They won an international prize. Algerian students designed eco-friendly homes

Sarah Jagriff - Algeria

A group of Algerian students who are passionate about modern sciences has formed a scientific team to design biomedical houses by utilizing their academic expertise in their fields of specialization in architecture, civil engineering and renewable energies.

International cooperation to develop the project
The ten Algerian students, working under the supervision of four specialized professors, have succeeded in collaborating with Hungarian students who share the same interest in working together to develop the engineering and design of bioclimatic houses.

Before this Algerian team named Someshine was able to shine in the international competition for the design of bio-climatic houses for the year 2019 (Solar Decathlon Europe) hosted by the State of Hungary.

The house project they designed was ranked second in the world in architecture, third in energy and fifth in the final classification.

"This was a very excellent experience, with the participation of other groups from different countries in this field, where we learned about the latest technologies and how to coordinate scientific and practical research at the same time to build a house," said Abdelkader Lafar, a member of the Algerian team. ".

"We are currently preparing to participate in the upcoming edition of the competition, which will be held in 2021, which is titled SDE21 and hosted by Germany, with great enthusiasm and passion and we seek to shine again."

Eco-friendly houses and clean energies
According to the student Abdelkader Lafar, the construction of biomedical houses is based on the use of environmental materials to reduce energy consumption, taking into account climatic factors, and to provide alternative energy such as solar energy if required.

This type of house depends on two main factors. The first is “inert” architecture, which builds comfortable homes with minimal energy consumption, such as the construction of a house that is warm in winter without the need for a fireplace thanks to the use of climatic factors during its design and the use of environmental building materials and supply With thick insulation and standard ventilation system.

The second is active engineering that integrates sustainable health concepts into design such as ensuring physical activity and others through an internal structure that allows people to move around comfortably, for example.

As for the materials used in the construction, Abdel Kader explains to Al Jazeera.net: "We use in the construction of these houses natural materials that are not harmful to human health or nature such as: mud and natural insulation such as stones, reeds, wood, building materials produced from natural resources, in addition to relying on renewable energies. Meme it in heating or cooling such as the exploitation of solar energy, wind energy or underground resources and everything that is renewable. "

According to the student's accompanying professor, Sumaya Ben Qassi, the ordinary houses we live in can be converted to biomedical houses, noting that this is done by introducing new technologies and replacing the energy sources inside the house with renewable and clean energies.

Limited investment in an effective field
As for the importance of investment in this field in Algeria, Abdelkader Lafar explains in an interview with Aljazeera.net: "The project of climate houses is very important in terms of energy economy and in terms of clean energy environmentally friendly, and lack of interest in this area wastes great investment opportunities for Algeria, especially in terms of reducing housing costs .

Bioclimatic houses, he said, have a low cost compared to ordinary homes, where the cost of building a biomedical house does not exceed two-thirds of the price of ordinary houses, yet they consider it a high cost and can be reduced to a third if there is a culture of recycling and consumption of clean energy in Algeria.

If the average price of an ordinary house in Algeria is 3 million dinars, or about $ 20,000, the biomedical house does not exceed the price of 1 million dinars, equivalent to 7 thousand dollars, and can be reduced to 20 percent.

"The cost reduction is also on the long run, because the biomedical house reduces and saves on energy consumption, thereby reducing the value of bills on the one hand, and reducing carbon emissions on the other," Bin Qassi told Al Jazeera Net.

Members of the Algerian team, such as Abdelkader and his colleagues, Chakib Larraj, a specialist in civil engineering, and Sami Karrada, on the basis of their experience, advise students in general to move towards the development of projects of biomass climate, because of its economic and technological importance on the one hand and the environment on the other, especially as it is not linked to a particular region without the other. Such projects can be constructed according to their climatic characteristics, but desert areas remain the most in need of such projects.