Condominium Buildings Versus Environmental Sustainability In the case of Addis Ababa Advisor:
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Date
2014-05
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
The growth rate of Addis Ababa’s population has resulted in a chronic housing problem expressed in the growing slums, unsanitary living conditions and a degraded environment. The Integrated Housing Development Program (IHDP), also known as the condominium housing project launched by the government in addressing this problem, even though it stands to save the city of worse environmental deterioration, has used the open and green spaces of the city; and being solely directed to solve the housing backlog, may lack environmental sustainability initiatives. In general therefore, the objective of this study is to present the concept of environmentally sustainable buildings, to study ways it has been and can be implemented and to adapt these concepts to the condominium project. To accomplish that, three sites – the Bole Gerji, the Feresbet and the Mickey Leland – were selected as case study samples. To gather data, interviews with the dwellers at the sites, observations of the site and a review of different researches and relevant literature on environmentally sustainable buildings were conducted. The data gathered using these methodologies was then analyzed and interpreted and used to develop a proposal of what could be done to include environmental sustainability concepts in the design and construction of the condominium project. The questions asked in the interviews were designed to discover how aware of environmental issues such as global warming and climate change the dwellers were. The results show that though dwellers are educated and aware of the issues of global warming and climate change, they have not taken the most optimal environmental sustainable measures they could; i.e., the long-term impacts of the measures taken to meet their immediate needs, such as parking, are not taken into consideration. The results from the site observations show that most open spaces are not used according to the original design; that the design was lacking in areas that could contribute positively to good indoor air quality and to the health and comfort of the dwellers; and that the materials used in construction are not durable. It is proposed that the condominium buildings should be designed, constructed and used incorporating environmental sustainable building concepts. Several propositions therefore are that additional sources of renewable energy other than hydroelectric power, such as solar power and biogas, be used and that water and waste should be recycled.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Integrated Housing Development Program only addresses the need for housing and that environmental sustainability building concepts were not paramount in the design. After the sites were delivered to the dwellers, in general, it can be said that successful environmental sustainability concepts undertaken by them are limited to greening their immediate surroundings
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Environmental Sustainability