EcoHouse Research

Nathasha Dickson (MEng, 2012)

 

Slums provide affordable housing for low income families, although this housing is often inadequate or unsafe and very overcrowded. In order to sustainably improve the living conditions for slum dwellers, development of the housing infrastructure is needed, alongside consideration of income generation and transport links allowing access to jobs. The focus of this project is on transitional houses which can be implemented as part of the housing development process.

 

The Eco-House Initiative is a project within Cambridge University which aims to provide solutions to the sustainable growth of the developing world. The Initiative works in partnership with the NGO ‘Un Techo Para mi Pais’ (UTPMP). UTPMP currently build transitional houses made from particleboard panels with a timber frame and a corrugated metal roof.

 

As part of The Eco-House Initiative, this project outlines an improved design for the UTPMP transitional house which focuses on being sustainable and affordable. Along with considering the structural integrity of the house, the design process takes into account the logistics of transport and construction.

 

The initial research took place in Ecuador, working alongside UTPMP. This research included following the process involved in producing the current model of an UTPMP house, from the plantation which grows the wood for the panels, to handing over the house to the families. This included taking part in family selection surveys, the delivery of around 20 houses and the construction of 2 houses. Alongside this, structural and social surveys were carried out on existing houses and many informative meetings took place with manufacturers, civic authorities and the directors of UTPMP-Ecuador.

 

The main focus of this project is to adapt UTPMP’s transitional house design, so that it uses a minimal amount of solid timber in order to solve current resource sourcing and sustainability issues. This is achieved by considering the feasibility of constructing the house using only particleboard panels.

 

The design process explores several options, with the aim of finding an optimal combination of quick and simple construction, and minimal use of materials. Tests are carried out on both individual joints and a large section of the roof structure.

 

Stiffness testing showed that the Young’s Modulus for the particleboard used in this project was much lower than expected. This highlights the variability of this material and the importance of determining the material properties of the specific particleboard being used.

 

The proposed design can be easily implemented within UTPMP in Ecuador, since it fits in with their current delivery and construction process. This means that on-site construction is limited to two days and is carried out by around eight unskilled volunteers and a few members of the family who have bought the house.

 

The new ideas incorporated in this design simplify the delivery and construction processes which are currently used by UTPMP. This is possible since the wall panels are smaller, making them easier to handle. Also, all of the components of the structure are cut out of the same standard size of particleboard panel.

 

In conclusion, the construction of a house from particleboard panels works well in terms of ease of construction, delivery, and adaption, as well as having good sustainability credentials in terms of the materials used. This project proposes a feasible design idea for the above-ground structure of a transitional house, which is made entirely from particleboard.