Evaluation of Alternative Construction Technologies in the Delivery of Affordable Housing - A Case Study of Nairobi County

Abstract

This study set out to evaluate the performance of houses built using alternative construction technologies (ACTs) in Kenya. ACTs have in the past been promoted as an approach to reduction of construction cost leading to affordable housing. The study objectives were to: assess the characteristics, quality and performance of building elements built with ACTs; establish the social and economic impacts of the ACTs; and gauge the adoption rate of ACTs by developers, consultants and contractors. The research design was cross - sectional case study of five projects and buildings erected using ACTs within Nairobi County. The study employed post occupancy evaluation approach and relied on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Both primary and secondary data were collected from developers, consultants and contractors through checklists, questionnaires, interviews and visual observations. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. They described functional performance, lessons learned, adoption rate, social and economic impacts of ACTs. The results showed that the costs of the raw materials as high and make the adoption rate of the ACTs in Kenya low. Additionally, the advantages of ACTs included savings on speed of construction, waste reduction, labour reduction, efficiency and quality production. These impacts are however not aggressively propagated or articulated to the general public. This lack of effective dissemination has led to constrained knowledge on the social and economical benefits of ACTs curtailing satisfactory solutions to affordable housing. Thus, the researcher recommends that the Sensitizing the public through open forums, printed pamphlets, show houses, physical demonstrations of construction speeds, active public participation and other promotion methods; of the many advantages of ACTs. These findings of the study should be applied in future projects as a way to promote adoption of the ACTs.