Optimization of Sustainable Performance: Housing Project, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia: Fid-Bau Portal

Optimization of Sustainable Performance: Housing Project, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

Kumar, Ambuj / Bhandari, Harveen

Housing has been a basic need for living since ages. In Ethiopia, the concerns of sustainability do not seem to be incorporated as a significant determining factor in the architectural design process. The country lacks knowledge and expertise of design and construction of sustainable housing projects and is not much in practice. There are multiple and contradictory set of issues that are affecting sustainable planning and design of housing projects which makes sustainability a minor concern for the upcoming housing projects in Ethiopia. Neither much attention has been paid and nor any initiative has been taken to adopt any alternative performance optimization techniques in design and construction to make sustainable buildings. Thereby, this paper examines gaps in the existing design and construction schemes to achieve the envisaged goals of sustainable environment, thereby contributing to overall socioeconomic development. To overcome the crisis that construction industry faces nowadays, two aspects that need attention are firstly finding measures to optimize sustainability performance in design and construction of housings and secondly devising methods to achieve sustainability and optimization by assimilation of various parameters from the beginning like architecture design, construction techniques and material selection to achieve better results. The current research paper examines a housing project in context to sustainable design approach to optimize performance in housings by assimilation of selected parameters within the frame work of sustainability, underlining the concept and benefits of sustainable buildings. The research aims to devise solutions that will contribute to the user well-being and protection of our environment.