| dc.description.abstract | This thesis constitutes a study of the role of design in
building failures, with special reference to Government owned
residential buildings within Nairobi Area. The study uses
frequency of building failures to examine the role played by
the design team in contributing to failures and concludes with
recommendations to be adopted to minimise the same.
The work has been split into three parts. Part I
includes the introductory Chapter which covers the general
introductory formalities of the study. It sets the premise against
which the role of design in building failures is examined. This
is followed by two chapters dealing with ,the theoretical framework
of building failure characteristics and their causes and, the
influence of design in building failures respectively.
Part 2 of the thesis consists of the case study. The
case study approach has been chosen in the conviction that
it is more practical permitting one to deal in greater detail
and to develop an in-depth understanding of the role of design
in building failures, than. masses of quantitative survey data
from all over the country.
From the case study, a unique .set of problems that need
urgent action by the authorities concerned are exemplified.
The design decisions taken by the Ministry of Works,
Housing and Physical Planning have an impact on building
failures because most of the design decisions are undertaken on an 'ad hoc' basis without any feed-back information from
the contractors, users and maintenance supervisors on past
experiences and problems. This feed-back information can
for m the basis for future design decisions and a criterion for
performance measurement since past experiences and problems
are supposed to be the designer's raw materials. The design
process practised by the same Ministry was also found to be
disintegrated, with each professional doing things in "his ' own
way. The process does not involve the contractor who is in
a better position to advise the design team on the various
materials used, their behavioural characteristics, dimensions
and tolerance. The contractor is also the person who has the
practical experience on the buildability of any building design
and has the capabilities and know-how on the application method
of all materials. Apart from the contractor, the process does
not incorporate the maintenance supervisors and users who
can provide feed-back information which is vital. This can
lead to avoiding the use of a particular material or finish
which is not adequate to a given situation. Education on use
and maintenance .of the buildings on the side of the users was
found to be lacking. This education is supposed to be
imparted to the users by both the design team and the maintenance
supervisors. All these problems have resulted in the production
of buildings which do not measure upto the expectations of
the clients or users. These have had unpleasant implications
to the Ministry charged with the responsibility of providing
and maintaining Government buildings.
The final part of this study is a summary of findings
and recommendations, Here, the theoretical concepts defined
in Part I and the empirical findings collected in part 2 are
brought together and synthesised. Here amendments are proposed
to the existing design procedures and policy options stated.
It is considered that good design decisions should involve
all those affected by the products of the building industry
through a blend of traditional design and systems design methods. | en |
