Page 22 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 11

ART & CULTURE

can be shaped and sized to meet the building costs can be saved by owner building even when using conven-
different building designs, plastered tional materials. The degree to which savings can be made is dependent on
(or not) and finished in myriad ways the skill of the owner builder and/or the degree of skill needed for partic-
to achieve a high level of aesthet- ular building materials or techniques. Choosing materials and techniques
ics and durability. There is a great particularly suited to the owner builder (i.e. easy to use or learn to use) will
scope to the creative ways that earth increase the amount of money saved. The amount of cost savings can also
brick can be incorporated into build- be increased by careful selection of low cost materials, which can be made or
ing projects. collected by the owner builder.
•Low embodied energy: As a build- •Solar design: It is generally accepted today that housing designed with good
ing material, earth bricks have a thermal performance, includes the basic concepts of passive solar design.
very low embodied energy because One of the basic principles of passive solar design is the use of wall mate-
they don’t require energy-intensive rials of high thermal mass in order to mediate the extremes of temperature.
processing and don’t need to be These high thermal mass materials include burnt brick, concrete, stone, and
transported long distances. No gas earth, often referred to as masonry.
or electricity is needed to make earth
houses, which rely instead on energy Earthen houses are structures that use techniques that have been utilized for
from the sun. Earth is a renewable generations. It is an Africa architecture that is both sustainable and beautiful.
natural resource, and its use in con- Unfortunately, a myth exists that African house building architecture is
struction reduces the extraction of sub-standard, temporary or for the poor. Part of the reason why these nega-
non-renewable resources. tive perspectives exist is people’s lack of knowledge of these structures.
•Safe: Unlike many industrial
building materials, mud bricks don’t As Africans, let us strive to proudly reclaim the rich African traditional house
contain any chemicals or hazardous building techniques of using earth, in building creative, affordable and sus-
materials that are potentially harm- tainable environmental friendly homes, and those that can be absorbed into
ful to builders, inhabitants, and the the mainstream housing market.
environment.
•Owner built: The idea of using the There are many benefits of retaining traditional African architecture that can
sweat equity (labor) of the end-user be tailored to the 21st Century lifestyle. Let us ensure these traditional house
of the building, to reduce costs is building methods are recorded for future generations.
not new. Generally, up to 50% of

22 | Heal . Restore . Rebirth . Afrika