Prof. Robert Rukwaro
The construction industry is one of the most important sectors of the Kenyan economy. The sector develops buildings for living, recreation and work. During the construction of building, materials are key input component and their cost have continued increasing. This has led to chain adverse effects on the cost of buildings and in turn created an impediment to owning homes by many Kenyans. To overcome this challenge, Kenyans are adapting new technological applications in construction that reduce the cost of building materials.
To reduce construction time and cost, Kenyans have resulted in adopting alternative materials emanating from Indian and Chinese developers. At the same time local manufactures are developing and prefabricating alternative materials and technologies for local consumption. It is with this hindsight that a University research team led by Prof. Rukwaro of the College of Architecture and Engineering have through a competitive process been awarded a 3 year research grant from the National Research Fund to evaluate local alternative construction and building technologies for provision of affordable low-cost housing. The project directly supports the Government’s Big Four Agenda.
Other members of the multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research team are Nicky M Nzioki, Catherine Kariuki, Prof. Hezekiah Gichunge, Dr. Musyimi Mbathi, Arch. Norbert Musyoki, Dr. Edwin Oyaro, Augustine Katiambo from the University of Nairobi, and Jackson M. Mwaura and Kepher Manani from the National Housing Cooperation. The team will map, document and test locally available innovative appropriate building materials and technologies in different Kenya geographical zones. They will establish the cost performance of the building materials and technologies, their levels of accessibility, affordability, sustainability, community perception and uptake trends across the different geographical areas. At the conclusion of the project, the researchers shall propose a framework for standardization of alternative construction and building materials and technologies in Kenya that enables achievement of affordable housing.
