Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) are a low carbon, low cost construction product that are considered by many to be the go-to sustainable masonry wall solution for low-cost buildings.
However, although their use was prototyped in many Global South countries, and special building codes were issued to allow their use, the material has not yet succeeded on a commercial level.
This inspired TransFIRe researcher Hisham Hafez, alongside colleagues Alastair Marsh and Deena El-Mahdy, to look into the barriers and enablers for scaled-up adoption of CEDs in Egypt. Using a combination of surveys and interviews carried out amongst architects, CEB manufacturers and academics, the researchers set out to determine the challenges that were faced.
The majority of respondents agreed that socio-economic barriers for CEBs are more significant than technical barriers. These included CEBs being unfamiliar to most architects and builders, and that most clients perceive CEBs as ‘low-quality’ or ‘inaesthetic’. Most respondents believed that CEBs can achieve ≥25% market share for masonry in Egypt. However, CEB press supply is likely to be a major barrier to scale-up. Suggested enablers included tailored marketing suggestions for low-/middle-income and high-income clients, and deciding at the earliest possible design stage whether to manufacture CEBs on-site or off-site. Mapping the enablers across stakeholders showed that more research is needed to understand the views of CEB press manufacturers and government officials.
For full information on this study, please see https://doi.org/kkg3.