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Suitability of pressed earth construction in Brazzaville, Congo: an analysis from the average home-builders’ perspective

University of British Columbia

Concrete masonry has increasingly been used in Brazzaville since the 1950s. It has superseded sun-dried earth as the principal building practice. On the other hand, the widespread use of concrete has resulted in the deterioration of housing conditions, because a large majority of people in Brazzaville cannot afford adequately finished concrete houses. Recently, the Congolese Government has introduced pressed earth block masonry as an affordable substitute to concrete masonry. Pressed earth masonry is currently being promoted through a government housing project called 1000 Logements Project. An analysis of the 1000 Logements Project shows that the project has succeeded in building pressed earth masonry houses which cost about 45% less than concrete masonry houses. The thesis hypothesises that the construction practices in a government housing project are different from that of the majority of people. Government housing projects are carried within the so-called formal sector while those of the majority of people are carried within the so-called informal sector. The thesis analyses the suitability of pressed earth masonry with respect to the housing practices of the average home-builders in Brazzaville. The thesis proposes that pressed earth masonry must (1) meet the standards of affordability, selfsufficiency, sustainability, employment generation, climatic comfort, durability, safety, adaptability and cultural compatibility in order to suit the needs and expectations of the majority of people in Brazzaville, and (2) offer benefits which match or surpass those offered by both existing building practices~i.e. sun-dried earth and concrete masonry—in order to be adopted. The thesis found that pressed earth is not affordable due to the high retail cost of pressed earth blocks and the high transportation requirements. Pressed earth does not provide self-sufficiency due to the high cost of block manufacturing machinery. On the other hand, the thesis found that pressed earth has the potential to overcome the drawbacks of both sun-dried earth and concrete masonry. The thesis concludes that, with adequate incentives, pressed earth can become an alternative building practice in Brazzaville.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-04-30

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/7743

Architecture

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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