Factors Influencing the Case of Collapse of Building in Kenya

Abstract

In the recent decade, Kenya has been experiencing a rapid demand for both residential and business building more on urban centers and cities. The demand for buildings has been characterized by increasing cases of collapse of buildings that have claimed the lives of hundreds of people leaving others with serious injuries and insignificant property losses. Building and construction engineers, contractors and masons have both a legal and moral obligation to build strong and reliable buildings, however, the trend of the collapse of buildings in Kenya is perturbing. In order to ensure the building of strong and durable houses, it is imperative to understand the factors contributing to the collapse of buildings. The study found out that the most common reasons form for the collapse are the building of houses exceeding the loading baring threshold in the area’s soil, the use of poor building materials and poor ratios of material. With the high demand for houses, unscrupulous developers collide with construction authorities fueled by greed to bypass set construction regulation hence building poor houses. Despite the several efforts by the government through National Constriction Authority to audit buildings, there are still many buildings unfit for habitation denoted by the continued report of the collapse of buildings. It is recommended for the government to formulate and implement stringent building safety procedures and regulations and ensure individuals that break them are punished amicably. A coherent professional building and construction engineering body should be constructed to uphold the integrity of construction engineers.