Investigating the rationale for material selection in tropical housing projects in Uganda – a Case for Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks (ISSB) technology

Behind Uganda’s housing construction industry are conventional practices in the choice of building materials, particularly burned bricks (BBs) bonded together with thick mortar of up to 30 mm to erect walls for housing. Due to the growing population, the demand for houses in Uganda has increased in the recent years, increasing the demand for building materials. However, meeting this increased demand can speed up deforestation and worsen the effects of climate change since the firing of bricks in Uganda takes 5.7 times more energy than that recorded in the ICE database of general baked clay bricks in the UK.