Building for comfort and the environment
Albert Ablorh-Odjidja

March 03, 2015

To start with, the current paradigm for building designs in Ghana are truthfully part of the problem. A lot of our builders and the people who live in these houses all too often watch too much television dramas of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. And without doing any research, demand similar copycat constructions....."mi peh wei bi".

All too often, and more increasing lately, you see structures in Ghana, not just residential but commercial high rises too, that look like what you would find in NYC.

Instantly on first thought, you ask, how are they keeping these buildings cool, how are these building breathing; are they able to provide AC cooling?

Your next thought is the demand on the grid by these buildings. How are they able to keep this state of affair going - more draw from the grid and/or with the support of a generator on site?

Again, the huge demand on grid and fossil fuel is apparent but how can this model be sustainable?

Let’s assume neither is sustainable for the long term. So we are left to assume that at some time in the future there would not be an adequate power supply to properly ventilate the building. Then over time, the humidity levels inside these building will increase and with the lack of adequate ventilation the walls will begin to hold moisture, which eventually creates mold spores that as you probably know, in even small quantities, can be disastrous to human health.

Eventually, we will have in these magnificent NYC style buildings what we call the Sick Building Syndrome - an illness affecting workers in the premises, characterized by skin irritations, headache, and respiratory problems, and known to be caused by indoor pollutants, microorganisms, or inadequate ventilation.

Sick Building Syndrome is real. However our brethren will tell you otherwise should you raise the issue with them. When you mention the subject they will tell you "ho, but what do you know?"

Well excuse me, we have power demand and health problems here!

My recent discussion with a cousin, a doctor, pointed to the same concerns under discussion here. We came to the conclusion that there is a problem with the way we build. And that to make some headways at solving the problem, we first have to build in a way that helps us cope with the current power shortages or problems.

Incidentally, or rather thoughtfully so, this cousin has an eco-friendly house built at Abokobi, a suburb in Accra. This is a house that has no need for air-conditioning and thus demands very little draw on the grid while at the same time providing a comfortable airy, living accommodation.

This modest house at Abokobi replicates the tranquility that comes with the location. And the building structure, though simple and rustic, is very refined. It is organic by the very nature of its location and its use of the environment to create a certain calmness - even before one gets to enter into the cool ambiance inside.

The doctor owns the house at Abokobi and its design. The design is a good statement on what should be considered when designing houses. A good amount of planning in the placement of perimeter walls. Distances of these walls from the houses do affect the ability for effective ventilation, the placement of trees and shrubs in and around the house to redirect wind. Choice of ground covers to affect the reflectivity indices must be considered. These are all areas to be considered in the construction of a residential home or office.

There are limiting factors which, to some extent, can be controlled. Land location is a choice and a function of money. What your next door neighbor is doing can also affect your ability to incorporate and implement all these energy saving ideas.

If only the masses can allow them selves to learn from the style of this simple structure at Abokobi, it will be a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, not too many Ghanaians appreciate a structure like this for the style to flourish.

The task for Ghanaian architects will be to shift their thoughts on what good design really entails. Simply put, they must design for the environment.

1. Open plan design- Ghanaians like the use of too many doors, which stifles the flow of wind and creates hot zones and hot pockets.
2. Wing-walls, overhangs and eaves, Louvers - I am not sure why you don’t see a lot of these outside of windows; at least you do see a good use of veranda's and porches. Also placement of windows and doors to provide efficient cross ventilation and cooling of rooms. Placing windows at diagonal corners eliminates hot pockets.
3. Proper placement of interior partial partitions to redirect and channel air flow - This not only creates better ventilation, can also add to the aesthetics of an interior space, to create that intrigue of what lies beyond, and create privacy without adding a door.
4. Tall ceilings to allow the hot air to escape through the roof.
5. Sod roofs - with the amount of rainfall we get it should not be all that difficult to have this concept, however for it work, they will have to know how to design roof systems that are capable to be used as sod roof. Therein lies the challenge.
6. Double roof: this concept allows for the construction of a gap of air that separate the heat conductive building material and the inner space of the house, this gap provide a path where air flow will suction off heat that has been gained and absorbed within the structure itself…….and on and on. I could list all the different tech advantages of what can be done to live with the current condition and not really have to rely on the grid to live. That solves one problem, but we the other problem is that we need power to keep up with the rest of the world.

Ideally, government can help in this direction by providing some incentives for people to build this way.

Well these are my penny thoughts!

Albert Ablorh-Odjidja
NYC, March 03, 2015