A new building technology developed by the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) has aroused interest of Nigerians.

The innovation called Movable House Technology was unveiled in Abuja at the Science Technology and Innovation Expo 2018.

The movable three-bedroom house caught attention of many who thronged the expo venue.

It was a complete three-bedroom made of red bricks with kitchen, two conveniences and a little circulation that could be used as dinning area.

The Director-General of NIBBRI, Prof. Danladi Matawal who was elated by the attraction the house caused, told guests that the technology was homegrown.

He reacted, “I think the attraction here is primarily the three-bedroom house that has been constructed.

“It’s completely dismantleable. Everything that has been put here is made in the institute.

“Even the fine floor, wall, ceiling finishings, the frames for the doors and windows – everything is made in-house.

“The foundation is in-house. So the main attraction is that, here’s a three-bedroom, placed in the Eagle Square.

“You can dismantle and reassemble it in another location of your choice within two to three days.

“It gives a lot of options to users who want to own homes. If you want to live in a certain location in the rainy season, in another one in the dry season, you can move with your house,” Prof Matawal explained.

It’s by fabricated machines

He told Viewpoint Housing News that the institute can fabricate machines that produce compressed bricks, interlocking blocks for accelerated housing erection, adding that the technology had been with the institute for 10 years.

According to the Director General, the institute’s machines in different parts of the country are used to produce cheap building bricks for classroom blocks (primary and secondary schools), skill centres, town halls and palaces.

Meeting demands

The Director General said the institute has reached a stage where it can respond rapidly to needs within a very short while.

“Basically, it’s been the problem of commercialisation. We fabricate the machines but we’ve reached agreement now with a fabricator where, depending on the number of machines that are required, we can meet within one, two months, provision of as many as 20 machines.

“You can engage them on a very massive application. You produce on site massively for the construction,” he stated.

Matawal who beckoned entrepreneurs for commercialisation of the innovation said the interlocking block technology is used on 300 sites in Nigeria.

He added, “But we also need to sensitise particularly the middle and low level income groups to know that here’s a cheap option.

“It can be sourced from local materials anywhere. It is durable, rain cannot wash it out.

“The degree of stabilisation and compression is of very high — strength and density.

“Here’s a ready made solution for affordable housing. We can apply it and alleviate the suffering of…our people.”

The advantages

Advantages of using this technology are many. In terms of security, it is said that the blocks are bullet proof. According to Matawal, the technology affords as much as 40 percent savings from the conventional works.

He explained, “The advantage is that you don’t need to use mortar for the joints.

“During fabrication of the blocks, they create…which interlock into each other. And if they’re properly made, there’s no need for any plastering at all.

“It also gives many options, particularly…IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] because…three-bedroom, the ideal time for its mounting is two days. You can react very fast to challenges of internally displaced people.

“More importantly, civil servants get transferred and they don’t own houses everywhere.

“This is an option – you can move with your house – the only thing is maybe, you’ll have to rent a space for the period.”

Daniel Omata who was excited by the technology expressed, “I like it because it’s cool. It needs no painting, no cement.”

Jida Mohammed appealed to the federal government to step up the deployment of the innovation for mass housing.

NBRRI, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) was established on April 1, 1978 with mandate to conduct integrated research and development activities into the varied aspects of the building and road construction industries.