Dwelling Affordability from Theory to Practice: The Use of Earth as Indigenous Building Material for Sustainable Development Amidst Post Covid-19 Situation in Nigeria (Published)
Driven by urbanization and demographic growth in Nigeria, the estimated cost for low cost dwelling unit is very expensive, because of high cost of conventional building material. Indigenous building materials abound in our various locations and communities in our nation, in the olden days dwelling place were never an issue as man could make or create a dwelling place for himself and his family with available indigenous resources. He uses local materials such as earth, timber, bamboo, stone, thatch, bush rope, etc with one or two assistant and able to put together a dwelling to accommodate his activities. The paper examined earth as indigenous building materials and assessing local building cultures with earth for resilience and sustainable development for dwelling affordability in Nigeria. Also, it generates a practical guide for community-based assessment of earth material fortification without compromising the durability. The sustainability solution of earth as building material were discussed which include local employment opportunity for socio economic development among others. The paper then concludes on some sustainability strategies known with the earth over the year as productive and effective building material.#
Citation: Akinkunmi, Joel Olukunle (2022) Dwelling Affordability from Theory to Practice: The Use of Earth as Indigenous Building Material for Sustainable Development Amidst Post Covid-19 Situation in Nigeria, International Journal of Civil Engineering, Construction and Estate Management, Vol.10, No.1, pp.13-20
Keywords: Affordability, Earth, Indigenous, Sustainable, dwelling
AN ASSESSMENT OF TIMBER AS A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIAL IN NIGERIA (Published)
Timber, as a building material, was assessed for its sustainability using data from secondary sources. It established that a sustainable building material must be environmental friendly, affordable, flexible in usage and durable. Timber possesses these characteristics. The paper thus compared fuel energy required to produce timber as well as carbon dioxide released and stored during production with other common building materials such as steel, concrete and aluminium. It observed that 750 MJ/m3, 26600MJ/m3, 4800MJ/m3 and 1100000 MJ/m3 of fossil fuel energy is required to produce Rough Sawn Timber, Steel, Concrete and Aluminium respectively. The work revealed that timber stores as much as 250 Kg/m3 of carbon dioxide (CO2) and releases only 15Kg/m3 into the atmosphere. In contrast, Steel, Concrete and Aluminium store no carbon dioxide while they release 5320 Kg/m3, 120Kg/m3 and 22000 Kg/m3 respectively into the atmosphere. Additionally plants, the primary source of timber, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere during photosynthesis with a comparatively low thermal conductivity advantage. The paper consequently concluded that since timber is readily available in the country, it is a highly sustainable building material in the nation. It posited that the problems associated with the usage of wood, such as attack by insects, fungi, fire, depletion of natural resources etc can be ameliorated with the aid of preservative treatments, fire retardant and afforestation
Keywords: Assessment, Building Material, Embodied Energy, Nigeria, Sustainable, Timber
An Assessment of Timber as a Sustainable Building Material in Nigeria (Review Completed - Accepted)
Timber, as a building material, was assessed for its sustainability using data from secondary sources. It established that a sustainable building material must be environmental friendly, affordable, flexible in usage and durable. Timber possesses these characteristics. The paper thus compared fuel energy required to produce timber as well as carbon dioxide released and stored during production with other common building materials such as steel, concrete and aluminium. It observed that 750 MJ/m3, 26600MJ/m3, 4800MJ/m3 and 1100000 MJ/m3 of fossil fuel energy is required to produce Rough Sawn Timber, Steel, Concrete and Aluminium respectively. The work revealed that timber stores as much as 250 Kg/m3 of carbon dioxide (CO2) and releases only 15Kg/m3 into the atmosphere. In contrast, Steel, Concrete and Aluminium store no carbon dioxide while they release 5320 Kg/m3, 120Kg/m3 and 22000 Kg/m3 respectivelyinto the atmosphere. Additionally plants, the primary source of timber, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into the atmosphere during photosynthesis with a comparatively low thermal conductivity advantage. The paper consequently concluded that since timber is readily available in the country, it is a highly sustainable building material in the nation. It posited that the problems associated with the usage of wood, such as attack by insects, fungi, fire, depletion of natural resources etc can be ameliorated with the aid of preservative treatments, fire retardant and afforestation.
Keywords: Assessment, Building Material, Embodied Energy, Nigeria, Sustainable, Timber