| dc.description.abstract | This study is about building processes and their effect on the performance of tall
buildings from a technological perspective. The study was not concerned with the poetic
and spatial issues of Architecture. The study focused on practical issues associated with
materials and construction techniques applied during usage of these materials. The
research examined how the selection and usage of these materials affected the
performance of buildings in- service. The external wall of multi-storeyed buildings was
used as the element for study.
The hypothesis of this study is that building processes have an influence on the
performance of buildings once in service. It has been established in the literature review
that the failures likely to occur in a tall building are dampness, displacement of
components, discolouring of components and cracking of components. These are the
broad categories of defects likely to be found in a building. The predictor variables were
established to be the design process, construction process and maintenance of buildings.
The analysis of data from the survey of Nairobi buildings revealed that their performance
is mostly affected by water related defects. Displacement of components and cracking of
components were the second and third most occurring defects respectively. It has also
been established through the study that building failure in Nairobi central area is a
significant issue because none of the buildings surveyed was free from defects. On
average each building-s.ujTered from 6 different types of defects.
The analysis of the data, collected from the field also revealed that for every fault that
occurs in a building there exists two types of causes. These are the primary causes and
the secondary causes. A secondary cause is the immediate cause of a failure while the
primary cause is the real cause responsible for the failure. Natural agents such as wind,
rain, sun, gravity etc are the secondary causes of building failures while human actions
such as inadequate design, poor workmanship and delayed maintenance comprise the
pnmary causes.
The conclusion drawn from this research is that the performance of buildings depends
largely on the way design, construction and maintenance of the buildings is handled.
These are the significant components of the building process which have a strong
influence on the ultimate performance of a building. The research has established that
there exist no feedback mechanism in the building process, that the relationships between
the key components of the process are weak and that the individual components of the
process need to be improved. The research has recommended the relevant actions that
need to be taken to improve this situation. | en |
