Alternative Building Materials and Components for Affordable Housing in Egypt Towards Improved ...

162 Pages·2013·3.91 MB·English

Ain shams university University of Stuttgart

Alternative Building Materials and Components
for Affordable Housing in Egypt
Towards Improved Competitiveness of Modern
Earth Construction

A Thesis submitted in the Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of the
Degree of Master of Science in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design

By:

Mona Farouk El-Kabbany

Supervised By:

Prof. José Luis Moro Prof. Ahmed Atef Faggal Prof. Hend Elsayed Farouh

Professor of Design and Assoc iate Pro f. of Associate Prof. of Architecture
Construction Archite cture and Urban Development
University of Stuttgart Ain Shams U niversity HBRC

2013

Alternative building materials and com-
ponents for affordable housing in Egypt
Towards improved competitiveness of
modern earth construction
A Thesis submitted in the Partial Fulfillment
for the Requirement of the Degree of Master of Science
in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design
by Mona Farouk Elkabbany
Supervised by
Prof. José Luis Moro Prof. Ahmed Atef Faggal Prof. Hend Elsayed Farouh
Professor of Associate Professor of Associate Professor of Architecture
Design and Construction Architecture & Urban Development
University of Stuttgart Ain Shams University HBRC
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07/31/2013

Disclaimer
This dissertation is submitted to Ain Shams University, Faculty of Engineering
and University of Stuttgart, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning
for the degree of Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design.
The work included in this thesis was carried out by the author in the Year 2013
The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate
credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others.
07/31/2013
Mona Farouk Elkabbany
Signature

Acknowledgements

This research project would not have been possible without the support of
many people. I am especially grateful to the cooperation of all the experts who
allowed me to interview them and provided me with valuable information and
answered all my inquiries without hesitation.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the IUSD professors and
coordination team for all the time and effort they spent to facilitate the steps
and procedures, and provide me with all the support until the final thesis
submission. Special thanks go to my supervisors, Professor José Moro, Dr.
Ahmed Atef and Dr. Hend Farouh for their valuable remarks and guidance
during the writing of my thesis.

I would also like to thank my parents for their continuous encouragement and
support. Special thanks to my friend Abear Saad-eldin for being such a reliable
and supportive person.

Last, but not least, it is my pleasure to thank all my fellow IUSD classmates,
with whom I have shared the best moments throughout the past two years, and
from whom I have learned a lot during our group work and shared experiences.

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Abstract
Building material is an important aspect within the design and construction
process, having a big influence on the cost and quality of the built environment.
In Egypt, the construction sector has a large share in the national economy, yet,
a significant shortage in the affordability and sustainability of housing occurs.
Efforts for improving the competitiveness of sustainable building materials are
a contribution to improve the quality and affordability of the built environment,
as well as the ecological balance and sustainability. The current research aims
to investigate the potential of using the techniques of modern earth-
construction in the Egyptian construction sector, and the possible means to
encourage its utilization, within appropriate contexts, to provide sustainable
and affordable housing.

Earth has been an ancient and a widespread building material for vernacular
and popular construction in Egypt, and in modern times, there have been
several attempts for its revival with the same traditional techniques. A few
experiments for using the techniques of compressed earth blocks (CEB) and
Rammed earth (RE) have been undertaken; however, the potentials for its
contribution towards offering affordable and sustainable housing are still
undermined.

This research investigates the factors causing the underutilization of earth as a
modern sustainable building material in the Egyptian construction sector
through a group of interviews with experts and practitioners in the field, as well
as analyzing some cases that experimented modern techniques of earth
construction – particularly CEB and Rammed earth - in Egypt. The research
uses the “Value Chain analysis” which is a concept from business management
that was first created by Michael Porter (1980). It is a method for describing the
activities taking place along a supply chain of a product, such as a building
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material, and identifying the constraints it is facing and the opportunities for its
improvement.

Recommendations based on the analysis of the constraints and opportunities
were as follows: improving the social perception about earth as a building
material, the appropriate choice of production methods and construction
techniques, knowledge exchange and dissemination, promotion and marketing,
creating a role model, offering incentives, improving planning policies and
regulations, developing codes and specifications, encouraging industry and
empowering local contractors.

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