Hafez, H. orcid.org/0009-0004-8917-680X, El-Mahdy, D. orcid.org/0000-0001-8755-8733 and Marsh, A. orcid.org/0000-0002-5603-4643 (Cover date: 2023) Barriers and enablers for scaled-up adoption of compressed earth blocks in Egypt. Building Research and Information, 51 (7). pp. 783-797. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Compressed earth blocks (CEBs) are a low-cost, low-carbon construction product, which are well-suited for masonry infill in the Global South. A knowledge gap remains around the technical and socio-economic barriers to CEB adoption. A combined survey and interview study was carried out among architects, CEB manufacturers, and academics within Egypt: firstly, to explore technical and socio-economic barriers to greater adoption of CEBs for masonry infill, and secondly, to identify potential enablers. Many technical challenges still exist, despite the fact that building codes for CEB in Egypt were introduced in 2019. The majority of respondents agreed that socio-economic barriers 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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
Keywords: | Compressed earth blocks; stabilized earth construction; survey-based methods; socio-economic barriers; global south |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 02 Aug 2023 15:17 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2025 14:19 |
Published Version: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09613... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/09613218.2023.2237133 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:201798 |
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