An architect has admonished Ghanaians to use mud blocks for home construction purposes due to its higher efficiency in comparison with concrete blocks .
This was made known at a round-table discussion organized by Lamudi, an online real estate portal in Ghana on Monday October 13, 2014.
The round-table event was organized to commemorate Lamudi’s one year anniversary and brought together developers, agents and architects from the real estate industry. The theme for the event was “Sustainable Real Estate”.
[contextly_sidebar id=”WBlhqlTQZCmeFS7ezMFumzSky2nr2iQc”]Mr Brandon Roger, an architect by profession, stated that mud blocks are more ideal than cement blocks because they improve insulation, thus, reducing the dependency on air conditioners.
At a time when the country seeks more energy efficient means, the adoption of mud blocks would be an excellent solution to the perennial energy problems in Ghana.
He however decried the present situation whereby Ghanaians belittled the importance of mud blocks, associating it with rural communities.
“We need to use clay blocks because of the thermal principles of clay which makes them cooler and stronger. Sandcrete (concrete) blocks is sand and sand is a brittle force of material.
“So as [the weather] gets hot and it cools back down, [the concrete blocks] want to expand and contract and that’s what causes the cracks in walls.”
Mrs Akosua Obeng, another architect, encouraged Ghanaians to adopt locally manufactured building materials due to its more sustainable nature. According to her, local materials were more affordable than imported ones.
She indicated that mud blocks cost approximately US$300 per square meter while cement blocks cost US$500 per square meter.
She noted with regret how Ghana was importing over 70% of building materials which was contributing to the weakening of its economy.
Mrs Obeng stated that her company, Orthner and Orthner, helped Labadi Beach Hotel and the World Bank incorporate 30% and 15% of local materials respectively in their building construction here in Ghana and admonished others to follow suit.
She praised government’s efforts in drafting a policy that mandates all public building projects to incorporate 60% of local materials by 2015.
This, according to her, will drive those in the private sector to take a cue from and lead the country away from its dependence on foreign building materials.
Mrs Obeng noted that the country was in abundance of building materials such as timber, compressed earth blocks, laterite, bamboo, coconut fibre, and wooden shingles, among others, highlighting the fact that it would reduce the dependence on cement if they were tapped.
A real estate broker, Narteh Tetteh, added his voice to the discussion, highlighting the need for government to develop stringent regulations concerning the real estate sector.
According to him, Ghana’s real estate sector is largely brokered by unprofessional agents, who have developed a knack of rendering poor services to the general public.
He indicated that such individuals were giving the industry a bad name and suggested it had affected the confidence of the general public in real estate brokers and agents.
Mr Tetteh called on government to streamline the real estate sector and advised that it should take a leading role in the cause for more affordable housing in the country.
ABOUT LAMUDI
Launched in 2013, Lamudi is a global property portal focusing exclusively on emerging markets.
The fast-growing platform is currently available in 28 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, with more than 500,000 real estate listings across its global network.
The leading real estate marketplace offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters a secure and easy-to-use platform to find or list properties online.
–
Credit: Lamudi Ghana