{"id":5793,"date":"2016-11-08T17:13:51","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T17:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ub.co.ke\/backup_site\/?p=5793"},"modified":"2016-11-08T17:20:10","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T17:20:10","slug":"housing-verb-sense-building-slowly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ub.co.ke\/backup_site\/housing-verb-sense-building-slowly\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing as a Verb: The Sense In Building Slowly."},"content":{"rendered":"

By definition, a verb is an action word. It brings the sense of unfolding series of steps. I would like to borrow this language and relate it to housing.
\nAll the conversation around home ownership has primarily been around buying\u00a0a fixed product. A House (A Noun). With no action expected on the part of the home owner apart from signing that mortgage agreement or cheque. This top-down authoritarian approach to housing ignores a major player in the equation, the user.
\nIntellectual Basis: The Freedom to Build<\/strong>
\nMost buildings cannot be occupied until they are finished. In real life, occupation certificate cannot be issued until the whole building has achieved\u00a0Practical Completion<\/em>. However, the question then to ask is, “What is \u201cCompletion?\u201d, Can Practical Completion be Achieved In Stages?”<\/p>\n

\"518gfvtmuml-_sx334_bo1204203200_\"“If housing is treated as a verbal entity, rather than a manufactured and packaged product (noun), decision-making power must, of necessity, remain in the hands of the users themselves.
\nThe ideal we should strive for is a model which conceives housing as an activity in which the users-as a matter of economic, social, and psychological Common Sense-are the principal actors. \u00a0This is not to say that every family should build its own house, as the urban squatters do, but rather that households should be free to choose their own housing, to build or direct its construction if they wish, and to use or manage it in their own ways.” – Freedom to Build, John F C Turner & Robert Fitchter (1972)<\/p>\n

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Self-build and The Law<\/strong>
\nWhat does the law say about self-build? Is Owner-Building prohibited by the Law? Surprisingly, the answer is partly Yes and No. The National Construction Authority Act 2011 provides in Section 16:<\/p>\n

\u201ca person shall not be deemed to be a contractor if the work undertaken\u2014 (i) does not incur a cost exceeding such sum or sums as the Board may from time to time determine; or (ii) consists of a residential house for private use, not requiring a structural design.\u201d – See more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2022 How many people can afford a Building Contractor?
\n\u2022 How many people can afford to buy a ready built house (ready to occupy)?
\n\u2022 Most importantly, how many people can afford a housing mortgage today? \u00a0According to a 2015 survey by Kenya Bankers Association, those who could afford a mortgage in Kenya are only 2.4% of the population.
\nFor a majority of the population, Assisted Self-Build(ASB) (Also called Do-It-Yourself) is the only viable option out if the dream of Home Ownership is to become a reality. In this regard, Building Slowly is the Common Sense Solution!<\/p>\n

The Reality<\/strong>
\nAdmit it! Most people don’t have to have all the money to build their\u00a0own “dream” house. And this is perfectly OK if you understand where to put the brakes and how to proceed to completion.
\nNobody ever has enough of everything on short notice. That is why humanity has embraced the concept of growth. Countries aspire to be developed or middle-income after certain number of years. They tell us, “Rome was not built in a day,” but seldom do we hear stories of victory by ordinary people building their life one step at a time. We are inundated with messages of “Utahama Lini<\/em>” as if housing is an emergency. It is not unless it is!
\nReal Life Example: Application of Build Slowly<\/strong>
\nIn February 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake hit Chile, killing approximately 500 people and destroying 80% of the buildings<\/a> in the town of Constituci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n

\"137009-004-510fc42a\"<\/p>\n

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An award winning firm of Architects called Elemental reconstructed the homes named, \u201cVilla Verde\u201d, housing complex with more than 480 sustainable homes for the victims of the earthquake.
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