Month: April 2013

Architect’s advise to 1st time Home Owners.

1. What is the first thing a potential home owner ought to do in building a home?

A potential home owner needs to seek advice regarding feasibility of the project. Feasibility encompasses knowing if budget will be enough, return on investment will be good, design/shape/style of the house will fit for the particular purpose e.t.c.
For example, the house size, class of finishes and shape in up market areas such as Karen, Runda and Muthaiga is distinctively different from the middle and low class suburbs of Nairobi. This means that house owners in these regions have gotten their feasibility right.

 Why you need to hire an architect to draw up a plan for your house?

Architects are best placed to offer correct and accurate information regarding the construction industry. This is because during their day to day roles, they are able to note new changes in factors such as materials cost increase/decrease, new technology/materials in the market and new design/fashion /shape trends .
For example, the new buildings coming up in upper hill and along Waiyaki way,Westlands have a trendy style as compared to older buildings in the same area. The Delta Building at Westlands has utilized a unique way to resolve the car park issue by increasing the surface area available for car parking.

 What is the role of the architect in the process of building you home?

Architect’s role is described under Chaper 525 of the Laws of Kenya and is broken down into 5 parts as follows.

Part A. This entails the architect giving the client information on how the building industry operates. Issues such as the role of Quantity Surveyors, Engineers etc is discussed.

Part B. This entails feasibility study and design of the building to fit within client’s taste and budget.

Part C. This entails submitting the drawings to the local authority for approval.

Part D. This entails coming up with detailed drawings that describe the building in finer detail. These drawings are what the Quantity Surveyor uses to estimate accurate costs and for the building contractor uses to carry out the actual construction.

Part E. This entails selecting a contractor and supervising the actual construction till completion.

 How does an architect determine the cost / outcome of the house?

Due to involvement with various buildings of various natures such as residential houses, schools, hotels, an architect can be able to derive the cost per m2 of the complete building.
This cost will depend on whether the finishes used are of low, middle or high class. With this information, an architect can be able to safely assume that if building X was constructed at kes Y, then if a new building similar to building X is constructed, it will cost approximately the same. Quantity Surveyors go deeper into costing by deriving all materials and labor that will be used into the building and breaking it down in a Bill of Quantities which is more accurate than a general cost estimate.

 What determines the size and design of the house?

The major factor that determines size and design is the budget. A quick look at houses in Karen and Runda will reveal the fact that the houses are huge and all are of different unique designs compared to say Rongai where most houses are smaller and of a similar design.
This shows that house owners in the upmarket areas can be able to afford the huge space and he architects who will come up with the unique shaped houses compared to other middle and low class neighbourhoods whereby the owners will mostly copy the neighbor’s style .

 For homeowners who are building on a budget, now can they cut costs while building without compromising the safety and quality of the house?

Cost is very different from safety of houses. All the buildings which have collapsed around Nairobi have all used up a minimum of kes 50 million by the time of collapse. This shows that the owners had many millions at their disposal at the time of collapse.
The common denominator in such buildings is that the owners, however wealthy, ignored or were not aware of the consultants available in the building industry such as Architects and Engineers. All the collapsed buildings around Nairobi have not been designed by architects and Engineers.

There are various methods that can be used to reduce the construction costs without compromise of safety. Factors such as reduction of wasted space in corridors, use of locally available materials, reduction in use of reinforced concrete where unnecessary etc goes a long way in overall cost reduction.
A look at the older buildings built during the colonial period in upper hill area will show how many factors that reduce costs were utilized and the buildings are still standing strong, 50 years after construction.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

Architect’s advise to 1st time Home Owners.

1. What is the first thing a potential home owner ought to do in building a home?

A potential home owner needs to seek advice regarding feasibility of the project. Feasibility encompasses knowing if budget will be enough, return on investment will be good, design/shape/style of the house will fit for the particular purpose e.t.c.
For example, the house size, class of finishes and shape in up market areas such as Karen, Runda and Muthaiga is distinctively different from the middle and low class suburbs of Nairobi. This means that house owners in these regions have gotten their feasibility right.

 Why you need to hire an architect to draw up a plan for your house?

Architects are best placed to offer correct and accurate information regarding the construction industry. This is because during their day to day roles, they are able to note new changes in factors such as materials cost increase/decrease, new technology/materials in the market and new design/fashion /shape trends .
For example, the new buildings coming up in upper hill and along Waiyaki way,Westlands have a trendy style as compared to older buildings in the same area. The Delta Building at Westlands has utilized a unique way to resolve the car park issue by increasing the surface area available for car parking.

 What is the role of the architect in the process of building you home?

Architect’s role is described under Chaper 525 of the Laws of Kenya and is broken down into 5 parts as follows.

Part A. This entails the architect giving the client information on how the building industry operates. Issues such as the role of Quantity Surveyors, Engineers etc is discussed.

Part B. This entails feasibility study and design of the building to fit within client’s taste and budget.

Part C. This entails submitting the drawings to the local authority for approval.

Part D. This entails coming up with detailed drawings that describe the building in finer detail. These drawings are what the Quantity Surveyor uses to estimate accurate costs and for the building contractor uses to carry out the actual construction.

Part E. This entails selecting a contractor and supervising the actual construction till completion.

 How does an architect determine the cost / outcome of the house?

Due to involvement with various buildings of various natures such as residential houses, schools, hotels, an architect can be able to derive the cost per m2 of the complete building.
This cost will depend on whether the finishes used are of low, middle or high class. With this information, an architect can be able to safely assume that if building X was constructed at kes Y, then if a new building similar to building X is constructed, it will cost approximately the same. Quantity Surveyors go deeper into costing by deriving all materials and labor that will be used into the building and breaking it down in a Bill of Quantities which is more accurate than a general cost estimate.

 What determines the size and design of the house?

The major factor that determines size and design is the budget. A quick look at houses in Karen and Runda will reveal the fact that the houses are huge and all are of different unique designs compared to say Rongai where most houses are smaller and of a similar design.
This shows that house owners in the upmarket areas can be able to afford the huge space and he architects who will come up with the unique shaped houses compared to other middle and low class neighbourhoods whereby the owners will mostly copy the neighbor’s style .

 For homeowners who are building on a budget, now can they cut costs while building without compromising the safety and quality of the house?

Cost is very different from safety of houses. All the buildings which have collapsed around Nairobi have all used up a minimum of kes 50 million by the time of collapse. This shows that the owners had many millions at their disposal at the time of collapse.
The common denominator in such buildings is that the owners, however wealthy, ignored or were not aware of the consultants available in the building industry such as Architects and Engineers. All the collapsed buildings around Nairobi have not been designed by architects and Engineers.

There are various methods that can be used to reduce the construction costs without compromise of safety. Factors such as reduction of wasted space in corridors, use of locally available materials, reduction in use of reinforced concrete where unnecessary etc goes a long way in overall cost reduction.
A look at the older buildings built during the colonial period in upper hill area will show how many factors that reduce costs were utilized and the buildings are still standing strong, 50 years after construction.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

GREEN ARCHITECTURE FOR RESIDENTIAL HOUSES. NDARAGWA, KENYA, CASE STUDY.

Green Architecture solutions have advantages broken down into 3 parts.

1.Environmental benefits.

2. Economic Benefits.

3.Social Benefits.

Environmental benefits.

These are benefits that ensure that the building plays its part in sustainability of planet earth. These can further be broken down as below.

a. Waste water recycling.

This is the use of methods of recycling waste water for reuse within the home. Grey water from Kitchens and bathrooms can be diverted for use to irrigate the landscape. Sewer water can also be treated for re use but this comes at a higher cost. On average, a sewer treatment plant that can treat sewerage for reuse will cost approx. kes 500,000 for a domestic home. Grey water from Kitchens and bathrooms do not need any extra financial costs to divert for irrigation.

b. Energy conservation.

Generation of power from Solar panels ensures that the energy generated for home use is sustainable. Conversion of solar energy to electrical energy using solar cells is the most efficient with an efficiency rate of approx. 20%.

Economic benefits.

a. Use of locally available natural materials.

Careful selection of locally available construction materilas saves costs since transportation is reduced.

b. Increase on value of building.

A building constructed using Green Architecture principles has a higher valuation which can be used as leverage for collateral while seeking for funds from financial institution. This higher value also attracts higher rents . A good example on this is the numerous hotels and resorts within the Kenyan game parks which attract higher lodging fees compared to normal buildings. This is mainly because Green Architecture gives the building a unique feel compared to other building types which translates to higher value.

c. Reduction of maintenance costs.

Most Green architecture materials have fewer maintenance costs. For example, use of zero jointed walls, cobble stone exteriors etc result in minimal maintenance costs compared to other non Green architecture exterior walling methods.

Social Benefits.

a. Improved health.

Green architecture concepts ensure that the occupants do not suffer health wise. Use of natural materials such as wood parquet instead of HDF wood plastic and MDF boards ensures that chances of the occupants inhaling poisonous cancer causing formaldehyde is reduced.

Careful placement of windows in line with the suns path ensures that natural sunlight enters into the house and acts as a natural disinfectant hence reduction of infections and moulds. Cross ventilation also ensures that the quality of air in the house is of high quality hence reduction in pulmonary infections.

b. Green building ensures creation of jobs to the neighbors since materials are sourced from the neighborhood.

These materials in most cases require labor intensive processing hence creating numerous job opportunities to the local inhabitants e.g. zero jointed walls and wood plank roofing systems .

Conclusion.

Feng Shui

Feng Shui means wind and water. Its a 6000 year old Chinese/Asian method of design whereby the positive energy is encouraged to flow within the building.

Green Architecture borrows heavily from the 6000year old Feng Shui principles to assist the home owner derive the above benefits outlined above.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

Green Architecture in Kenya. Solar Power.
Advantages of Solar Power.

Cost Savings.

Use of Solar power to heat water and provide electric energy might seem expensive during installation but in the long run, will provide alot of savings. With the ever increasing KPLC power bills, assuming a power bill of kes 2000 per month, this will take only 4 years to offset a solar power installation of kes 100,000.

This will enable the occupants to use free energy for the rest of their lives after the 4 years of initial payment as opposed to KPLC regular bills for as long as electric power energy is in use.
New Government.

With the new Uhuru Kenyatta Government which has emphasized on Solar energy in its manifesto, its a matter of time before KPLC agrees to buy back excess solar power generated from individual residences.

In developed countries such as Germany, individual residences have installed solar panels which harvest solar energy during the day and sell it to the National power grid.

They then buy power back at night using the same power grid. This enables the country to ensure there are no power deficits while it save the house occupants from a high power bill. The meters are arranged in such a way that during the day they count negative electric energy while at night they count the usual positive energy units hence a net savings.

In Kenya, this has not been possible because the previous Governments were not emphasizing and encouraging this to happen. The major costs for solar power lies in the storage/batteries.

If KPLC can agree to buy back the electric energy during the day and the house occupants buy power normally during the night, this will go a long way in saving the high costs of buying batteries to save the solar power.

KPLC can ensure they have control of the frequency of power by being the sole suppliers of the DC to AC inverters.
If KPLC and the Uhuru Kenyatta Government can encourage the buying back of excess solar power from residential houses to the KLPC grid, the deficits of solar power productions can reduce hence the country economy improves.

Also, this reduction of deficit will help reduce the KPLC tariff rates hence cheaper power which will reduce cost of production. The loss of foreign exchange through KPLC generation of power using diesel e.g. IBER Africa diesel power production means that less capital will be used to purchase oil from foreign countries hence more money within the economy.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

How to Reduce cost of Roofing In Kenya.Maai Mahiu POW Italian Church case study.

Roofing costs can cost as much as 20 to 25% of the total cost of construction. Effective methods of ensuring that this cost is reduced while still maintaining the aesthetics and functionalities are important. One of the best methods of learning how to reduce roofing costs is to look at the Italian Church near Maai Mahiu town on the slopes of the Rift Valley.

The church was constructed in 1942 and is still standing strong to date . For the doubting Thomases, this proves that the materials and design/technology used to roof this church is superior and can last the test of time.
Roof trusses.

The church has utilized round poles for the structure. These poles are much cheaper than the usual sawn timber that Kenyans use for roof trusses. Coincidentally, Uganda still utilizes timber poles for the structure.

% of cost savings on roof trusses.

A meter of pole costs an average of kes 30 in hardware shops around Nairobi. A meter of comparative cypress 6 x 2 truss costs kes 200 in the same area. This represents a savings of 666% on the cost of roofing trusses.
The only drawback is that the poles are slightly uneven and have a rough appearance compared to the sawn timber. This is mitigated by the fact that the timber structure is usually hidden from view and sandwiched between the roof cover and the ceiling.

Roof cover.

The church has utilized clay roof tiles for the roof cover. Clay tiles are light, have a very appealing texture and color and the runoff rain water can be used for human consumption unlike most other roof types.
The clay tiles also have another advantage of looking better with age.

% of cost saving on roof cover.

Clay roofing tiles in Nairobi cost kes 600 per m2. The comparative, stone coated roofing tiles cost kes 1,800 per m2. This represents a whopping 300% savings in costs if someone uses clay roofing tiles instead of stone coated tiles.
Clay roofing tiles can also be used to harvest clean rain water that is Lead and other hard metal free. Lead is used in manufacture of paint which is used in other roofing products and can cause illnesses such as High Blood Pressure and learning disabilities in children.

Conclusion.

The high material costs does not necessarily translate in higher quality. It’s important to first research on the best materials to use for your buildings before embarking on purchase. This will enable you to save very high % on overall costs.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
www.a4architect.com
info@a4architect.com
0721410684