WALL MATERIAL SELECTION FOR AFfORDABLE HOUSING: INTEGRATED FUZZY AHP AND TOPSIS APPROACHES

Abstract

The selection of wall material for affordable housing is a multi-attribute decision problem that has to reconcile structural safety, economic circumstances, local implementation conditions, and environmental performance under various regional contexts. This study develops an integrated Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) framework for the most appropriate wall material for affordable housing in Banjarnegara, Cilacap, and Tasikmalaya regencies, Indonesia. Three mainstream wall alternatives, clay brick, concrete block, and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block, were evaluated using fifteen sub attributes grouped into four attributes: technical, economic, social, and environmental. Expert and practitioner judgments were used to derive the attribute weights using FAHP, and district-specific performance data was utilized in TOPSIS to rank the alternatives. The weight of priority for the technical attribute (0.4739) was stated to be higher than the economic (0,2182), and the social attribute (0.1939), while the environmental attribute received the lowest weight (0.1140). At sub attribute level, structural and seismic safety performance; durability weathering, moisture, and humidity; initial construction cost were the highest impact attributes. TOPSIS placed AAC blocks first in all regencies, followed by clay bricks and concrete blocks.