A Holistic Materials Design Requirements Framework (HoMDReF) For Future Housing Materials

There is an unmet demand for affordable and sustainable walling materials for owner-builders in poor urban areas of the least economically developed countries (LEDCs). To ensure new materials meet needs, a Holistic Materials Design Requirements Framework (HoMDReF) is proposed which can assist researchers in new materials development.

Many rapidly growing countries in Asia and Africa have low economic development, with urban dwellers often living in inadequate housing. The lack of affordable, practical and sustainable construction materials is a significant barrier to achieving sustainable development.

Although several innovative materials have been developed that are more affordable and sustainable than “conventional” modern building materials, adoption has been very limited. Social science researchers have identified strong social, economic and cultural factors influencing the housing decisions by poor urban dwellers and these must be considered in addition to the technical and environmental factors usually focused on by researchers when developing innovative construction materials.

A multidisciplinary approach was used to identify the critical issues for walling materials for owner-builders in poor urban areas. Issues are presented in the HoMDReF under technical, environmental, economic and socio-cultural categories.

This problem-first approach has confirmed that the current techno-environmental focus of researchers is insufficient. Researchers must consider early on in the design how new materials will fit in with people’s values and the urban economic context.