure, create economic opportunity, and restore cultural heritage.

...BRICK by BRICK RWANDA

and are many times made using concrete. In the Rwanda Village Enterprise (RVE) Housing project, the first three model houses have been constructed using compressed earth blocks CEB to replace adobe bricks.

This is in a bid to reduce the amount of water used during molding as the site is in a dry region where water is very scarce and expensive. This new method also helps in reduction of mortar used in construction and improving uniformity. The country representative of RVE, Brian Halusan an estate agent who supervised the block making and construction of these houses, said, “Compressed earth brick offers significant advantages over the traditional adobe block. Among the benefits is the increased strength of the block because compressing the earth forces

the clay particles to bind to each other. The bricks will be uniform in shape and size allowing the masons to build level and plumb walls with smaller and thinner mortar joints.

With these kind of joints, the wall will be less susceptible to failure because the joints deteriorate more quickly than the blocks due to weather and environmental impacts.”

Another project dedicated to change is the Women’s opportunity center project in Kayonza, Rwanda, a solution brought by SHARON DAVIS DESIGN; an American based architectural firm currently working in Rwanda on various projects. Based on their theory; a change in building construction, from the elements of Rwandan’s own cultural, social and economic values “The elemental change”,

Change begins in the project’s very building blocks and is occurring, literally, from the ground up. The design revives a lost Rwandan housing tradition with rich spatial and social layers. Its circular forms radiate from intimate classrooms to a community space, farmer’s market, guest lodging, and the civic realm beyond. Bricks are made from clay on site by the center’s future users, a process that creates income opportunities and

Change begins in the project’s very building blocks and is occurring from the ground up.. spurs social solidarity. The innovative program includes a demonstration farm that helps women produce and market their own goods, manage a business, and fuel the local economy. Sharon Davis design’s global network of consultants tapped African entrepreneurs to create water purification, biogas, and other sustainable systems that can now be produced and maintained by Rwandans for Rwandans.

The 450,000 clay bricks needed for construction are being made by employing clay found on site and a new, more durable manual

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Local brick cladding credit: general architecture collarborative, building materials-Rwanda, http://gacollaborative.org/?p=145

press method we adapted from local building techniques.

The brick making process involves digging, tempering, mixing, and molding clay into brick form; then drying, kiln constructing, and firing to prepare them for architectural use. Through this process women are transcending a legacy of conflict by learning marketable, incomegenerating skills; along with a piece of architecture they are building social solidarity.

In response to local methods of brick making typically using a process called “slop-moulding,” which uses wet clay. Sharon Davis Designs’ new process (based on

Brick by brick, a big change is being built.

Adobe and CEB credits: RVE

livecycle brick making

brick pattern credit: SHARON DAVIS DESIGN

bricks credit: SHARON DAVIS DESIGN

research into global brick making techniques) involves sand-moulding, a process by which a clay body with a lower water content than in slop moulding is fully coated in a sand aggregate prior to being moulded. Lab testing found the bricks produced on site to have greater compressive strength than fired bricks found locally, an improvement for an earthquake-prone region. The brick making initiative was conceived to address the quality of local bricks but also as an economic generator.

Around 200 women were initially trained in brick making techniques and from this group 30 were selected for the brick production for the Women’s Opportunity Center.

These brick makers produced an average of 20,000 bricks a week at the peak of production, and a total of 450,000 clay bricks were needed for construction.Brick molding and production is done in various stages to ensure efficiency, and better quality of the produced bricks.

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Step 1: After extracting clay, it is put in a pre-dug pit where the clay is watered daily for a week to bring it to a level of softness required and which is easier to mold.

Step 2: A water-clay mix is made using a batch of 3 pots of clay in 1 pot of water. The mix is done by using feet to make sure that no stones are left.

Step3: A resultant fairly dry mixture is put on a table where it is cut into estimated portions of mud mixture required for a single brick.

brick burning in kiln credit: Alain Yves Twizeyimana

brick making credit: Alain Yves Twizeyimana

Step4: The mud mixture cuts are taken to the next table where they are soaked in sand one by one, put in a mould, pressed firmly to reach every part of the mould and left over mixture is cut off. In case reinforcement will be needed during construction, a particular mould is used to make a hole in the brick.

Step5: The moulded brick is lifted to a next table where it is turned up side down to ensure a safe brick extraction from the mould. The bricks are then stacked on a table one next to another where they are moved using wood screeds and stacked for 2 days in an open sheltered area living an average space of 3-5cm in between to facilitate air flow and speed up drying.

Step6: Air dried bricks are stacked in a kiln where for a week they are burnt using rice husks In an 8 weeks internship at the Women’s opportunity center, I experienced a change in the methods of production and use of bricks, which is an improvement of the local methods. This is certainly a change that Rwanda

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WOC classrooms credit: SHARON DAVIS DESIGN

Sharon Davis Design is a design studio located in New York City and Kayonza, Rwanda. Sharon Davis is a LEED accredited professional who earned her Masters of Architecture from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, & Preservation. She is a leading voice within New York’s public architectural space, serving on the executive committee for the Van Alen Institute for Projects in Public Architecture. Her design studio embraces the professional ideal of positively changing the way people live, both globally and locally, through multidisciplinary rigor and with compassion for the earth and humankind.

brick brick comparison credits: Alain Yves Twizeyimana

and East Africa in general can adopt to bring the fabric of our buildings and dwellings to a next level.

21st century Rwanda, following a vision for development by 2020 is all about technology and new innovative techniques of doing things. The president of Rwanda, calls it an era for change by acquiring new ways correcting past towards a brighter future.

AN Z A

People and spaces

ARTICLE

State of

construction Industry text by Paul K. Bomani | photo by Franklin Kasumba

D

ar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania is a budding city. It is calculated to be the fastest growing city in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it has become a haven for the construction related activity. With that said, the disparity between the urban and rural focus is disparaging within Tanzania. Furthermore, the disorganized and unplanned appetite for new property development within Dar es Salaam serves as a microcosm of the national dilemma when it comes to creating living spaces. The city tells the tale of a thriving construction sector with of new scaffolding rising as far as the eye can see on every street corner.

With just over 50 years of independence, the construction industry has certainly developed into a self-sustaining machine. However, some things still plague the architectural and construction engineering practices.

For one, the architect is a rare breed in Tanzania; while this may pose a position of strength to the current body of architects, it does not translate well to the state of organized space creation within the national context. As of October 2011, the country boasted 337 (registered) architects, with 36 of those being foreign.

With a population of over 45 million people in Tanzania, this relates to a starkly low architectural density of one architect per 130,000+ people. At the same time, the country boasted 178 architectural firms, with 10 of those being foreign – a simple arithmetic putting the average number of architects at a firm at under 2 architects.

One of the challenges that has particularly faced the architectural profession is the lack of public awareness of what an architect is. Traditionally, design of living spaces has arbitrarily been the concoction of the person charged with construction of a property – which is most often the owner of the property – who has in an informal sense played the role of construction expert in engineering, architecture, quantity surveying and so forth. As the urban space continues to become congested, a more cohesive understanding of space and inhabiting of those spaces is needed. And this has been a major challenge for the Tanzanian architect.

Although much higher than the number of architects, the country boasts around 1000 registered engineers, this number is still rather low for the needs of Tanzania.

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in Tanzania With booming construction, the number of registered contractors in the country is currently 6,763; however is bears noting that informal settlement and construction is a major component of construction activity. As such, the number of unregistered contractors is likely to put the number of total contractors much higher.

Although there are key government regulatory bodies acting as the gate keepers of the construction industry – these primarily being the Architects and Quantity Surveyors Registration Board (AQRB), the Engineers Registration Board (ERB), and the Contractors Registration Board (CRB) – one of biggest challenges of the construction industry as a whole has been the lack of a building code.

With Dar es Salaam, as urbanized as it is compared

One of the major challenges in Dar es Salaam is the cohesion of all new construction both with what already exists and what is projected for the future. to most of the country, serving as a microcosm of the national construction dilemma, its examination is fruitful in understanding the state of construction at a national scale.

One of the major challenges in Dar es Salaam is the cohesion of all new construction both with what already exists and what is projected for the future.

Almost every new development is left to its own devices with little to no consideration of how its aesthetic, feel, and functionality will impact that of its local context.

For example, new high-rise buildings are now the craze in and around the traditional low-rise city center built in colonial times. However, the design for adequate parking space and pedestrian ways are rarely considered with such development. So the end result is cars in the city center parked literally onto sidewalks, with pedestrians, cyclists, and all motorists sharing the same right of way. This makes for a poorly functioning public space and exemplifies disunity in new construction. In lay mans terms, the biggest problem with the construction industry is the lack of city planning. But further than this, it is the lack of a unified

ideal in terms of what a living space is, and what a city should be. Partially the public sector needs to catch up in terms of offering services such as drainage, and enforcing laws in terms of building occupancy requirements and corresponding minimum parking spot provision for such.

Moving through Dar es Salaam, as will be seen in most of the budding cities in the country, high-rise buildings with glass façades have become the staple of new construction.

This calls into question the architectural notions of function, as well as practicality and cost savings – as well as the environment. While glass façades are well suited for cold climates due to their function in trapping solar radiation inside buildings, reducing heating costs in cold months, their utilization in Dar, a tropical region, simply makes no sense. This is the «modern aesthetic» for the expense of function. What these glass buildings represent is higher cooling loads, which is alarming for a country still striving to secure its power future.

Another striking condition within Dar es Salaam is the need for housing. With it being the fastest growing urban center in Africa, it goes without saying that housing deficits are growing at a fast pace. Nationally, the housing deficit is estimated to be growing at 200,000 units per year (National Housing Corporation). To curb this, some low income housing has been formed. At the same time, a lot of residential construction has been taking place in the city of Dar es Salaam. But most of these new residential projects are high-rise apartment complexes boasting monthly rent of upwards of $1,000 USD/month. For a low income nation such as Tanzania, these budding residential complexes raise the question: for whom exactly are these new complexes intended to house? While there are efforts to provide more affordable low income housing, such as by the National Housing Corporation (agency under the government Ministry of Lands, Housing and Settlements Development, acting as an independent corporation), who plan to provide 5,000 new low income housing , a third of the total houses they plan on constructing in their next five year plan.

Undoubtedly the construction industry has made many strides in Tanzania. However, it is still in need of more professionals, starting with architects, engineers, and then contractors . Beyond this, a cohesive regulative force that can fuse the different aspects of making a city is direly called for. As said, one major challenge for the industry is the lack of public services such as public sewers, water supply, paved roadways, and sidewalks, but beyond these, it is the lack of a unified design consciousness that can tie everything together into a united experience that is missinggot out of sight.

Article was first published in the blickwinkel 2012.

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Reciprocal

action:

the concept of constructing in East Africa and abroad

by Gunter Klix Is there a common philosophy in construction?

Does it differ from place to place? Which role do universities play in preparing our architects?

This article highlights different positions based on experience in Tanzania and different European countries.

THE CHANGING ROLE OF LOCAL ARCHITECTS The role of East African architects as designers of their “own” architectural environment has seen a strong increase in significance during the last decades. Firstly, ongoing urbanisation and overall economic development has multiplied the amount of formal building activity as such. Secondly, a demographic and educational dividend is now favouring local architects more than ever before: Until the 1970s most architecture projects in East African cities where wholly designed by architects from abroad. In the following period, more and more significant projects were appointed to designers originating from East African countries themselves. Those capable of harnessing the complexity of any larger programme or brief, however, had still nearly always received their professional training abroad. For Tanzania, popular destinations for this elite were universities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Australia and Scandinavia.

At present, still many prestige projects are appointed to foreign or foreign trained consultants. Nonetheless, a first generation of young architects who are trained “on-shore” to work “on-shore” is establishing it’s reputation.

Of course, the lifetime professional knowledge of these young designers is constituted to a large extent by the content of their learning at university level. The ongoing transition from foreign towards local training described above therefore lays new responsibility and opportunity in the hands of the architecture schools of East Africa.

The act of constructing a project transforms an abstract set of ideas into a tangible and concrete result of great durability and long term impact: Two-dimensional drawings, nowadays in digital form, turn into the finished

and real-life artefact.

With today’s ubiquitous computer access, drafting and designing can work very similarly all over the worldstudents at Tanzanian universities for example use exactly the same software tools as their fellows in Europe .

Constructing, however, is a physical and often very much local process. It is, on the one hand, defined by practical routines, by administrational and technical issues.

But before that, it must however always be mastered conceptually. Are there differences in how this transition from abstract to concrete is approached by architects in East Africa and Europe?

CONSTRUCTION AND “CONSTRUCT” Naturally the amount of different approaches to “constructing” is as large as the number of architects themselves.

“Architectural design is a process of reciprocal action and synthesis. In its course, an architectural construct is developed. This construct is generated with an evolutionary and a recursive meaning.”

The evolutionary character of the process is shown on the one hand through intentional, target oriented planning and action (project - lat. proicere = to hurl sth. forwards), on the other hand by patiently discovering and inventing.

This is accomplished by carving out a “true” core of the matter of the design, or through genuinely expressing a self chosen theme.

The design process is recursive because it draws on previous experience, even then when these experiences are negated for programmatical or ideological reasons.

Furthermore, the design process is not a linear sequence.

It is procedure within a field of assumptions and feedback, where specific conditions and preliminary conclusions influence each other.

From this point of view the (construction) design process corresponds to the nature of architecture itself. This is shown in the unseparable connection between scientifically rational and artistically intuitional qualities, like two sides of the same coin.“ In practical terms of architectural education, students are encouraged to check their design concepts on physical reality all the way throughout the design process. The working media can be very varied: Typical exercises include the production of detail scale models (1:50, 1:33, 1:20), the production of full scale artefacts (e.g., furniture pieces) or architectural images with tangible and realistic rendering of detail.

Similarly precise definitions on the meaningfulness of „construction“ from schooling units in East Africa are, unfortunately, unavailable. This for one part may show that the inclusion of the process of constructing into intellectualized architectural culture is yet to be accomplished. Moreover, it appears to be that constructing is mainly interpreted as a separated process implementing a form which is conceived beforehand.

RE-INVIGORATING LOST TRADITIONS Unlike in Europe, where contemporary architecture evolved from vernacular building traditions in a century-

DEVELOPING NEW TRADITIONS Today, Tanzanian construction thrives on a simple basic module: The vibrated cement block. Its technical simplicity, the availability of its raw materials and its unbeaten low cost have turned it into a nationwide standard for formal, large scale projects as well as informal and unplanned building.

CONCLUSIONS The leap in quantity which is being experienced in East African architecture needs to be matched with a similar leap in quality. This will be achieved only through a new generation of architects, whose professional interests exceed the requirements of purely satisfying the demand for shelter. Challenging todays boundaries starts with understanding the reciprocities of constructing and designing.

Concrete blocks and vents

long process, traditional building design and construction technology rooted in East Africa has been sharply disconnected from what is recognized as “modern.”

A number of construction techniques full of potential for contemporary architectural design can however be encountered in Tanzania and the neighbouring countries.

Traditional earth constructions, mass based structures using coral rock as well as all sorts of local timber construction techniques are all rooted in parts of the region, depending always on external factors such as availability of raw materials, climate or social tradition.

Reconsidering these traditions as construction concepts while pushing their technical limitations could lead to the emergance of an enriched and clarified regional construction philosophy .

“The best thing a university can hope to achieve is to turn the student into an autodidact. This includes acquiring the basics unaided, posing probing questions, intensive research, the formulation of hypotheses and the preparation of synthesis.”

RELIANCE ON IMPORTED MATERIALS Apart from modern construction materials in East Africa are often imported. While Kenya hosts a more proficient industry sector, Tanzania produces little more than cement, aggregates, plastics and roofing sheets. Even timber and timber semi fabricates are often imported.

Innovative constructing however requires interaction between designers, suppliers and contractors. As suppliers are distant, architects in East Africa are disconnected from the sources of technical knowledge which can enable holistic innovation. Scanning the local market for potentially useful products, misappropriating items from other industry sectors for the purpose of architecture, re-inventing the uses of existing products are all strategies which will enrich construction.

SPECIALISTS AND “EXPERTISM” The urge to achieve specific architectural results for all sorts of tasks has brought great diversity to the field of consulting designers and engineers in Europe. Whichever task may need to be accomplished, there is always an expert available who specializes in nothing but his own niche. The availability of this critical mass of knowledge assists those architects who are in search of solutions for the future. Creating stronger networks and building up own expertise will therefore ensure that architecture remains at the centre of construction.

UDSM-housing

The more aesthetical counterpart of this rough and crude fabric are the countless designs for decorative cement elements. These span from simple ventilated blocks to intricate and ornamental screens and fences. If these materials have replaced ancient techniques as the backbone of building, then it is high time to consider their inherent architectural qualities. This would be a process of iteration as described by Deplazes above, one which experiments with programme, materials and construction process with the goal of a coherent architectural result

About the author: Gunter Klix is an architect in Zurich and Dar es Salaam. In addition to his professional practice in Europe and Africa, he has been appointed as Guest Lecturer at Ardhi University in Dar es Salaam since 2010.

AN Z A

FEATURE

SUSTAINABLE

CONSTRUCTION BE EFFICIENT, GO LOCAL

by Jerusha Ngungui in collaboration with Vincent Kitio, Marja Edelman, Petra Heusser and Susanne Gampfer.

The building sector has a major impact in resource use and energy consumption. The need for energy conservation is a challenge that needs to be addressed: energy efficiency in the built environment is an essential component to loosen the dependency on fossil fuels and its volatile prices and avoid greenhouse gases emission, contributing to economic and social development.

If we take a few steps back and evoke the fundamental purpose of a building, we’ll find out that it is to provide its occupants with adequate comfort irrespective of the climatic conditions-which differ with seasons and geographic location. Hence, climate is an essential consideration in the process of architectural design and has a major effect on the performance of a building and its energy consumption. To be efficient and sustainable, a building should be developed according to the local climate, not the other way around.

Local climate is influenced by four parameters: temperature, rainfall, humidity, and solar radiation.

These elements, in turn, are defined by the geography-topography, altitude and presence of water bodies. Additionally, wind patterns, ocean currents, the relation of land to water masses, the geomorphology and the vegetation pattern have an effect in the local climate.

Climatic conditions in East Africa differ from region to region and are divided into five distinct climatic zones: Hot and Humid, Hot Semi-arid / Savannah, Hot Arid, Highland / Upper highland and Lake Region.

Given these varied climates, it is not surprising that designing buildings in East Africa is challenging: high temperatures and humidity need to be controlled for ideal human comfort. Broadly speaking, the indoor comfort depends largely on the relationship between the prevailing climatic conditions and the construction per se. Hence, appropriate design and materials can, to a certain extent, influence indoor temperature and other comfort parameters of a building. It is important to note that appropriate materials vary greatly with different climatic regions. The choice of building materials is essentially determined by suitability for the particular climate, local availability, the local economy and durability.

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Knowledge of local climatic conditions helps building professionals to develop appropriate responsive designs and consequently select suitable materials that meet climatic constraints. In this way, a natural form of climate control can be achieved. Moreover, climate-sensitive construction reduces the need for mechanical installations and appliances that create artificial comfortable indoor

British High commission in Uganda ŠAdrian Hobbs conditions, thereby decreasing the reliance on electrical energy for heating or cooling. Often these appliances are used to compensate buildings’ design inadequacies.

REGIONALLY APPROPRIATE MATERIALS The most important factor of building materials is their performance in ensuring adequate comfort at lowest costs, and to protect human beings from adverse climate effects for the entire life-span of the building. Each climatic region requires distinctive design responses which are frequently reflected in the vernacular architecture of the region.

Therefore, building design solutions cannot be generalised as it has been the case of most modern architecture but should respond to the prevailing climate as well as the social context.

‘The choice of building materials is essentially determined by suitability for the particular climate...

Hot-dry zones (e.g. Garissa, Dodoma, Kaabong) are generally characterized by low humidity and high temperatures during the day and low temperatures at night with a wide diurnal temperature range. The main objective of design in this zone is to ensure protection against heat and adequate cooling. In order to achieve a well-balanced indoor climate, buildings must be adapted

to extreme day/night conditions and hot/cold seasons.

The materials used are crucial for the protection against heat and cold. For example, the choice of the wall and roof materials as well as their thickness is essential. It is therefore necessary to build with resources of a large thermal mass (high heat storage capacity) in order to keep houses cool during daytime and with a comfortable temperature at night. For hot-dry zones, the most preferred building materials include adobe, rammed earth, mud brick, burnt clay bricks, stabilised soil blocks, natural stone and concrete. These materials are suitable for heat storage and help to balance indoor temperature.

Using natural materials e.g. walls made from clay, means walls can breathe in the heat and help keep the walls cool without energy guzzling air conditioning.

On the other hand, hot-humid zones (e.g. Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Kampala) are characterized by high rainfall, elevated humidity, minimal temperature differences and intense solar radiation. Measures quite opposite to the hot-dry zones must be taken to avoid heat absorption and storage by the building. Building designers should prefer the use of lightweight materials with low thermal mass and high reflective surface. For example the walls, both external and internal, should be as light as possible with a minimal heat storage capacity. They should obstruct the airflow as little as possible and should be lightly coloured to reflect radiation, at least in places where

solar radiation strikes the surfaces. It does not make sense to use materials like cement blocks and corrugated iron sheets for roofing in this type of climate. Naturally, this would result in unbearably hot and stuffy houses requiring the use of air-conditioning in an effort to keep the buildings cool. Building professionals should be aware that the cost of air-conditioning systems and electricity required to cool down a building in these conditions are significantly higher than the possible initial costs of using the right construction material. Light and thin materials such as timber and bamboo matting are recommended as they have a low thermal storage capacity, are permeable and thus allow for proper ventilation. Other materials forming thin infill panels can be used provided structural requirements are addressed e.g. frame structures.

Knowledge of local climatic conditions helps building professionals to develop appropriate responsive designs.

Highland or high altitude zones (e.g. Nairobi, Arusha,) are characterized by relatively moderate climate throughout the year. They experience two seasons – wet and dry.

Buildings in this zone therefore must satisfy the conflicting needs of hot-dry and cold-humid periods. A balance between materials with high and low thermal storage capacities has to be struck. During the cold months,

the appropriate use of dense materials such as brick, concrete and stone should be used to store the sun’s heat and release it back into the house at night. In the hot season, these materials absorb excess heat during the day, therefore lowering the internal temperatures. In upland regions, materials with low thermal transmission properties are suitable, as for example timber. The correct amount and location of these heavy materials within a building are pivotal for energy efficiency.

EAST AFRICAN SHOWCASES In East Africa, a number of buildings have been constructed using locally available and climate-sensitive materials. Among them is the RIBA International Award Winner (2008) British High Commission in Uganda. This sophisticated collection of buildings was designed by Kilburn Nightingale Architects and is an exceptional model of energy efficiency, where local materials and building skills were adapted for construction.

Bricks, the buildings’ material of choice, were made of local clay burned in kilns, fired by burning coffee husks instead of timber. As a source of thermal mass, bricks improve the energy efficiency of buildings by slowing down the process of heat entering or leaving, thereby, minimizing the need for artificial cooling or heating. The High Commission’s group of three concrete-framed buildings with brick masonry envelope, hollow clay block floors and clay roofing tiles were specifically designed to consume

The Skills Centre-Papyrus mats laid on the roof ©Matthias Kestel

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Internal view of the classroom under construction. ©Matthias Kestel little energy and to be environmental friendly. Other clay products were developed and adopted for construction, included sills, lintel, jambs and shading louvres to windows.

Another example of an energy efficient building is The Skills Centre, a vocational school built in a rural area East of Nairobi. This is a design-build project by students of the Technische Universität München, Germany in cooperation with School of Architecture and Building Sciences (SABS) at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya. The climatic region of the site is hot and dry. Therefore, the resulting resolved layout and construction needed to be well adapted to the local conditions as to create comfortable indoor temperatures throughout the year without using artificial energy.

The school’s buildings’ walls were built using natural stone, which is the most common and available construction material in the area. The floor slabs of the large rooms (kitchen/dining, workshops) are a standard reinforced concrete construction, while for floor slabs of the small dormitory rooms’ reinforcement was made from a mesh of bamboo strips in an attempt to find an alternative for expensive reinforcement steel bars. The construction material used for the roofs is indigenous Kenyan bamboo (Yushania alpina) which was supplied locally from the Aberdare region. Parts of the roofs were covered with a clay-straw mixture to give them additional thermal mass.

In addition, these roofs were covered with papyrus mats to form a ventilated space below the metal roof sheets

thus resulting in cool indoor temperatures.

When talking about sustainability and climate change mitigation, the use of appropriate local materials addresses the key issue of indirect energy consumption during the building’s entire life cycle. In light of this discussion, it is evident that great effort and care needs to be engaged towards achieving climate-sensitive construction in East Africa. The use of locally available, low cost and energy efficient resources for construction needs to be encouraged. It contributes to comfortable indoor environment, low costs of building construction, operation and maintenance. In addition, it results in a reduction of overall energy consumption in buildings and protection of the environment. It also promotes regional economic development in a sustainable way since it generates jobs and income, and is independent of external market fluctuations.

The article is part of the Promoting Energy Efficiency in Buildings in East Africa (EEBEA) project currently being executed by UN-Habitat in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the governments of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

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photo on the previous page by Mathias Kestel. Masonry walling and bamboo roof in Kenya

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ur interest in this topic started during the time spent in Rwanda in 2010, while doing the preliminary research for our final exam in Sustainable Architecture (University of Architecture IUAV, Venice). There we developed the initial draft for what it would become “Y’ello: umudugudu, new social and training spaces”, a project that focused on the problems caused by the westernization of the country and the modernisation of the habitat, and sought solutions through the use of local wood and earth as construction materials. The threemonth stay allowed us to visit around the country, get in touch with locals, learn and analyse the local architecture and building techniques.

We learnt that in Rwanda a lot of time is spent outdoors so most of the buildings are tightly linked to nature, seasons, sun and earth resources.

The project took place in a newly built Umudugudu , a collection of homes that the Rwandan government built using western building techniques and materials like concrete and corrugated metal sheets in the Nyanza suburbs. These Imudugudu (plural of Umudugudu) are designed to relocate the poorest part of the population from the informal settlements created on the edges of the city. The Imidugudu are designed with electricity and water network, but without private areas and public spaces and without considering the urban settlement layout and its impact on the ecosystem .

We learnt that in Rwanda a lot of time is spent outdoors so most of the buildings are tightly linked to nature, seasons, sun and earth resources.

The selective intervention on the existing agglomeration aimed to create localized infrastructure to allow rainwater to be collected for domestic and farming reuse and redefine social spaces. The project was conceived as an addition to the existing structures and envisaged the use of local materials. Drywalls, caged stones, banana and avocado tree plantations and the use of traditional building techniques were the design process key points.

Analysing the Umudugudu we tried to find out how the current design meets the needs of the people who will move there from the informal settlements. The internal layout of the house does not seem to think about the different family sizes and the spaces around them don’t represent the typical Rwandan life-style. The materials used to build are mostly imported and expensive and are not the best choice for the equatorial climate.

The first step to improve indoor and acoustic comforts would be to design the replacement of the corrugated metal sheets using local materials. : It would consist of main wooden structure followed by a bamboo layer wired by sisal fibres, a 6-8 cm thick rammed earth layer, a light wooden structure to allow for air flow and, finally, the existing corrugated metal sheets. An analysis of the improved roof system confirmed the capability of the

new layers to increase the indoor thermo-comfort and decrease the noise pollution on rainy days .

Throughout the dwellings we also provided small facilities such as spaces where children can meet after school , public lavatories where women can launder using the rainwater , sheltered water collection places , market tables and private open spaces .

In addition to the settlement redesign, we decided to provide a new training pottery centre at the lakefront . It’s a permanent brick unit with collection tanks and a storm water runoff that is followed by modular units, which will be built and extended according to the chronological development of the centre and will host the workshop areas. The modular units would be made with eucalyptus and coffee wood, metal corrugated sheets, rammed earth, bamboo and eucalyptus for the roofs and wattle-anddaub partition walls . The foundations are made with local dry-stone and each unit is connected to the basin for the collection of the water.

In the design of the pottery centre the kiln is the main facility because it is the direct result of the investment that should be made to start the project and it works as a centre for the design development. The basins represent the real spine of the design. First of all they collect the rainwater used in the pottery production, so that the whole center is sustained, but they also distribute water to the units and allow to increase the workshop size. The units are linked to the basins edges, but yet connected

COFFEEWOOD AS A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIAL-RWANDA

by Alice Tasca & Alberto Bergamo

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New roofing system

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from one side to the other with a continuous network of passages and benches.

The development of the pottery workshop will also demand new facilities to be added to the basic design. Dry toilettes and small dwellings are provided in strategic points of the site plan.

The sustainability of the project is based on the following principles: .Local, cheap and easy to find materials, Selfconstruction, Handicraft techniques on a large scale . Rainwater collection and reuse . Flexible spaces . Wind draft and sun exploitation .Use of organic, recycled/recyclable materials . Vegetation to solve soil erosion, shadow lack, food and wood availability . Dry-stone walls to solve soil washout and to organize public and private flows . Space flexible development to answer different future needs .Subsistence economy

The necessity to prove the structure consistency pushed us to collect a sample survey of local coffee wood, from which we created structural plugs (with the help of KIST University lab) to bring to Italy .

Coffee Wood studies for the final exam in Sustainable Architecture (IUAV, Venice 2011) reported excellent laboratory results. The mechanical performances of this material, used to shape connection pins in durmast wood structures, showed that its cut and compression resistance is comparable to the properties of steel.

In Rwanda it is estimated the presence of more than 72 millions of coffee plants, which are cyclically object of specific shears processes to maintain a source of new fruiting wood. These processes are: PRUNING REJUVENATION: (change of cropping cycle): at six to seven years depending on tree vigour and yield pattern the plant has to be side pruned or fully stumped.

DESUCKERING: as plants grow, they can become too crowded and suffer loss of production. Alternative trees can be stumped by cutting off at knee height. When these trees are producing again after two years, the remaining trees are stumped.

The waste wood is usually burnt and not used in constructive techniques, which are not tested yet due to the small size of the shrubs. However the branches section is sufficient to extract a relevant number of 10mm thick and 120mm long screws usable in eucalyptus wood light structures. The high performances of these joins would avoid the use of metal, which is imported .

The research about this interesting material is still in progress. Investigating the idea of turning waste wood into potential profit for the plantation and the exploration of new low cost architectural technologies able to be applied at the little and big scale with high performances are turning into a fascinating possibility. The use of coffee wood in construction should generate social, economic and environmental benefits.

The design aim is to achieve the best indoor comfort with the cheapest price, always thinking about sustainable and recycling issues.According to the need of space, each wattle wall can be moved to create rooms of the suitable size.

The lack of sewage systems and waterworks made necessary the design of dry-toilettes, which make easier the organic decay. The units can be moved easily thanks to their simply and flexible building technique.

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PROJECT

EARTHBAG ECOVILLAGE Illustration on the previous page by Alice Tesca. Pottery centre plan in Rwanda

Uganda

Project: In 2008, a team of architects and professors began to construct an ecovillage by Lake Victoria, Uganda.

This ecovillage was designed to alleviate poverty and demonstrate sustainable building with earthbags. There are more than three million poor people living along the coastline of Lake Victoria, surrounded by the East African countries Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

These domes provide good protection from bullets, fire, wind, and rain, much better than the conventional thatched shelters or tents.

Concept: In Uganda, a meeting hall with open windows and doors is known by many names and dialects; tukulu (Ngakarimojong), and ot aperu (Luo) to name a few. This is an ancient, iconic structure, usually constructed in a round shape, but it can be shaped differently. The purpose and ambience of the building is more important than its shape.

In Uganda, the International Organization for Migration came up with the idea of using environmentally-friendly construction methods that use locally available materials.

Design by: Kikuma Watanabe

Program and materials: The Ecovillage is composed of three clusters of buildings, including a water tower at the center. This arrangement is designed so that each cluster can enjoy precious water resources equally and reasonably comfortably. Each cluster is composed of four living units, each one with a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, toilet, shower room, and meditation room. All the buildings are built with Earth-bag Construction Technology.

Each unit has a biomass latrine and a Bird Wing Wind Power Generator that supplies electricity. In order to lead the wind effectively, bamboo groves have been planted as wind corridors for each generator.

The local people got trained in the essential aspects of earthbag building techniques. They say that it is better to teach people how to fish rather than to give them fish.

So hopefully what they have done will indeed teach them how to continue with the process of building more such buildings.

PROJECT

Project: The project is the urban housing curried out to make the community economically independent. The site is situated in Kigali/Rwanda in Nyarugenge district precisely in Biryogo village and it is near the wetland of Rwampala.

The choice of the site is justified by its complexity and its history because it is situated in area with many natives and most of them are poor. This site lacks clean water and construction materials. It has man-made ravines where waste water run through the wetland and rich the river without any treatment. Residents of Biryogo use water from the river in their daily life like washing clothes, fetching water and other domestic use. According to the comparison with other sites, the Biryogo village were chosen as an area of great opportunities where the use of its available resources should empower the community.

This is the reason why the site is in between two ravines in order to use constructed wetlands for purification, then use purified water in irrigation, aquaculture and domestic use.

BIRYOGO COLLECTIVE HOUSING Rwanda

Concept: The concept of the project is to make a minicooperative which is independent economically with a flexible housing unity. This was achieved through use of water treatment where rain water is used to grow fish and human manure, kitchen remainders, and grass or vegetables rest are used to produce biogas for community, then the compost for agriculture.

Design: The Design of the housing is based on research made in Kigali where many families need two bedrooms which will need to add another room to have three bedrooms. This is the reason why this housing consider firstly two bed rooms with a future expansion area. three, four, and one bedroom are considered secondary. The shape of the houses were given by the agricultural grids that are on site as an opportunity to bring agriculture into the cluster; having common agriculture and family Kitchen Garden.

Program: Common program were chosen. There is a common building with gym, changing rooms, shop, minicooperative product storage, mini-cooperative office to coordinate all activities of the community, information room, and terrace used in meetings and watching news.

There is also public toilets open for every one, passengers, and people who work in the valley will use it for the purpose of getting enough biogas and compost.

Materials: The choice of materials were chosen to express the privacy in the family. We used boards made in plant and waste in order to maximize the the available resources on site. We are using woven bamboo boards in semi - private areas and woven bamboo screens were used to express the transition at entrance of each family house.

Bamboo tree was chosen because it is locally available and the techniques of weaving is simple and Rwandans use them to produce different materials used in domestic chores in.

Max span slab is used in this project because it is cheap and sound proof.

Competition: ARCHIGENIEUR AFRICA 2012 3rd Prize winners: BIGIRIMANA Jean-Paul & GWIZA Flavia (Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, Kigali, Rwanda)

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LEARNING FROM...

Permanence and Adaptation.

photos on next page by Afra Van’t Land

Infrastructure as an educational spine in Mathare Valley

by Afra Van’t Land

As Nairobi’s population continues to grow at a rate of 4% per annum, informally occupied neighbourhoods, which accommodate over 60% of the city’s residents, are rapidly increasing in density, with some areas now housing 5000 people per hectare. The importance of securing public facilities and space becomes increasingly apparent, as this informal city fabric gains permanency and problems of inadequate urban infrastructure are worsened.

Based in Mathare Valley eastern Nairobi, this project explores how a staged infrastructural development can provide a basis for future growth, and through combined and localized water and waste strategies can begin to designate, suggest and protect public space, upon and around which people can continue to build. The project utilises the expansion and formalization of three existing non-formal schools as an opportunity for improving sanitation, accessibility and educational space, while also reinforcing collaboration between local government and existing community-based organizations. The proposal strives to embody and build on the vibrant, efficient and adaptive context of Mathare, with the potential to act as social and environmental infrastructure for wider community use.

A series of proposals have been developed in response to urgent environmental and spatial issues encountered first-hand in Mashimoni a village within Mathare Valley and the primary location for this research project. Using topography and local (social) dynamics as drivers for the design, attempts have been made to transform current pressures into positive attributes.

Environmental proposals The cliff, which currently imposes negative social division and environmental risk, can be sculpted into an amphitheatre; an element that connects residents across the neighbourhood, and begins to provide opportunities for water capture and run-off treatment. Thereby using the natural slope characteristic of so many informal settlements as a positive design parameter to improve accessibility to

multiple levels, rather than impose access restrictions.

The existing condition of high population density could be developed for positive gains by treatment of human waste to create biogas, for example. If sufficient toilets are constructed, this would reduce health risks while generating employment in maintenance.

Spatial proposal By connecting and integrating ‘educational spines’ through the neighbourhood(s), an increased sense of civic pride can unite the community and will influence all facets of life and livelihoods there, where education overlaps with work and play. A designated laundry facility is located along the road where local women currently perform washing.

This new building provides opportunities for water capture and recycling, as well as passive surveillance over the adjacent children’s playground.

Material, methods and techniques As material resource is scarce and costly, designing for multiple functionalities is of great importance, and it becomes crucial that the materials used are not only durable and affordable, but also locally available and appropriately workable.

The context requires robust and dependable architecture, and a sense of communal ownership is essential to prevent material re-distribution around the neighbourhood and beyond. It is the methods and techniques, rather than the materials, which should transplant across the city as a result of this process.

Incremental construction, apart from allowing for experimentation in material use and employment generation, also encourages collective saving mechanisms to emerge, thereby enhancing social and economic networks.

Stone, breezeblock and corrugated tin The architectural, urban design and “The context are prevalent in almost all constructions in planning criteria that inform slum upgrading requires robust Nairobi, due to their economical value and programmes seldom recognise ‘the centrality solidity. They are also utilised in this proposal and dependable of design-based criteria (beyond the functional but instead of roofing, corrugated tin is used architecture, and a issues of cheapest material per monetary unit) initially to generate formwork for concrete. the calculus about how to improve living sense of communal to This surface texture is tactile and instantly conditions in a slum’ (Ibid.). It is through design recognisable as civic space. These formworks ownership is that one intervention can potentially augment can then be taken apart and recycled into several and overlapping social, environmental essential” waterproofing screens on other parts of and economic challenges and perceptions the building. Stone gabion baskets are used to secure within a neighbourhood. Developed at grass-roots level, landscaped areas, for which the material is readily available, appropriate design incentives can begin to improve local as the site itself is a former quarry. livelihoods and metabolisms, as well as perceived comfort.

This will require collaboration and support by the city The housing units proposal council to be truly sustainable and inclusive.

Redevelopment of middle class housing units remains In conclusion, low- income neighbourhoods such the state’s predominant approach to ‘slums’ in Nairobi, and as Mashimoni, can develop new and localised strategies has to date had little influence on improved ‘access to very which due to their extreme space and cost constraints basic services for the majority of ‘slum’ dwellers whom could provide invaluable precedent for the city at large. these projects have not yet displaced’ [Huchzermeyer, Kantai describes today’s Nairobi as ‘a city sizzling with the M. (2011). Tenement Cities: From 19th century Berlin to enterprise and ingenuity of four million restless souls who, 21st century Nairobi. New Jersey: Africa World Press. despite it all, turn negative space into thousands of small P.224]. This project proposes an incremental approach enterprises, hustles and trinket traders that are now the to construction of public services as driver for and in face of the city. Nairobi is shaped daily by jua kali enterprise parallel with - further incremental upgrading. The role of and the belief that a man and his mobile phone will survive public space, as a platform for shared and collective action, another day’ [Kantai, P. (2011). 24Nairobi. (N. Ysenburg, & knowledge and invention, is critical in realising ‘the right G. Bonn, Eds.) Nairobi: Kwani Trust, P. 19]. The challenge of to the city’. This is why the provision of civic space in this project is how to enhance and appropriate this informal ‘informal’ neighbourhoods is of crucial importance, and can ‘negative space’ into a collective and civic space, connecting provide a basis for enhancement of existing urban fabric, back into the wider Nairobi metropolis. both at a strategic level and on a building scale. If this is “Afra grew up in West and East Africa to Dutch parents. Having done with integral involvement of community stakeholders studied at University College London and the University of Cambridge, and local residents, a greater sense of community can be she now lives and practices architecture in London, where she is fostered, and might reduce the numbers displaced through working towards her professional qualification as a registered architect.” current upgrading (housing) schemes.

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URBAN-RURAL TRANSFORMATION

IN ETHIOPIA: The Case of NesTowN [N

ew

eThiopiaN susTaiNable TowN]

by Bezawit Admasu (EiABC Addis Ababa) & Dorian McCarthy (ETH Zurich)

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This research was enabled in collaboration with the ‘Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development’ [EiABC] and the ‘Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich’ [ETH Zurich]. The workshop was conducted by Sascha Delz (ETH) and Zegeye Cherenet (EiABC), and was made possible by the generous support of ETH sustainability, the EiABC, the Department of Architecture ETH Zurich, and the NESTown Group.

INTRODUCTION

Ethiopia, one of the most rural countries in the world, has experienced an extensive increase in population over the last decades. This development, combined with the still existing poverty, will lead to an increased pressure on urban centers and asks for strategies of densification. One approach to achieve a sustainable transformation towards denser populated town structures is the NESTown (New Ethiopian Sustainable Town) Project. NESTown tries to explore possible ways to create small rural-urban centers in a sustainable way. The village of Bura – located in the Amhara Region, north of Bahir Dar – was selected to be the first community to incorporate the NESTown concept.

Shortly after the project’s start, the inhabitants gave their future town its own name: BuraNEST.

BACKGROUND

The implementation of the BuraNEST model town will be the beginning of a crucial transformation of existing building typologies, construction techniques and material applications. Following the aim of sustainable town building, this transformation has to be accompanied by different kinds of knowledge transfers. Since the local people are ultimately going to build their town themselves, regardless of whether they already have prior construction skills or not, it is important how these transfers of knowledge will be processed and implemented.

Three levels of knowledge transfer can be identified within the BuraNEST project, which could be described as both top-down and bottom-up approaches. The top-down level includes a school program, named ‘Technical and Vocational Educational Training’ (TVET) and initiated by the local government of the Amhara Region. The intermediate level consists of NGOs, mainly the ‘Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara’ (ORDA). The lowest level, or bottom-up approach, consists of individuals teaching people on site.

During the first phase of the BuraNEST project, knowledge is being injected as a practical on-the-job training at the bottom level. Most of the trainees are local people from the Bura ‘Kebele’ (local administrative unit), who are going to be the inhabitants of BuraNEST. During this phase, the NESTown Group has also established links to the other, above-mentioned levels of knowledge transfer. Both ORDA and the government now intend to support the training with their respective responsibilities in the future (vocational schools, training programs, etc.).

Thus, it can be said, that from an institutional perspective, the knowledge transfer for the construction of BuraNEST has been established through a bottom-up approach.

The construction of BuraNEST is not simply defined by its physical structure, but also by the establishment of the newly founded cooperative called ‘Edget Behbret Multifunctional Cooperative Society’, founded by local farmers. This process has been supported by Switzerland’s residential and building cooperative, Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Zürich (ABZ), and the Ethiopian

Cooperation Promotion Agency (CPA). The cooperative was founded in a participatory process and intends to be, like the ABZ, highly self-determined. It will primarily encompass the construction of housing and security.

Through regular convocation, the cooperative will provide a framework for monitoring processes such as resource management, cost sharing agreements, transparency of capital flows and budgeting. It is important to state, that the TVET program, which will play a vital role in knowledge transfer between the people of BuraNEST, has not been established in BuraNEST yet. The training curriculum will be designed in collaboration with different stakeholders at all levels, including the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, NGOs such as ORDA, and of course the cooperative participants.

“One of the NTC’s main responsibilities is teaching a selected group of local inhabitants new trades and skills, the use of new tools and techniques for construction, and new approaches to maintenance.”

Focusing on the flow of knowledge succession throughout the implementation of the town project, three stages can be described and identified: the design at conceptual level, the cooperative decision-making and education, and finally the physical implementation. On the first level, the concept of the BuraNEST model town itself has been conceived as top-down master planning by the NESTown Group and SEUL (Singapore ETHiopia Urban Laboratory). The above-mentioned cooperative and educational institutions constitute the intermediate level. For the implementation of the third stage the building and construction of the new settlement, NESTown Group has established the position of the ‘New Town Coordinator’ (NTC). One of the NTC’s main responsibilities involves teaching a selected group of local inhabitants new trades and skills, the use of new tools and techniques for construction, and new approaches to maintenance.

For the flow of knowledge succession three stages can be described: the design at conceptual level, the cooperative decision-making and education, and finally the physical implementation. On the first level, the concept of the BuraNEST model town itself has been conceived as top-down master planning by the NESTown Group. The new cooperative and educational institutions constitute the intermediate level. For the implementation of the third stage the actual building and construction , NESTown Group has established the position of the ‘New Town Coordinator’ (NTC). One of the NTC’s main responsibilities is teaching a selected group of local inhabitants new trades and skills, the use of new tools and techniques for construction, and new approaches to maintenance.

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TRADES AND SKILLS

In the following, the three main trades and some of the techniques that are newly introduced to construct the BuraNEST buildings are explained in more detail.

Carpentry One of the new techniques is the dovetailed joint within the end of eucalyptus timber, enabling the addition of length and therefore longer spans. Wood, which was previously discarded for being too short, can now be incorporated into the structure, and therefore minimize waste. Another new technique, is diagonal bracing. The self-built building typology, prevalent in the region at present, lacks cross bracing and thus tends to lean and collapse over time (in contrast to the traditional vernacular houses, which feature a robust self-supporting geometry of a circular layout). It is evident that the need for bracing within the geo60metry of the BuraNEST structures is knowledge that had yet to be obtained.

Masonry The masons currently working in BuraNEST are all trained young women between 19 and 22 years old. The traditional buildings simply use a layer of stones on the ground as a base for the wooden structure.

During the construction of the BuraNEST prototype, the masons learnt how to create sub-terrainean pile foundations of concrete, which support a taller structure and also increase stability. Learning to use corrugated iron sheeting as formwork for columns provided the masons with the insight into innovative solutions, which they were most proud of.

Mud-work This trade, executed almost exclusively by untrained women, primarily involves filling in of the walls of the building after the “sagaa� (wooden elements that make up the structure of the wall) have been erected. The old style construction

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method was made up of vertical poles of wood, closely packed to one another and a render comprising of mud, straw and cow dung plastered onto the wooden structure.

The new structural design uses wood solely for load-bearing purposes and the walls are made of mud. The women learnt how to form the mud mixture into long blocks using wooden molds, which would then be dried in the sun and subsequently stacked on top of each other. The wall would then be plastered over using a traditional method.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AND BENEFITS Despite the amount of training offered to the people, it is evident that the techniques needed for this specific design are perhaps too complex for a single person to have a clear overview of the project as a whole. In the past, a farmer could build a traditional house almost alone however with BuraNEST, a clear division of professions and trades has turned out to be a rather tricky concept for them. Tradespeople have perhaps mastered individual details but do not have an overview of how everything fits together hence the project in its current state requires constant supervision from the site manager. In terms of organizational structure, the present stage of BuraNEST is still just a cooperative. The training has not yet been structured or institutionalized, meaning that currently the knowledge transfer ends with the tradespeople.

With regards to the knowledge of working with materials, the new techniques and skills are being passed on to the farmers allowing them to build things that were previously not possible with their prior knowledge.

These include the ability to construct taller buildings with longer spans, less material usage, greater structural stability and durability.

Although much of the materials used for the initial structure have been transported from outside the area, it

is intended to use only locally sourced materials in the future.

CONCLUSION

The bottom-up approach to the knowledge transfer still stands on shaky ground since the method has not yet been officially institutionalized by the Ministry of Education. Even though this support has been officially promised, it is not clear yet how the transition from the current on-site training to a formalized

curriculum will be accomplished. The process of knowledge transfer is still totally reliant on the New Town Coordinator, and therefore could get lost before it is established in a more sustainable manner.

There are various top-down strategies to insure the transfer of knowledge beyond the town of BuraNEST. The concept of trendsetting, for example, involves persuading influential members of a locality to live in a model

home, and thus convincing their neighbours. Another method could be to encourage locals to form small cooperatives, or micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs).

Such strategies are successfully implemented in the ‘Sustainable Rural Dwelling Unit (SRDU) project, a research project currently undertaken at the EiABC. Could such strategies also be possible concepts for sustainable knowledge transfer within the BuraNEST project?

Authors Dorian McCarthy will finish his Master in Architecture (MSc Arch ETH) in Autumn 2013 at ETH ZĂźrich. dorianm@student.ethz.ch Bezawit Admasu has studied at the EiABC, Addis Ababa University. She has received her Bachelor Degree in Architecture (BSc Arch) in March 2013. bezawit.adi@gmail.com

east africa

NEW Vs old

I

n architecture, as in other fields, you can observe that very often the newest materials and construction methods has increased. But new does not necessarily mean that it is better than the old / traditional, especially if the new building methods or materials have not been tested yet. Nor can a new material blindly be used for any situation, without reflecting and considering the advantages and disadvantages.

If you walk around and observe, you will find examples on how the use of different materials for the same kind of buildings can strongly influence the end product. I am not just talking about the appearance; the living climate, the ventilation of the building, room temperatures, noise protection, and many other aspects will change by using different materials. Therefore, first of all we should always be aware of what we want to create, before thinking about the material we would like to use. In addition, we do not necessarily need to choose a new material, if the traditional one already fullfills sufficiently and well the requirements needed.

“When you build a house, do not think about the roof, think about the rain and the sun and the wind, then you will find the right answer.� text and pictures by Clemens Kubicek

The use of traditional materials makes it possible to embed new buildings in a harmonic and peaceful way into the landscape.

Talking about the use of traditional materials and building methods also means talking about aesthetics. Particularly in (rural) areas, new materials do not influence the appearance of the buildings positively with relation to the context, yet, the harmony between the built up area and the surroundings is highly important. Most of the times, the use of traditional materials makes it possible to embed new buildings in a harmonic and peaceful way into the landscape.

The logical consideration should, therefore, be to try to understand the meaning of the traditional design and means of construction so that this knowledge can be used to create unique sustainable buildings based on traditional techniques; new materials should only be used if they bring a clear benefit. Even more nowadays, where the development of new materials is increasing, we should reflect more on their appropriate use. It does not make any sense to apply new materials, if they do not fit well with the concept and the context.

In East Africa, the use of traditional building methods is still cheaper than new ones, since the use of manpower is more economic and traditional materials are available locally. So, there should not be any need to import building materials, new techniques, experts or special machinery from big companies abroad.

Using and improving the traditional building methods and knowledge should be enough to provide good and harmonic building structures for almost any requirements in the region. Important, therefore, is also to think and act in a sustainable way, for example by increasing reforestation projects and creating and reinforcing proper land use plans.

The use of traditional materials will result in supporting local craftsmen, local people and local economy and in many cases it could both be more ecologic and more economic.

Kigamboni, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania 2013 Pangani, Tanzania 2013 Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania 2013

Author: Clemens Kubicek, born 1984 in Italy, studied architecture in Florence (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Caracas (Venezuela) and Graz (Austria) and graduated in 2012.

INITIATION OF ANZA 4TH ISSUE Founding members of Anza Magazine

AUTHORS Afra Van’t Land Alain Yves Twizeyimana Alberto Bergamo Alice Tesca Bezawit Admasu Clemens Kubicek Dorian McCarthy Delz Sacha Keziah Ayikoru Gunter Klix Jerusha Ngungui Marja Edelman Paul K Bomani Petra Heusser Susanne Gampfer Tyler Survant Vincent Kitio

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ADVISORY BOARD:

Dr Huba Nguluma, Gunter Klix, Mwanzo Millinga, Peter Stocker

CONSULTANTS

Tanya mulamula, Sarah Senyonyi, Benedikt Boucsein, William Davis

INDIVIDUALS

We at anza magazine would like to thank everyone who put in their time and effort into the making of this issue.

Art& Anza #5:

“Architecture is man’s great sense of himself, embodied in a world of his own making. It may rise as high in quality, only as it’s source, because great art is great life. “ -Frank Lloyd Wright.

Art and architecture is a topic that can be argued and viewed in so many ways. One can take art or architecture as independent aspects.

Another may say that Art and architecture are like peas in a pod; it is almost impossible to have one without the other.

Issue 5 of ANZA is all about exploring Art and architecture in all possible forms that it maybe expressed in the context of East Africa.

Call for contributions Anza invites you to write interesting and well-illustrated articles on innovative art and architectural expression from within and around East Africa.

Contributors are required to exhaust all possible forms; methods and techniques in which these two words can exist. Feel free to also recommend interesting already done projects in relation to the topic

©Alemi Tayo

Architecture Possible guiding questions may include: What are the boundaries between Art and Architecture in East Africa?

Where in East Africa have these two been expressed successfully? Is it in the urban areas or the rural areas?

How has this been done?Is art and architecture in East Africa a new phenomenon? Or does it start from back in history?

What are the unique materials that truly express the art as used in the architecture of east african spaces?

Is it african fabrics like khanga and kitenge, scrap metal, crafts like straw and mats etc? How have they been used?

Type of Contributions: Anza is looking for a wide range of contributions to this extensive and pioneering issue, texts as well as images (such as photographs, sketches, artistic impressions, plans, instructions etc.)

Anza is not looking for scientific papers but for articles that are readable for a large audience which demonstrate the highest standards with regards to content while remaining enjoyable to read.

Specifications and contact: A 200-word abstract will be required by 31st August 2014 Full articles, no longer than 1500 words will be required by 30th September 2014. (Please include photos and illustrations where necessary).

Text should be saved as Microsoft word or RTF format, while accompanying images should be sent as TIFF with a resolution of atleast 300dpi. Figures should be numbered in the text. Image captions and credits should be included in the submission.

It is the responsibility of the author to secure permissions for image use for both print and electronic publication and to pay any reproduction fees. A brief author bio (2 sentences) may accompany the text.

Language: English.

All contributions and enquiries should be sent by email to: info@anzastart.com www.anzastart.com