Conference Proceedings

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Embodied energy of the common wood fired brick.
(The Architectural Science Association, 2017) Olweny Mark R. O.; Ndibwami Alex; Ahimbisibwe Achilles
With calls for environmentally conscious building design and construction on the increase across East Africa, the need to better appreciate the environmental credentials of commonly used materials has become a priority.Lack of in‐depth studies of Embodied Energy (EE) and Green House Gas (GHG) emissions related to the construction industry can be attributed to a variety of factors, most notably, the ad hoc nature of the industry in the region. Of interest for this study is the EE of the most commonly used material for domestic construction, the wood fired brick.Manufactured close to sources of heavy clays or laterite soils, these bricks are fired on site in traditional scove kilns, making use of wood fuel to bake the bricks.Regarded as a cheap material and used in virtually all construction, little is known of their structural integrity, embodied energy values or the emissions stemming from the manufacturing process.Through an investigation of a selection of kilns in the central region of Uganda, the manufacturing process of the bricks was tracked and documented, making use of the inputs‐outputs method to determine the EE of the final brick product. The findings of this study suggest relatively high Embodied Energy value for these bricks with a value of 4.26MJ/kg.While burning wood in this case could be considered carbon neutral, the broader impact from Green House Gas emissions as a result of this method of brick manufacture still needs to be explored.This also raises concerns for the potential growth in materials to support the growing demand for housing over the next few decades.
Rural (low income) housing: inspiring communities to shape their future: Paper presented at PLEA 2015 Conference
(PLEA, 2015) Ahimbisibwe Achilles; Ndibwami Alex; Niwamara T
This paper details patterns of energy consumption for domestic buildings in urban areas of Uganda. The paper shows the range of energy sources employed by households, the level of consumption of energy, as well as common appliances and equipment in use. The findings suggest strong demand for energy, but largely from solid fuel sources with most households making use of firewood or charcoal for cooking. While currently low by world standards, electrical energy use was largely for lighting and entertainment. Efforts at increasing access to electricity to reduce pressures on dwindling forest resources, although a noble goal, has significant challenges, linked to limited and erratic availability of electricity, approaches to building design, as well as lifestyle transformations that contribute to a growth in energy demand. The study itself contributes to discourse on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings, filling the gap in the availability of information and geared to informing future policy and interventions.
To Build or Not to Build: Going Live is [Not] Just Being Practical!
(Association of Architectural Educators, 2014) Ahimbisibwe Achilles; Olweny Mark R. O.; Ndibwami Alex; Thomas Paul; Lubingo Mathieu; Katta Jude
Increasingly students and faculty alike are calling for a “hands-on” approach to architecture and building construction as an integral part of the architectural education. Schools of architecture have implemented courses to address this need, notably: the Harvard Graduate School of Design's 'Project on the City’; the design-build ‘Rural Studio’ run by Auburn University; and the Over-the-Rhine Design-Build Studio out of Miami University. Such activities are considered a good way to enhance problem-solving skills, dealing with client groups, working with different materials, construction techniques and methods, and preparing students for future practice. The courses run largely in parallel to the established design studio, mostly as electives or summer courses, but nevertheless, present as a ‘tectonic shift’,1 moving from the traditional structure of architecture education, based largely on the studio, with associated support courses, to an approach that seeks to supplement the learning through interactive projects that expose students to a range of experiences to enhance the architectural education experience. Regardless of the significance of these moves internationally, there has been only limited penetration of this approach in architectural education in East Africa. In the context of East Africa, the studio is regarded as being where students demonstrate their creative abilities, viewed as designing flamboyant buildings, often without any real sites or context to deal with - in effect, poor imitations of the real world. The notion of ‘practical’ gets lost within the context of architectural education as the nurturing of individuals who are ‘Master Builders’ or ‘Experts’, but not versed in the actual production of architecture, and how to respond directly the needs of clients. A perennial plea from applicants to the architecture programme at Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) is to join a ‘practical programme’. This indicates a demand for something more, or different, from architectural education, although it does raise a question: ‘what does practical mean in the context of architecture education?’ From a practice point of view, this suggests practice-ready graduates. However, with students only exposed to limited architecture practice as part of their educational experience, this raises two questions; how do students acquire the necessary skills to enhance their educational experience, and more significant, what is the purpose of architectural education? This is important with regard to future practice in the context of an unknown future. The lack of engagement with practical courses makes teaching of architecture somewhat difficult, with students generally unable to seek innovative solutions as a consequence. Thus, there is a need to engage students beyond mere book knowledge as part of their architectural education. A design-build workshop, hosted by Uganda Martyrs University (UMU), was to introduce students to some practical aspects of architecture, in this case through the use of research on poured earth construction. The three main objectives of the workshop were to: expose students to the nature of materials; engage with a learn-by-doing construction approach and; to educate in collaboration with fellow students. This paper reports on an initial venture into live projects in the context of architectural education in Uganda. It looks at the opportunities and challenges associated with this educational approach in the context of numerous north-south initiatives, but only a few schemes initiated from the global south.
Vernacular architecture: advocating for volcanic stone construction as a viable alternative to burnt brick in mountainous areas of south-western Uganda.
(International Conference on Passive Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), 2017) Wasswa Peter; Ahimbisibwe Achilles; Ndibwami Alex
The following discussion presents volcanic stone as a viable walling material in areas where it is abundant. Kisoro, Fort Portal and Bushenyi located in Southwestern Uganda are areas endowed with abundant volcanic stone. However, area residents still opt for brick walling despite the poor soils in those areas. The poor soils produce lower quality bricks compared to the fired clay brick from other areas especially around the Victoria basin. Natural stone possesses physical properties suited for structural walling yet in Uganda it is habitually specified for its aesthetic finish (floor surfacing and wall cladding). In comparison to Compressed Earth Block (CEB) and Compressed Soil Blocks (CSB), stone has not been explored enough as a potential front-runner among sustainable walling alternatives. Further, little is being done to empower local communities to meet their own aspirations as industry, economics and urban development conspire to interrupt the transition to sustainable development particularly with regards to how environmentally unfriendly materials like fired brick are propagated.

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Browsing Conference Proceedings by Author "Ahimbisibwe Achilles"