Low investment costs as key driver for upscaling alternative construction technologies

Cancio Diaz, Yudiesky; Archilla, Hector F; Celentano, Giulia; Habert, Guillaume; Edwin, Zea Escamilla

Abstract

This study aims to assess alternative materials withstanding low capital investment, with the potential
of providing housing affordability for low-income communities. By combining Life Cycle Assessment
and Return on Capital Employed techniques, it has been found that glue laminated bamboo housing
projects and low carbon cement-based construction materials could foster the scalability of dwellingplaces with higher profitability than conventional Ordinary-Portland-Cement-wise investment strategy.
The resulting light capital production materials not only can be able to maintain selling prices at an
affordable rate, but also will drive more easily the current market for the bottom of the pyramid
populations. Through this shift in the material development, the diffusion of appropriate technology
implementation on large scale can be more effectively targeted. Finally, these technologies have a lower
environmental impact than conventional ones allowing at the same time as a large scale implementation,
a potential low carbon path in least developed emerging economies countries.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: No Cost Housing Conference
• Start Date: Jun 30, 2016
• End Date: Jul 1, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 4, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: low investment, cement, bamboo, CO2
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/910465
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : No Cost Housing Conference; Corporate Creators : ETH Zürich, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Central de las Villas, Santa Clara, Cuba, BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials, Bath University, Great Britain
• Contract Date: Mar 4, 2019