Contexte
Since 2010, the Fondation pour le Logement des Défavorisés (FPL) and CRAterre have been working in partnership to help the most disadvantaged people gain access to decent housing. In June 2023, the FPL renewed its trust in CRAterre for a further three years. This gave rise to the ‘Networking to promote access to decent housing’ project, the aim of which is to support FPL's international partners in developing methods and tools to improve the response to people's access to decent housing.
The aim of this project is to support FPL's international partners in the development of methods and tools to improve people's access to decent housing. The project has 2 main focuses.
The first involves providing CRAterre's expertise to FPL's partner organisations that express a need for it.
The second involves coordinating the network of FPL partners in order to co-develop methods and tools relating to housing, associated with the themes of respect for production methods, gender and climate change.
Objectives
The construction sector is now recognised as one of the priority areas for addressing the challenges of adapting to climate change. In tropical regions, rising temperatures, changing humidity patterns and rapid urban growth are exacerbating thermal discomfort in homes. In the face of these challenges, the renovation of existing housing is a key means of improving people’s living conditions whilst limiting the use of energy-intensive air-conditioning solutions.
It is against this backdrop that the FRESH project (Promoting Renovations and Solutions for Energy Efficiency in Housing in Hot Climates) has been launched, led by GERES in partnership with Eco-Bénin and several local stakeholders. Implemented in Benin, the project aims to test and disseminate renovation solutions tailored to households’ climatic, economic and social contexts, by utilising passive approaches that enable a sustainable improvement in indoor thermal comfort. This internship took place in both France and Benin, as part of the FRESH project team.
This project examines the role of local materials, traditional building techniques and bioclimatic approaches in contemporary housing renovation strategies, focusing on the following question: How can local building practices, ways of living and bioclimatic approaches inform accessible strategies for the renovation and extension of housing in Benin?
Results
Initial field observations quickly revealed that residents are already developing numerous ways of adapting to the heat – often subtle but effective – which rely on the layout of spaces, the use of materials, shading devices and the day-to-day management of domestic activities. At the same time, recent changes in housing reveal a growing prevalence of standardised building models, primarily based on the use of cement, concrete blocks and sheet metal, whose thermal performance is sometimes ill-suited to local climatic conditions.
These observations have gradually led to a shift away from an approach focused solely on materials towards a broader consideration of the relationships between housing, climate and usage patterns. The issue is therefore no longer merely one of proposing new technical solutions, but also of understanding the logic of living, the evolutionary trajectories of dwellings and the forms of knowledge already present within communities.
In order to explore these issues, the project was structured around four complementary areas corresponding to the course deliverables. The first involved compiling a catalogue of building and spatial practices promoting thermal comfort, as observed in the field. The second focused on the co-design of bioclimatic extensions with the households participating in the project. The third focused on the design and testing of educational tools to raise awareness of thermal comfort among residents and tradespeople. Finally, the fourth area involved supporting pilot renovation projects and testing breathable lime and earth-based render.
Beyond the technical results produced, this work offers a reflection on the conditions for climate adaptation that is also a form of cultural adaptation, mindful of economic realities, everyday practices and local dynamics of housing transformation.
Partners
UrbaSEN, Grdr, Padem, Lumanti, CADECOM, CARD
GERES, Eco-Bénin
