Author: A4KENYA

During the construction of a building’s foundation, anti termite chemical is applied on the foundation soil blinding to act as a poisonous barrier. During the laying of the dump proof membrane and BRC for the ground floor slab, the architectural drawings specify the anti termite chemical application and the architect ensures that this is well applied through out the surface.

In case this didn’t work out well, termites can find a way and get into the building.

Signs of termites.
Termites will eat wooden parts of the house such as door frames, roof support trusses and curtain boards.

Anti termite application.

These can be eliminated through chemical anti termite application into the corners and crevices where the termites are inside.
The roof wooden trusses are usually treated with anti termite chemicals during the actual construction as specified in the architectural drawings.

External Perimeter Barrier.

A further external barrier can be done to prevent termites that are outside the house from making their way into the building.
A 6 inch by 6 inch tunnel us dug around the perimeter of the house and liquid chemical anti-termite poured inside the dug out part then soil filled back to the normal surface level.

Poisoned Bait.

Another method is to look for areas where the termite colonies could be residing then dig out a 1 foot deep hole and place termite bait that once the termites feed, will take back to their colony and poison the whole community.

Architect Francis Gichuhi kamau.
0721410684
info@a4architect.com

Karen area of Nairobi is zoned by the County Government of Nairobi to be developed as only one single dwelling per half acre plot.

This zoning has resulted in very low density hence less traffic and minimal sewerage disposal and garbage dump disposal issues.
This has in one way created very high demand for land in the area due to this low density living and the trappings that come to it such as clean unpolluted air, large compounds and a general green leafy neighborhood.
An acre of land in Karen goes for approximately 50 million kes.
Of late, the value of land has stabilized and in some cases gone down to lows of kes 30 million per acre.

15 Yeas ago, an acre in Karen sold for kes 3m.

HIGH RISE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS.

Parts of Karen that are fronting the busy Langata road from Dagoretti Market all the way through Karen shopping centre to Galleria Mall have been turned into high rise commercial use. Same case applies to parts of Karen fronting Karen road such as the area around Deputy President’s official residence and the area along Ngong road from st Francis church all the way past karen shopping centre towards Ngong town at Bul Bul.

New Malls such as the waterfront, the watermark, the Hub have come up in recent times along the busy main roads.

Land along the main roads costs kes 100million or thereabouts due to the ability for it to be utilised in a commercial nature.

MUTUINI and KERARAPON.

Other parts of Karen neighbouring other constituencies and counties are also dotted with commercial high density high rise buildings which serve the Karen area.
Areas around Karinde, a.k.a Karen End have lots of apartments since the zoning for these areas is in different constituencies, Dagoretti South to be specific, but viewed and utilised as part of Karen.

Real estate investors looking to cash in on the high demand for housing that the strict one house per half acre zoning that is imposed on Karen brings can buy land in Karinde area and set up high rise flats.
The same applies to Kerarapon area. Kerarapon is in Kajiado county but neighbours Karen towards Ngong. An investor can purchase land here and set up apartments which will be very marketable due to the low density housing within Karen .

Sourcing land for sale.

A4architect.com can source for vacant land for potential development in the Karen area for developers looking to cash in on this region.

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

Hyperbolic tensile sail canopies provide a cost effective and aesthetic method of providing roof shelter to a building.
These can be single or double or a multiple depending on the size of surface to be roofed.

The structure can be architect designed to be very simple so as to allow for lots of movement below.

These tensile hyperbolic sail canopy tents are very suitable for roofing the front and backyard of residential houses.

Various architectural landscape designs and shapes can be done for the ground area to be roofed.

The tensile canopies can be architect designed into various interesting shapes which provide alot of space to move around in the area covered especially when supported by just one steel structure as below.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport also has utilised similar shapes for their terminus.

a4architect.com begins the process through architectural design so as to capture the architectural design that the client would like to achieve. Once this is done, the implementation part commences with construction till completion.

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.
info@a4architect.com
0721410684

Tensile fabric canopies and roofs have an advantage in that they are light weight, hence less materials are used to support them, ensuring cost savings.

Tensile fabric roofs are also unique in architectural design, offering aesthetics that are good for attracting customers if its a business or ‘feel good’ achievement if its a personal residential house or office.

Tensile fabric structures can also span and cover large surface areas, hence suitable for large buildings such as churches or malls.

 

a4architect.com provides custom made bespoke designs for tensile fabric roofs and canopies that will fit within a particular client’s architectural requirements, budget and space. Structural design to ensure the tensile fabric tents withstand wind pressure is also included in the design.

 

Businesses such as petrol stations that need to stand out from the crowd are very suitable for use of the tensile fabric canopy roofs so as to attract more customers.

Churches and social halls that are on leased lands and thus require frequent moving are also suitable for using this tensile fabric tent method.

Nairobi Chapel along Ngong road has already utilized this method to house themselves.

The popular Churchill show on TV also utilises these tensile tents due to their ability to house large numbers and be easily dismantled and assembled at different sites.

Tensile fabric canopies are also a good way for covering outdoor sitting areas for restaurants.

 

Contact info@a4architect.com 0721410684 for quotations , designs and installations.

 

 

Location.

The estate is located close to the Magana Flowers overpass towards Westlands direction, around 17km to Nairobi CBD.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d710.8358672899295!2d36.682540413052834!3d-1.2476551309524289!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x0!2zMcKwMTQnNTEuMiJTIDM2wrA0MCc1OS41IkU!5e1!3m2!1sen!2ske!4v1568009834792!5m2!1sen!2ske&w=600&h=450]

 

The site is located 50 meters from Waiyaki way, providing ease of convenience to accessibility.

Waiyaki way is being currently upgraded to cater for more traffic, meaning that the area will become more easily  accessible from any part of the city.

Community.

There are a total of 14 maisonette units, each with its own gate and compound.

Architecture.

Each maisonette has 4 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms in each floor. The ground floor is raised to provide car parking . The maisonette unit can accommodate 3 cars in its compound.

The living room and kitchen are located in the 1st floor, with the 2nd and 3rd floor having 2 bedrooms each.

The roof top has been architecturally designed to accommodate  for water storage tank, cloths hanging line and relaxing .

Off Plan Sales.

• 4bedroomed maisonette : kes 10.8m
• Land only, including architectural drawings: kes 2.8m

Self Build.

Purchasers can buy the land then construct as per the architectural drawings at their own pace using their preferred financial methods. a4architect.com will then offer construction project management servises for the duration of the construction period.

a4architect.com can also liaise and cordinate financing using pre selected Banks for the construction .

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.

0721410684

info@a4architect.com

Maisonette for Sale, Kinoo, 50m off Waiyaki Way.

Land only, kes 2.8m.[inclusive of architectural drawings]

Land +Building,kes 10.8m

Parking for 3 cars.

4 bedroomed.

Servants Quarters.

Own Compound.

50m from Waiyaki Way.

Controlled Development.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d1089.2663954503405!2d36.68249203884988!3d-1.2475159998917322!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0x0!2zMcKwMTQnNTEuMSJTIDM2wrA0MCc1OS43IkU!5e1!3m2!1sen!2ske!4v1567002664671!5m2!1sen!2ske&w=600&h=450]

 

 

Call 0721410684

info@a4architect.com

 

Mall Commercial Developments in Kenya.

1. What is the role of an anchor tenant?

An anchor tenant is a tenant that attracts a very high number of customers to a mall. Their role is to become the source of customers so that other tenants in the mall can also benefit from this high traffic. The architectural design is usually done in such a way that the customers walk past most shops so as to reach to the anchor tenants, increasing chances of impulse buying for the shops within the mall.

2. Must an anchor tenant be a supermarket?

Any business that has a high number of visitors can act as an anchor tenant. Some anchor tenants are hospitals, power/water utility payment offices, fast food, petrol station etc.

3. Recently, many anchor tenants, (supermarkets) have been in trouble, Uchumi, Nakumatt, and now Chippies. What options do developers with such large lettable space have ? For example, can a restaurant be an anchor tenant?

Developers can change the anchor tenants with one that is perfectly running. If its a failing supermarket, they can change it to a better one e,g Karen Crossroads mall had Nakumatt as its anchor tenant. When Nakumatt closed, they quickly brought in Tuskys as the anchor tenant so as to provide the customer numbers required to drive business to the other shops within. Equity bank was also serving as an anchor tenant but with less traffic than the supermarket, so it held the forte for a while as the mall managers organised for the supermarket replacement.

4. Is the concept of the anchor tenant a global concept in malls?

Yes, the world over, malls usually have more or less the same operating principles of pooling resources to be able to offer better services and options to their visitors. A good architect knows where to position the anchor tenant shop so that the rest of the shops can benefit from  the high traffic.

As the old adage says, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, the trick with malls world over is to improve on the attractability of the honey to the flies, resulting in more customers.

Architect Francis Gichuhi Kamau.

info@a4architect.com

0721410684

3 acres for sale, Namanga, Kajiado county

 

kes 2m per acre.

https://goo.gl/maps/XyeuiiX951Qbg8h86

85×85 ft Plot for Sale, Kinoo

kes 22m.

call 0721410684