Climate-Responsive Construction

Policy Document

Published byBischöfliches HilfswerkMISEREOR e. V.2019

Mozartstrasse 9D – 52064 Aachen, GermanyPhone: +49 241 442 –0Fax: +49 241 442 –188Email: postmaster@misereor.deHomepage: www.misereor.de

Edited byKathrin Schroeder, Klaus Teschner,Marcelo Waschl, Adelheid Wehmöllerand Clara-Luisa Weichelt

Proofread byDr Kerstin Burmeister

Translated byChristopher Hay, in cooperationwith MISEREOR

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Produced byMVG Medienproduktion undVertriebsgesellschaft, Aachen

Printed on Recy-Satinrecycled paper

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MISEREOR

Impressum

he world population is growing. More andmore people need housing and infrastruc-ture for a good life. New settlements and rap-

pidly growing cities further increase this need. At pres-ent about 3.5 billion people live in cities. The UnitedNations predicts that by 2050 this figure will rise toabout six billion. The informal settlements that cur-rently house almost one billion people could thus ac-quire an additional one to two billion inhabitants.Cities in Asia and Africa are expected to experiencethe biggest increase.1

To house these people, it is often necessary tobuild. MISEREOR and many of its partner organisati-ons agree that not only social and economic criteriabut also environmental ones should be taken into ac-count in the building process. We regard a respon-sible approach to all construction-related decisionsas contributing to the achievement of the objectivesof the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement.Climate change is already having devastating im-pacts: we are seeing an increase in extreme weatherevents such as unusually long periods of heat anddrought or heavy rainfall. Rivers burst their banks;floods are becoming more frequent. In coastal areasthe steady rise in sea level is putting houses, socialfacilities and vital supply structures at risk.

In the Paris Climate Agreement the internationalcommunity agreed to prevent the average global tem-perature rising by more than 1.5 °C by comparisonwith pre-industrial levels. We are currently headingfor global warming of at least 3 °C. Constructionplays a significant part in this: the construction indus-try is responsible for 11% of global energy-related

CO2 emissions and buildings and the constructionsector together account for 39%.2 This means thatadditional infrastructure and the new housing that isneeded can no longer be built with the conventionalmaterials such as steel, cement and aluminium thatthe industrialised countries of Europe and North Ameri-ca have traditionally used. Just the expected infra-structure expansion in developing and emergingcountries would use up about three-quarters of theCO2 budget (350 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions) thatmust be adhered to if global warming is to be keptwithin the 1.5 °C limit.3

The buildings and construction sector plays a keypart in implementation of the Paris Climate Agree-ment and global sustainability targets (2030 Agenda).Environmental aspects are just as important as thesocial obligation to create the infrastructure that en-ables people to live in dignity. These environmentalaspects include not only protection of the environ-ment and steps to mitigate climate change but alsothe need to adapt construction projects to changes inclimatic conditions – with regard to both the produc-tion and use of building materials and to the energy bal-ance of buildings. The construction of new infrastruc-ture and new buildings should go hand-in-hand with

1. Introduction

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“It is not enough to seek the beauty of design. More preciousstill is the service we offer to another kind of beauty: people’squality of life, their adaptation to the environment, encounterand mutual assistance.” (LS 150)

1Policy Paper Climate Responsive Construction

1 UN DESA 2018 2 The energy consumption of buildings covers emissions from room

heating, cooking, water heating, household appliances, lighting androom cooling. UNEP 2018

3 Müller et al. 2013

ples are designed to serve as guidelines for projectwork and also to encourage productive dialogue withdecision-makers in the political arena and the con-struction industry.

phasing out the use of fossil fuels in electricity gen-eration, in the transport sector, and in the provisionof heating and cooling. Urban planning and land-useplanning should aim to avoid and reduce the use offossil fuels, for example by building more compact de-velopments and preventing commuting. In addition,buildings and infrastructure must be designed to beas resilient as possible to the growing impacts of cli-mate change, which in some regions will involveheavy rainfall and in others extended periods of heat.

Housing construction projects on the basis of com-munal self-help and the construction of healthcare,educational and social facilities have always been animportant aspect of the work of MISEREOR and itspartner organisations. This position paper draws onthe extensive experience of MISEREOR and its partnerorganisations to formulate principles for the promo-tion of projects in the construction sector. These princi-

for 39% of global energy-related emissions. Buildings and the construction sector are responsible

Other sectors er sect 61%

sectorConstruction

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Note: The emissions of the construction sec-tion include the estimated emissions of theindustry responsible for producing the ma-terials – such as steel, cement and glass –used in building construction. Emissionsarising from the transport of constructionmaterials are not included. The “Buildings”category comprises both direct and indirectemissions arising from the use of buildings.

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he main target group of the construction proj-ects supported by MISEREOR is people livingin very simple conditions in informal, self-or-

ganised urban settlements, on waste land beside rail-way tracks, in run-down inner-city buildings or crudelyconstructed shacks in rural areas. Building projectsfunded by MISEREOR also support people made home-less by natural disasters such as earthquakes. Con-struction projects should create a basis for dignified liv-ing and the development of a peaceful social environ-

ment. They therefore also include the construction ofbasic infrastructure, training facilities, health centresand social facilities.

All construction projects funded by MISEREOR mustmeet certain quality criteria. They must comply withbuilding and fire protection regulations. In design andconstruction, consideration must be given to context-

2.MISEREOR’s basic principlesfor climate-responsive construction

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specific and climatic conditions, environmental and cli-mate change mitigation requirements, social and eco-nomic fairness and cultural aspects. To ensure thatnatural habitats are preserved for future generations,construction activities and the manufacture of build-ing materials must not impact adversely on ecosys-tems and the environment.

The worldwide increase in the use of cement andaggregates (sand, gravel) and in the use of steel andaluminium for construction purposes is having seriousconsequences for the climate and environment. A re-

turn to local building methods and environmentallysound or renewable building materials would at leastalleviate the pressure on natural resources and eco-systems.

For some time MISEREOR and its partners havetherefore been promoting construction with local ma-terials (earth, wood, bamboo, stone) as an adapted,low-cost, energy-saving and climate-responsive alter-native to buildings of concrete or burnt brick. It hasdone this mainly in Africa and Latin America, and oc-casionally also in Asia.

Adaptation to social and cultural conditions is an-other important aspect of sustainable constructionand the subsequent maintenance of buildings. Build-ing projects can usefully draw on local knowledge,support people in local manual trades, foster a senseof initiative among local people and mobilise tradition-al forms of solidarity-based self-help within a neigh-bourhood or community.

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“We don’t need a cement factory here! Thisfactory destroys not only our livelihoods butalso our social relationships,” says Gunarti, a member of the indigenousSamin community and a representative of thelocal JMPPK campaign group.

The karstic rock formations of the KendengMountains are rich in limestone, gypsum androck salt, making them attractive to the cementindustry. The Indonesian company Indocement,a subsidiary of the German HeidelbergCementAG, is planning to construct another cementworks in the region. Karst landscapes are classedas protected areas in Indonesia. The karst actsas a rainwater reservoir and is part of a watercatchment system that is important to localfarmers. The planned operations will have devas-tating impacts on humans and nature, but thegovernment has granted Indocement environ-mental approval for the mining. Members ofgrassroots campaigns such as JMPPK are pro-testing by cementing their feet and are going tocourt in an attempt to halt the planned assaulton the environment – thus also calling for anend to the worldwide cement boom.

Cement production in Indonesia

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ecause it consumes energy, resources andland, building always involves interveningin an existing ecosystem. The task of MISE-

REOR and its partner organisations is to minimisethese interventions. The first step involves drawingup plans that ensure that construction is appropriate,suitable for its purpose, and does not require exces-sive consumption of land and resources. Secondly,the choice of location is a crucial aspect of climate-

3. Energy-saving as a key componentof climate-responsive construction

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Honduras: Clay construction (adobe andbahareque) and the design of the trainingcentre with adequate ventilation provide agood interior climate without the need forair conditioning

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responsive and energy-saving construction. Thirdly,climate-responsive design ensures that constructionand use of the building requires as little energy as pos-sible. In regions with strong solar insolation and hightemperatures, buildings have to be designed in waysthat avoid the use of electric air-conditioning or keep itto a minimum. In colder regions, heating energy shouldbe saved by using the heat input of solar insolation.

Climate-responsive construction takes account ofthe entire supply chain and the complete life cycle ofthe building. In most types of construction, the major-ity of the energy consumption and CO2 emissions as-sociated with the building process are attributable tothe production and transport of materials. Industriallyproduced building materials should therefore beavoided wherever possible. Demolition of a buildingconstructed of local materials results in only a smallquantity of material that is costly to dispose of. Thissaves energy, cuts costs and reduces greenhouse gasemissions. Traditional building methods using locallyavailable or recycled materials should therefore bepromoted preferentially.

There are many ways to save energy during theuseful life of a building. Appropriate building ma-terials (such as clay and earth) create a comfortable in-door climate and avoid or reduce the need for artifi-cial air-conditioning. Thermal optimisation of the build-ing (insulation) saves energy during the usage phase;the use of renewable resources for electricity genera-tion, heating and hot water supply reduces consumptionof fossil fuels. During the building usage phase, usersare chiefly responsible for saving energy. Regardless ofwhether the building is a house, a school or a clinic,educating people about energy-saving and raisingpublic awareness is a fundamental element of climate-responsive construction.

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Haiti: Building a house using local, earth-quake-resistant timber-framed methods.Natural stone, clay wattling or clay bricksare used for infilling, depending on what

materials are available locally.

he careful choice of building materials isanother key issue in all construction proj-ects. Aspects to be considered include not

only the physical properties of particular materialsand their local availability but also local climatic, seis-mic and cultural requirements. In eco-friendly and cli-mate-responsive construction, the choice of materialswill be based on careful consideration of the energyconsumption and CO2 emissions of the constructionproject; the aim must be to avoid environmental im-pacts or keep them to a minimum.

Locally available building materials that are not in-dustrially manufactured are likely to have advantagesin terms of quality and of impact on the climate andenvironment. A welcome side effect is the fact thatlocal materials often significantly reduce constructioncosts.

Manufacturing steel, cement (as the basis of con-crete and reinforced concrete) and aluminium is ex-tremely energy-intensive. Building projects should at-tempt to avoid the use of industrially produced ma-

4. Choosingthe buildingmaterials

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The energy consumption of a material productor of a construction arising from the manufac-ture of the product is termed grey energy.It includes transport from the source of thematerials to the end product and thus coversenergy consumption in the course of resourceextraction, preparation and processing, trans-port and manufacture of the constructionproducts. To reduce energy consumption to aminimum, existing walls should be re-usedwherever possible. Industrially producedmaterials such as concrete and aluminiumare far more energy-intensive than locallyavailable construction materials such asclay or wood.

terials such as cement, concrete, steel and aluminiumthat have dominated the construction industry for dec-ades. However, it is often not possible to do withoutthese materials altogether. It may be necessary to usecement, concrete or structural steel, for example be-cause:– local, non-industrially produced materials are

unavailable,– they are needed to make buildings earthquake-

proof, – loads need to be carried across wide spans and it

is not possible to shorten the span or use differ-ent materials,

– no other suitable materials for the construction offoundations, floor slabs etc. are available

Burnt bricks:to be recommended only with reservations

Burnt bricks are widely used as a building materialall over the world and they have the advantage ofbeing easy to work with. However, burning bricksuses a great deal of energy. This energy usuallycomes from fossil fuels or from wood fires, puttingforests and trees in the vicinity of cities at risk. Indus-trially manufactured bricks can be used to constructmulti-storey buildings. However, they should not beused as a building material unless they are producedin environmentally friendly and energy-saving ways orunless use is made of recycled burnt bricks from de-molished buildings

Local building materials

MISEREOR classes materials such as clay, wood,bamboo and natural stone as local building materials.

Energy balance of wall construction materials

Embodied energy (MJ/m2)(for a default wall thickness of 0.2 m)

Re-use of existing walls

Stabilised compressedearth blocks

Rammed earth

Timber cladding

Stone blocks – hand cut

Solid dense concrete blocks

Aluminium profile cladding

Precast concrete cladding

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Where they occur they are usually plentiful and needto be transported only short distances. This givesthem a major advantage. In addition, obtaining andusing them usually requires very little energy. Localmaterials are also associated with traditional buildingmethods and local architectural styles; using themcan help revive these traditions, involve the local popu-lation and enable them to identify with the build-ings. Using these materials is usually labour-inten-sive; this creates jobs locally. Demolition does not in-volve costly disposal of building materials, and ma-terials can often be re-used. All this saves energy andcosts and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. To en-sure the sustainability of local building materials,overuse of resources must always be avoided andconservation of ecosystems and the environmentmust be a priority.

Building with earth and clayIn the first instance, building with earth needs noth-ing more than a supply of clayey soil – somethingthat is given at many locations. The clay is often dugup on the building site or from a nearby clay pit andthen mixed with sand. It is important to get the pro-portions right: if it is too sandy it will be crumbly, andif it contains too much clay the brick will tend to crack.In hot parts of the world clay brick buildings are pleas-antly cool inside; at cold times of the year the walls

retain heat and regulate humidity, creating a comfort-able interior climate with pleasant humidity. Driedclay preserves wood; it can thus be combined withoutdifficulty with structural elements of wood or bamboo.

There are three different types of earthen construc-tion: clay brick (adobe), rammed earth (pisé) and clas-sical wattle and daub (bahareque, quincha) in whicha wooden lattice is covered with loam. Clay bricks en-able arches to be constructed. Rammed earth meth-ods involve encasing earth in wooden formwork andcompressing it to form solid walls.

Clay buildings need to be protected from wet con-ditions by means of roof overhangs and drainageditches. Atmospheric humidity, on the other hand, isnot harmful. In dry parts of the world there are impres-sively tall buildings of rammed earth or clay bricks that

Congo: The training centre is of clayconstruction (compressed clay bricks).The material was obtained on-site.

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Policy Paper Climate Responsive Construction

have survived for centuries. However, it is in generalrarely possible to build multi-storey build-ings of clay.Clay construction is therefore most suitable for ruraland suburban housing, schools, social facilities, etc.If the earth needs to be brought in from a distance –for example, in areas with sandy or stony soils –other construction methods should be considered.

Building with wood Wood is classed as a renewable building material.Relatively little energy is required to produce it, andbecause it is a carbon sink, wood is particularly eco-friendly. It has excellent static and physical proper-ties. Being pliable and interactive, it performs verywell in traditional frame wall construction and mod-ern timber-framed structures. These characteristics

also make it highly resilient to tremors and earth-quakes. In addition, wood provides thermal insulationand is both visually and haptically very pleasant.Once the timber has been felled it must first be ad-equately seasoned. In addition, wood needs to beprotected against pests, especially termites. Biocide-free wood preservatives or mechanical barriers are rec-ommended.

Objections to the use of wood on the grounds thatit is a flammable and allegedly non-solid building ma-terial are now regarded as outdated. Wooden housesprovide a pleasant interior climate and good earth-quake resistance. With adequate sizing and environ-mentally friendly treatment methods, wood is now sofire-resistant that building regulations (e.g. in Germa-ny) even permit the construction of multi-storey wood-en buildings in city centres. Wood is also ideal forceilings, roof structures, door frames, window para-pets, lintels and ring beams, for example in clay orbrick buildings.

For wood to be classed as a sustainable buildingmaterial, it must come from sustainable forestry (as a

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Haiti: This house built on the self-help prin-ciple is of earthquake-resistant traditionalconstruction involving timber framing withnatural stone infilling.

Myanmar: The centre’s open and airy multi-purpose hall, which is 25 metres long andabout six metres high, is built entirely ofbamboo and roofed with bamboo shingles.

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minimum with the FSC seal). This means that not onlymust wood be available locally but also that theremust be sustainably managed woodland relativelyclose to the building site.

BambooBamboo grows everywhere in the tropics and is there-fore available on every continent except Europe. It isa high-quality building material that has a high load-bearing capacity and is very ductile; it is thus on a parwith hardwoods or even – because it grows extremelyquickly – superior to them. Like wood, bamboo mustbe treated against pests before use. In many placesthere are houses, schools, community halls, hotelsand churches made entirely of bamboo. Bamboo isoften used for ceilings and scaffolding and to bridgelarge spans. Bamboo is extremely earthquake-resist-ant. It needs to be protected from wet conditions bymeans of a roof overhang and stone wall base. Highfire protection standards are also required.

Natural and volcanic stoneNatural stone has good heat retention properties.There are many types of stone of varying resistanceand solidity. It is important to minimise the energyused in quarrying and transporting the stone. Naturalstone can be used both for walls and for the construc-tion of foundations and wall bases –for example, in houses of earth,wood or brick. Working with naturalstone is very labour-intensive. Al-though this creates jobs, it also in-creases the cost of using stone as abuilding material, with the amountof the increase depending on wagelevels. In some cases the construc-tion of stone walls uses large quan-tities of cement for the mortar joints.

Obstacles to building with earthand wood as a result of buildingregulations and building laws

Many building regulations do notpermit earthen construction andthus class much of the rural buildingstock as not compliant with the rules.This is partly the result of misguidedconcepts of modernity, a rejection of“old-fashioned” traditions of build-ing and inaccurate informationabout the earthquake resistance of

earthen buildings. Similarly, many building codescontain provisos and restrictions on the constructionof multi-storey wooden buildings. These provisos re-late mainly to fire protection. Building regulationsshould be updated in line with new insights from sci-ence and construction practice. For example, Germa-ny now permits the construction of wooden buildingsof up to seven storeys in height after having refusedconsent for such buildings for decades.

Lack of acceptance of “unusual” buildingmaterials and construction methods

People are often reluctant to accept local ma-terials such as earth, wood and bamboo because theyare associated with poverty. However, an increasingnumber of impressive houses are being built withthese materials. In these cases, local materials arenot being used because they are cheaper but becausethe resulting quality is first-class. All sections ofthe population value user-friendly buildings with apleasant interior climate.

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France: This modern-looking house is of pre-fabricated design and is built using woodenbeams and clay. The clay has good insulatingproperties and absorbs sound.

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Policy Paper Climate Responsive Construction

limate-responsive construction needs an ap-propriate enabling environment and promo-tion. The right framework enables those in-

volved in the construction process to give priority toclimate-friendly solutions. MISEREOR has formulated

the following principles that it calls on policy-makersand donor institutions to accept, together with guide-lines for the planning and implementation of con-struction projects:

Principles for policy-makerand donor institutions

1 Environmentally responsible and climate-friendlyconstruction methods should be more stronglypromoted. In financially supported constructionprojects, resource conservation and energy effi-ciency should be considered over the entire lifecycle of the building.

2. In areas where there is a great deal of constructionactivity, information centres providing advice onopportunities for using local building materialsshould be set up and supported.

3. Building regulations must permit earthen andwooden construction techniques without im-posing objectively unjustified restrictions.

4. Curricula for construction specialists at univer-sities and colleges and continuing training forworkers in the construction trades must giveappropriate weight to climate-friendly and tradition-al construction techniques and local building ma-terials.

5. When rebuilding houses after natural disasters,the use of non-industrially produced building ma-terials can enable relief and rehabilitation meas-ures to have a broad impact at low cost. Emergencyaid situations must not be a pretext for flying build-ing materials produced in energy-intensive waysinto the disaster area.

Guidelinesfor building projects

1. When planning a building project, considerationmust be given to climate change mitigation, re-source conservation and energy efficiency at everystage from the production of materials and con-struction to use and eventual demolition.

2. The feasibility of using locally available buildingmaterials such as earth, wood, bamboo or naturalstone should always be considered.

3. All options for reducing the overall quantities ofbuilding materials and making appropriate use ofexisting building materials and components, in-cluding through recycling, should be thoroughlyconsidered at the planning stage.

4. High quality standards in construction and goodmaintenance are key factors in prolonging the use-ful life of buildings.

5. Continued use and conversion should always takepriority over demolition and new construction.

6. Needs-driven planning requires the involvementof the future users or their representatives fromthe same cultural and social milieu.

7. Building projects should create employment op-portunities for disadvantaged population groupslocally; this may involve using labour-intensivemethods. Training, and in particular the training ofyoung people, should be a fixed component ofbuilding projects.

8. The health and safety of everyone working on thebuilding project must be protected, partly throughstrict compliance with safety standards.

5. Climate-responsive constructionneeds change!

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Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2014: AR5 ClimateChange 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Working Group IIIContribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change. Chapter 9: Buildings. Cam-bridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/ipcc_wg3_ar5_chapter9.pdf

International Finance Corporation 2018: EDGE Materials Ref-erence Guide, Version 2.1. https://www.edgebuildings.com/edge-user-guide-for-all-building-types-version-2-1-2/

Joffroy et. al 2017: Rebuilding Haiti: after the January 2010earthquake – risk reduction, building cultures and local devel-opment. Villefontaine: CRAterre.

McKinsey & Company 2011: Urban World: Mapping the Econo-mic Power of Cities. https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-in-sights/urbanization/urban-world-mapping-the-economic-power-of-cities

Müller et. al 2013: Carbon Emissions of Infrastructure Develop-ment. Environmental Science & Technology 47, 11739−11746.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es402618m

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UNEP 2018: Global Status Report. Towards a zero-emission,efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector.https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/global-status-report-2018

WBGU – Wissenschaftlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globa-le Umweltveränderungen 2016: Der Umzug der Menschheit:Die transformative Kraft der Städte. Berlin: WBGU. https://www.wbgu.de/de/publikationen/publikation/der-umzug-der-menschheit-die-transformative-kraft-der-staedte

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