The Art and Reactionary Elements on the use of Alternative Building Materials in the Benin Metropolis

The housing crisis in our urban centres is
chronic. The cities are characterized by rapid growth,
high demand, but poor housing. At present, the Benin
metropolis is undergoing an explosive urban population
growth due to rural-urban population drift
compounded by the current insecurity and
unemployment in the northern part of the country.
The awareness of affordable low cost housing for the
middle and low income earners is growing daily. The
inadequacy has become a great concern all over the
world thereby making it a priority to many

international, local governmental and non-
governmental organizations. Exploring the reuse of

readily available alternative traditional building
materials like earth, bamboo etc., which had been
substituted with conventional materials such as
cements, steel, glass etc. is inevitable. The human and
environmental reactions to the process of conceiving,
designing, construction and commissioning of dwelling
units to help tackle and give sustainable impact on the
housing shortage for the middle and low income earners
of the society is growing daily. Appropriate use of earth
in construction will produce cost-effective and
comfortable buildings. Earth and bamboo are viable
alternative building materials, reusable, biodegradable,
sustainable resources and construction for adaptation to
climate change. The integration of computational design
into traditional building material enhances the optimum
delivery of housing in the Benin Metropolis.