Digital Lecture Series:
Constructing Improved Housing Units for Ethiopia
01_Introduction (14:54)
Ethiopia is undergoing an immense period of rapid growth concerning the develop-ment and improvement of urban settlements. At the same time and sometimes forgotten, around 80% of the current population still reside in shelters in rural areas and living conditions that are often described as inadequate.
Noting this fact, a combined research effort between the Ethiopian Institute of Archi-tecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), the ETH Zürich and the Waser Foundation in Lucerne, Switzerland was formulated. It was titled ‘Sustainable Rural Dwelling Unit’ (SRDU) and planned out as a demonstration project on how to combine local materials, traditional construction methods and available skills with new knowledge achieved in research conducted at academic levels. Shortly after the first two housing units were implemented, the focus of the project shifted towards the contextualization of knowledge within the vocational training sector in Ethiopia.
The digital lecture series on Constructing Improved Housing Units for Ethiopia at hand demonstrates how to build improved rural housing units by introducing enhanced application methods of traditional building materials and alternative construction techniques. Divided into ten lectures and three DVDs, the series is intended to teach students, professionals and also the interested public on how to apply the gained knowledge as a step-by-step manual. Seen in total, the series provides easily comprehensible knowledge on how to build foundations, walls, roofs, floors and even biogas supply systems in rural territories in Ethiopia.
Language: English, 258 minutes (total running time)
02_Bamboo as a construction material (16:40)
03_Building the foundation (24:01)
04_Building the roof structure (28:29)
05_Weaving and cladding the roof (21:35)
06_Earth as a construction material (23:45)
07_Building the walls (23:11)
08_Building the vaulted mezzanine floor (29:49)
09_Plastering the walls (37:17)
10_Building the biogas supply system (40:01)
