— in duplex house 3-D model building competition

LINDEN Technical Institute (LTI) has walked away as first place winners in the duplex house 3-D model building competition; another initiative of the Ministry of Housing to promote local creativity and increase participation in the nation’s housing sector.
The competition also saw the New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) and the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC), coming in second and third place respectively, while the Upper Corentyne Institute (UCI) was hailed for their participation in the model show.
Having the model competition was a brilliant idea to rekindle the creativity in local construction, technical assistant to the Housing Minister, Remington Nelson, said.
He indicated that there appears to be an absence of mid-level skills which is needed in areas of development. The ministerial assistant recalled questioning the importance of overseas labour for the most part of the construction of the Marriot Hotel, when previously predominantly Guyanese were the main labour source in major constructions such as the Demerara River Bridge.
“That middle level skill set has left our shores,” Nelson opined. He said building was one of the passions of earlier generations who from a young age found pleasure in creating; building their own go carts and other such creations for instance.
But that creativity has been ignored over the years. Nelson said this model duplex competition is an opportunity to remind Guyanese that “we can build things.”
He also pointed to a conversation where a foreigner had stated during the recently held housing activities, that Guyanese do not know how to use clay bricks.
Knowing that Guyana once had its own clay bricks factory and that this material can still be seen prominently displayed in construction around the country, Nelson, who took offence, stated “ that is the disrespect that we have imposed on ourselves”.
Engineer Bert Carter, who was chief judge of the four-member team and is also a board member of the Central Housing Planning Authority (CHPA), set out the parameters that entailed the competition, noting that skills and creativity were main ingredients incorporated in the judging process.

GOOD OPPORTUNITY
Carter too, felt that the Ministry’s initiative was a well-placed one in providing, “a good opportunity for students to express their skills”.
As a senior affiliate of the local construction industry, Carter remembers under the Burnham-regime housing establishments that are still standing strong today such as the single unit two-level family homes that were built particularly in the southern parts of the City.
The gathering at the simple ceremony also heard of construction styles and patterns deteriorating over time where contractors are providing substandard work for more money.
Carter pointed out for instance that the way septic tanks are being constructed today, were not exactly the same sometime ago, and that it was made some 80 per cent more efficient in managing waste.
Carter nonetheless, invited private contractors to adopt the idea of model homes to encourage a new attitude of quality and reliability in the housing sector.
He said once a contractor has created and displays his model home, and a potential homeowner desires that, then that is what the homeowner would receive, leaving little room for deviating from what they would have promised the customer.
In the meantime, the duplexes that were built for the Perseverance Housing Solutions 2017 and Beyond Expo were designed by CHPA’s team that included only local personnel.
The model homes competition involved only students. The model homes featured living room quarters, kitchen and an open garage on the ground floor; two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. The models were made with mainly chloroplast, with vinyl, and according to the Ministry, an actual constructed building from the models could be built with concrete or wood.
The models also entail solar systems, energy efficient lighting and other eco-friendly and energy saving features. The model house competition is said to be the first of more to come.