piloting Wood
Innovators Look to Timber as Demand For Housing Soars In Uganda
Written by: Hellen Kabahukya. Photography by Richard Mugambe
Monday, September 16, 2024
At Kigoogwa, a rapidly urbanizing community in Wakiso district near Uganda’s capital Kampala, a three-bedroomed house encased in smooth coffee brown wood has caused murmurs among residents.
Erected from prefabricated components, and raised to finish in a very short period, the house is the first of its kind.
Irene Ssemaganda calls it her “Easy Home”, built after a long period of longing for something unique and beautiful until she “decided to try a house made of timber”.
“The houses are beautiful and easy to build, it was just a perfect fit for what I want,” Ssemaganda explains.
The house took 120 days to have it fully erected on her 100-yard piece of land with all the necessary finishings.
Irene Ssemaganda at her newly-build house in Kigoowa outside Kampala.
Ssemaganda’s house is one of the many houses that have been constructed by Easy Housing, a bio-based sustainable construction company that focuses on building structures using timber.
Easy Housing defies a century of construction norms. Since the dawn of modern construction, cement, concrete and steel have molded the housing industry. But the environmental consequences of these materials has led to rethinking of the construction industry.
“We have been pioneering new technologies and approaches in the urban affordable housing market since our inception in 2020. The construction industry is ripe for disruption, and we are committed to leading that disruption,” Wolf Bierens the founder at Easy Housing explains.
Timber is a material that’s more sustainable and an increasingly viable option for large-scale projects.
A house under construction. Photo shared by Easy Housing.
How it works
“First we do a site visit to establish the location of the land and ensure that the clients’ needs fit what is available, so we check if the land is in a swamp, the general nature of the land, the topography, among other things to help us in the planning process,” Patricia Rukud’de the company’s architect explains.
When the clients’ needs are established, pre-fabrication begins.
“We have a partnership with Busoga Forestry Company that supplies us with timber. They run a planted forest which ensures constant supply,” Brian Kulubya the Forestry Manager explains.
The Timber is measured and cut to suit the architectural designs based on the customers’ preference, this process usually takes 60-90 days.
The house is manufactured off site and then transported and built on the chosen site.
According to Brian Onenchan, the production manager, the houses are built in line with international standards and building codes. For example, all parts of the structure can ventilate, which ensures that the timber structure will not be affected by rot.
“The timber from is kiln-dried, planed and pressure treated against termites. This is a treatment that does not wear off, and indefinitely protects the timber against termite attack,” Brian Onenchan the production manager explains.
Upon completion of pre-fabrication, the timber is transported to the site for construction. This process takes 30 days.
Just like the motar and brick house, the structure begins with a foundation and unlike the former, this one is elevated by blocks that are made of concrete, timber poles, and screw foundations.
“We use sustainable building materials even with the foundation where we recycle plastic to make the foundation blocks,” Onenchan asserts.
Easy Housing uses an elevated wooden floor, allowing water to flow beneath the house during floods. The height of the elevation can be adjusted to how flood prone the area is, ranging from 35 cm elevation (standard) to up to 80 cm elevation.
“The foundation can be reinforced depending on the soil type, so that it will not erode or sink during flood events. The foundation details can also be recalibrated in height to level out the building in case severe floods cause the foundation points to sink or move slightly,” Onenchan explains.
This reduces the chance that the structure will collapse if some connections fail. The technical design of the building systems makes the houses resilient against natural disasters.
Workers prepare wood for pre-fabrication before it is transported to the site for construction. Photo by Richard Mugambe.
An evolving technology
Timber-made houses were first pioneered in Uganda in the early 1940’s under colonial rule. Wooden structures were used as classroom blocks in schools and institutions of higher learning.
Some buildings still stand today with a few renovations. Some of the structures at the country’s premier Makerere University stand as an example of how this technology can stand the test of time- it’s been 90 years.
In the quest for cheaper and sustainable housing solutions, innovations, and technological advancements are leading the way in refining the old architecture into the demands of the modern time.
Wooden structures are a common sight among Ugandans. If not the large creation centers they have relied on wood to build low-cost houses especially in low resource urban communities.
“Finding timber is cheaper than cement and bricks, I have had my shack for three years now. I only pay the landlord for space and smoothly run my restaurant,” Hajjat Nusurah, a food vendor in Nsambya explains, adding that it’s easier to expand without wasting any material, in comparison to brick structures.
In other parts of the country, many wooden shacks make up for trading shops and for some live-in buildings, especially in the sub-urban and low cost communities.
Before Briens brought this idea, he tested it out back home in the Netherlands where he launched his first pilot project. With its success he decided to bring his expertise to Uganda, igniting a journey toward sustainable living.
Engineers and construction workers lay foundation for an Easy House.
Saving the globe so much
Traditional methods of construction use the linear, one way system of take-make-dispose which creates waste and increases the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.
Construction is one of the world’s most environmentally destructive forces, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global emissions. And the industry’s favorite material, concrete, is perhaps its least sustainable. Concrete’s production causes up to eight percent of global emissions. It also consumes a lot of sand — a disappearing resource — gobbling up 40 to 50 billion tons of it each year.
Data from Uganda Bureau of Statistics suggests that in 2016, 3.49 million tons of sand was mined. Sand is a valuable commodity accounting for 85% of the world’s mineral extraction, driven in Uganda by Africa’s rapidly expanding infrastructure industry and demand for export.
According to the World Green Building Council, the construction industry contributes close to 40% of carbon emissions globally (28% from operations emissions and 11% from construction).
Timber on the other hand can be grown and harvested repeatedly, while the production of concrete consumes finite resources, such as sand, gravel, and limestone.
By designing buildings to be easily disassembled and reused, circular construction reduces the amount of waste generated during the construction process.
“Circular construction methods promote recycling and reuse of materials together with the refurbishment of old buildings. Easy Homes embodies these principles and are made from sustainable timber and biobased materials,” Briens explains.
It is much more flexible than other building materials like concrete and steel, enabling it to withstand high loads for short periods of time and retain its elasticity and strength.
This is especially important during earthquakes and extremely strong winds. In addition, timber construction frames weigh less than concrete and steel frames, reducing inertial seismic forces.
“Trees are strong yet flexible and lightweight, enabling them to withstand the force of strong winds and extreme weather conditions. This means that timber has excellent engineering properties that cannot be matched by any other material,” Kulubya explains.
Timber as a biobased material has a lower carbon footprint compared to concrete, which is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions–due to the production of cement, a key component of concrete.
A timber house stores carbon dioxide, which is taken from the atmosphere during tree growth, and keeps it sequestered for the life of the building.
Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) is captured and stored in a manner that reduces its release into the atmosphere.
According to Briens, construction by timber takes CO2 captured by trees and locks it into the buildings it supports adding that one building has saves an average of over 25 Kg of carbon emissions.
When trees are harvested for use in construction, the carbon stored in the wood can be locked away for decades, even centuries, as long as the wood is not burned or otherwise decomposed.
A finished two bed-roomed easy house.
It’s just the beginning.
Timber construction, though a sustainable solution to the construction industry, comes with the threat of deforestation if not managed properly and responsibly.
However, for organizations like Easy housing, partnership with sustainable forest companies that have taken on the role of planted forests.
It also comes with a cost that may not be affordable for people in low cost communities who may not be financially capable.
The mindset of Ugandans is also still a challenge with many having a belief that concrete houses are much better than wood. To them it’s a foreign idea.
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