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.

摘要

压缩土块 (CEB) 是一种低成本、低碳建筑产品，非常适合南半球国家的砌体填充。关于采用 CEB 的技术和社会经济障碍仍然存在知识差距。在埃及境内的建筑师、CEB 制造商和学者中进行了一项综合调查和访谈研究：首先，探讨在砌体填充中更多地采用 CEB 的技术和社会经济障碍，其次，确定潜在的推动因素。尽管埃及于 2019 年推出了 CEB 建筑规范，但仍然存在许多技术挑战。大多数受访者认为社会经济障碍比技术障碍更为重要。其中包括大多数建筑师和建筑商不熟悉的 CEB，大多数客户认为 CEB 是“低质量”或“缺乏美感”。大多数受访者认为CEB可以在埃及取得≥25%的砖石市场份额。然而，CEB 印刷机供应可能成为扩大规模的主要障碍。建议的推动因素包括为低/中等收入和高收入客户量身定制的营销建议，以及尽早在设计阶段决定是在现场还是在场外制造CEB。绘制各利益相关者的推动因素表明，需要进行更多研究来了解 CEB 印刷机制造商和政府官员的观点。建议的推动因素包括为低/中等收入和高收入客户量身定制的营销建议，以及尽早在设计阶段决定是在现场还是在场外制造CEB。绘制各利益相关者的推动因素表明，需要进行更多研究来了解 CEB 印刷机制造商和政府官员的观点。建议的推动因素包括为低/中等收入和高收入客户量身定制的营销建议，以及尽早在设计阶段决定是在现场还是在场外制造CEB。绘制各利益相关者的推动因素表明，需要进行更多研究来了解 CEB 印刷机制造商和政府官员的观点。