Building Design for healthier spaces in the wake of Corona virus in Kenya.

Building Design for healthier spaces in the wake of Corona virus in Kenya.

With the onset of Corona virus pandemic in Kenya, there is a need to improve building design to augment other healthy living practices that keep Corona virus infections at bay.

Air Conditioning.

For rooms that are already fitted with air conditioning, there is a need for system overhaul to replace the air filters with others that can trap corona virus and other pathogens.
The recent Corona virus infection in a cruise ship was linked to corona virus pathogens lodged inside the air conditioning vents.
In situations where air conditioning is the only option such a banking halls , then better filter systems will need to be installed.

Natural Ventilation.

In situations where the buildings are in construction phase or still in the architectural design phase, architects can minimize the use of mechanical ventilation and redesign the building to use natural ventilation where possible.
In situations where buildings are already complete and in current use, architectural interior design can be done to create natural ventilation and let in sunlight. Natural ventilation and sunlight has been known to cure respiratory ailments long before use of antibiotics was discovered and is still a very effective and cost friendly method to keep corona virus at bay.

Such banking halls can be architecturally redesigned to ensure there is cross ventilation and ingress of sunlight so as to sanitise the internal air.

Floor to ceiling heights.

The floor to ceiling height is a critical factor in determining internal room air quality. High floor to ceiling heights means larger air volumes inside the rooms hence better air quality.
Spaces that have been designed to hold alot of people such as banking halls, hospitals and restaurants require a higher floor to ceiling height. Spaces that have installed false ceilings such as most banking halls will require to dismantle the false ceiling so as to achieve the maximum internal air volumes possible for better aeration.

Windows.

Cutting up walls to create new windows will go a long way to assist in cross ventilating spaces and bringing in sunlight to ensure healthier internal air .

In already constructed apartments in Nairobi’s Eastlands area where the rooms dont have adequate natural light and ventilation, opening up the walls to introduce new windows will go a long way to ensure good air quality. Care should be taken to only open up walls that do not bear alot of structural weight to prevent weakening the building structure.

County Government building control.

County governments will need to enforce the building code since the current building code already points out such input needed for healthy air quality such as the minimum floor to ceiling height, the minimum distance between windows and the minimum size of window per space. When these inputs are not adhered to, the buildings that come up become breeding grounds for corona and other harmful pathogens.

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.
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