Sustainable Building Materials for Low-cost Housing and the Challenges Facing their Technological Developments: Examples and Lessons Regarding Bamboo, Earth-Block Technologies, Building Blocks of Recycled Materials, and

Jan Bredenoord

Abstract

There is a huge demand for affordable urban housing in the countries of the Global South. Using locally available and/or produced building materials for housing can reduce the buildings impact on the environment. Climate conditions and natural disaster risks, which differ by region, determine the applicability of the sustainable building materials and building structures. This article focuses on five groups of building materials: bamboo, compressed earth blocks and stabilized soil blocks, interlocking blocks of recycled materials, and improved concrete panels. In all cases, technological development and exchange of knowledge with local communities are desired. In order to produce more sustainable building materials, local communities can be trained and educated with regard to house building. Making use of a local workforce and involving local resident’s in house building is beneficial for the communities. This article summarizes the main benefits and limitations of the materials and focuses on their applications in urban areas.