Construction of Low Cost Housing in Developing Countries Proper housing is an important need for every human being. Types of accommodations depend on: -the proper utilization of resources and economic well being. -the income level; if any! -the high cost of building materials.

How to achieve low cost To find out cheaper building materials and improved construction technique so that the finished house will be the reach of the poor people. This my be achieved in two ways: by using cheap local materials and by developing new concept of house-making. The problem of low cost housing is a characteristic of the area so some low cost houses built at certain developing countries may not be considered low in other areas.

Housing for urban poor High rise buildings containing small apartments where the low income groups could take advantage of these reasonably low houses.

Houses in Rural Areas Traditional houses are made of mud walls, bamboo poles, split bamboo and large leaves collected from the forest. An improvement is the house made from timber column, timber truss and specially prepared straw covering. In hot places these coverings keep the houses cool. The construction technique is not difficult and local people have built such houses on self-help basis. Houses are generally built on an elevated land.

Prefabricated Timber Houses Prefab timber houses are making a headway in the building industry. Such mass production could reduce the cost as low as possible.

Geodesic Dome Geodesic dome (a domed or vaulted structure of lightweight straight elements that form interlocking polygons) houses can be designed to provide low cost, self-help homes. The simple timber frame construction uses fixing straight poles of bamboo. A number of such domes of different sizes may be connected to make a complete house. Living space costs less that half of the conventionally designed houses and excellent for areas with high rainfall.

Igloo Type Dome Bamboo fiber is found to have good structural characteristics and can be used as cheap reinforcement. It is like an extra thin shell with core reinforcement as steel or bamboo mesh. Combination of different sizes of this shell can give enough private spaces. The design and construction of shell is not easy. Parabolic shape will create enough rigidity to maintain itself without bending and stay in position even when a strong wind is blowing.

Precast Housing Units This unit is made up of brick wall and hyperbolic-paraboloid shell as the roof element. The foundation and walls are first constructed on an elevated land. The precast roof elements are placed one after another with a gap between them. Light planks are supported underneath the gaps and one inch thick concrete is cast over all gaps.

Corrugated R. C. Slab Unit The light corrugated sheet flies away during storm. Relatively heavy R.C. slab units can be used in the form of corrugated covering. The bamboo poles or timber columns need to be replaced by brick walls to carry the slabs. In this type of construction locally trained people can cast slabs and use them for the roof covering.