People who cannot afford house plans will soon have
the designs available to them.
The plans will be given through the Small Houses
Bureau to be established by the Zambia Institute of
Architects (ZIA).
Newly elected president Bwalya Masabo said the institute will come up with standard low cost house designs
especially for people in rural areas who typically cannot
afford the plans.
Mr. Masabo said as a way of architects giving back to
society, the plans will not attract any architectural fees
but will only have a minimal charge to cover the cost
of stationery for the drawings.
“We will work out a guideline on how the plans will be
available to the public but ideally they are supposed to
target people who might have a challenge in accessing
architects in far flung areas like Shangombo or Kaputa,” Mr. Masabo said.
Councils in the districts will work with ZIA and the
bureau to provide the designs and help bridge the gap
in accessing architects in the nation.
The bureau will also come up with suggestions on sustainable construction methods to help potential home
owners.
”So beyond just providing a plan, we will also be
guiding on techniques and construction methods,” Mr.
Masabo said.
He said provision of these plans to the financially-challenged will assume greater significance should a time
arise when the services of an architect are made mandatory.
“We had a challenge in certain circles about what will
happen in areas where there are no architects if their
service was mandatory.
However, Mr. Masabo said the mandatory use of an
architect can only become enforceable if all stakeholders support the move.
This article originally appeared in Build Now, 7th Edition, Volume 1. February to May 2021
