Category: A4architect

AGREEMENT FOR SALE

BETWEEN

A FOUR ARCHITECT
(as the “Vendor”)

AND

(as the “Purchaser”)

Relating to the sale and purchase of

Room Number (one) erected on Land Reference Number ……………….

THIS AGREEMENT is made the day of Two Thousand and Fourteen

BETWEEN:

(1) A FOUR ARCHITECT a limited liability company incorporated pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, Chapter 486 of the Laws of the Republic of Kenya and of Post Office Box Number 104433-00101 Nairobi in the said Republic (hereinafter referred to as the ”Vendor” which expression shall include its successors and assigns) of the one; AND

(2) ……………………of Post Office Box Number ………………………… Nairobi (hereinafter and severally referred to as the “Purchaser” which expression shall where the context so admits include his personal representatives and assigns) of the other part.

WHEREAS:

A The Vendor is registered as proprietor of the freehold interest in the Land (hereinafter. described) together with the buildings and improvements erected and being, erected thereon,

B The Vendor is currently in the process of erecting and completing a development project on the Land consisting of Fifty (50) residential rooms together with pathways, driveways and other usual amenities (hereinafter referred to as “the Estate”) in accordance with the approved Building Plans which are available for inspection at the Vendor’s site offices.

C The Vendor will sell and the Purchaser will purchase one such room known as room Number ONE (1) which comprises part of the Estate; for the Purchase Price subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter provided.

D The transfer of the Property from the Vendor to the Purchaser is in consideration of the payment of the Purchase Price and shall be by way of the Lease.

E The Vendor has incorporated a management company called A FOUR ARCHITECT LTD (hereinafter called the “Management Company”) to manage the Estate .The company shall have 50 ordinary shares, and each purchaser of a room in the Estate shall simultaneously with his/her/its purchase of the room be allotted One (1) ordinary shares in the Management Company. The authorised share capital of the Management Company is Kenya Shillings One Hundred Thousand (Kshs. 100,000/=) with a value of Kes (100) Kenya Shillings each. All the shares in the Management Company shall be allotted to the Purchasers of the Rooms on the Property.

F Upon the registration of the Lease of the Property the Purchaser shall hold One (1) Share in the Management Company subject to the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Management Company and the terms hereof.

IT IS HEREBY AGREED as follows:

1. DEFINITIONS:
“Balance” means the sum of Five hundred thousand (KShs. 500,000) to be paid by the Purchaser on or before the Completion Date to the Vendor’s Advocates in accordance with this Agreement;

“Board” means the board of directors of the Management Company;

“Buildings” means the buildings and improvements constructed and erected by the Vendor on the Land in accordance with the Building Plans;

“Completion Date” means Twenty Four (24) months from the date hereof or if beforehand thirty (30) days from when the Vendor’s Architect issues a Certificate of Practical Completion.

“Deposit” means the sum of Kenya Shillings Seven hundred Thousand (KShs. 700,000.00) paid by the Purchaser to the Vendor on or before the execution of this Agreement;

“Developments” means the infrastructure and other improvements erected or to be erected by the Vendor on or for the benefit of the Property in accordance with the terms hereof;

“Disbursements” means the costs and expenses listed in the Schedule of this Agreement to be paid by the Purchaser;

“Estate” means all the infrastructure, amenities, buildings, and improvements constructed on the Land and Property in accordance with the Building Plans;

“Land” means ALL THAT parcel of land situate in the …..Area of the Republic of Kenya containing by measurement …… of an acre or thereabouts being Land Reference Number ….. , registered under Registered titles Act, CAP 281.

“Lease” means the lease to be granted by the Vendor to the Purchaser for the residue of the term of ….. years from the 1st day of ………. at the annual rent of a peppercorn (if demanded), plus the payment of the Service Charge (as defined in the Lease), a copy of which is available from the Vendors Advocates;
“Management Company” means the limited liability company incorporated in the Republic of Kenya in which the Purchaser will own Two (2) ordinary shares;

“Property” means room Number 1 as the same is shaded red on the Plan;

“Purchase Price means the sum of Kenya Shillings One Million,two hundred shillings only(KShs. 1,200,000.00);

“Purchaser’s Advocates” means xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

”Vendor’s Advocates” means ……………… & Company Advocates, ………………, P.O. Box …………………….. Nairobi;

1.2 All references in this Agreement to a statutory provision shall be constructed as including references to:

1.2.1 All statutory instruments or orders made pursuant to a statutory provision; and

1.2.2 Any statutory provisions of which a statutory provision is a consolidation, re-enactment or modification.

1.3 Clause headings in this Agreement are for ease of reference only and do not affect the construction of any provision herein.

2. PURCHASE PRICE

2.1 The Purchase Price shall be paid by the Purchaser as follows:

2.1.1 On or before the execution of this Agreement the Purchaser shall pay the Purchase price in full to the A FOUR ARCHITECT account .

2.2 The Purchaser understands that some aspects of the infrastructure for the overall project will be completed at the end of the whole development.

3. SALE OF PROPERTY

3.1 The-interest sold in the Property is leasehold;

3.2 The sale of the Property is subject to the Law Society Conditions of Sale (1989
Edition) in so far as they are not inconsistent with the conditions hereof;

3.3 The said Property is sold with vacant possession on Completion.

3.4 The Purchaser shall not be entitled to vacant possession of the Property until he has paid the Purchase Price and all other outgoings including the interest (if any) together with the costs as set out in Special Condition 1 below and the Schedule hereto having been paid in full by the Purchaser .

3.4. The property is sold subject to:

3.4.1 The covenants, terms, conditions, stipulations, restrictions and rights as provided and reserved in the Lease;

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3.4.2 All subsisting easements, quasi-easements and rights of way (if any);

3.4.3 Any provisional liability or assessment for road or sewerage charges;

BUT otherwise free from encumbrances.

4. GRANT OF LEASE

4.1 The transfer of the Property shall be by way of the grant of the Lease from the
Vendor to the Purchaser in consideration of the payment of the Purchase Price in full as provided herein;

4.2 The stamping and registration of the Lease shall be conducted by the Vendor’s
Advocates but at the Purchaser’s cost and such stamping and registration shall only take place after the Purchaser has made all the required payments as, provided for in this Agreement and the Schedule hereto and/or upon receipt of a suitable professional undertaking in a form acceptable to the Vendor’s Advocates, from the Purchaser’s Financier’s Advocates for the payment of the Balance Within fourteen (14) days of the registration of the Lease in favour of the Purchaser and the Charge in favour of the Purchaser’s Financier.

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5. DEVELOPMENT BY THE VENDOR

5.1 The Vendor will undertake the Developments and construction of the Buildings as more particularly detailed in the plans available at A four architect offices at Karen Road, for inspection by the Purchaser and the Purchaser shall be deemed to have approved and accepted the same prior to the execution of this Agreement. The Vendor hereby covenants and undertakes to complete the works and finishes on the said Property in accordance with good workmanship;

5.2 The Vendor shall not be liable for any damages, loss, costs or expenses,
whatsoever or howsoever incurred or suffered by the Purchaser by reason of any defects or other faults which shall appear or occur on the Property after six (6) months from the date of the Purchaser taking possession notwithstanding that the Property and the Buildings in the Estate are newly built by the Vendor. Any defects or defaults arising and which have been notified in writing to the Vendor within the period aforesaid shall be rectified by the Vendor at no cost to the Purchaser save if such defect or default is caused by any act or omission of the Purchaser. It is hereby agreed and understood that if the Vendor shall not have, completed the rectification of the said defects or faults to the reasonable satisfaction of the purchasers architects within a reasonable time after receiving a schedule of defects certified by the said architect and delivered to the Vendor then the Purchaser shall be at liberty to rectify the defects himself using the services of workmen approved by the Vendor, and the Vendor shall forthwith on demand reimburse to the Purchaser all costs of rectifying aforesaid defects or faults.

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6. MANAGEMENT COMPANY

6.1 The Estate shall be managed in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated from time to time by the Board and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the relevant management company (“the Management Company”).

6.2 The Purchaser shall be entitled to One (1) shares in the Management Company upon the registration of the Lease in favour of the Purchaser.

6.3 The Purchaser shall be entitled to (subject to election by the shareholders) be appointed as director of the Board and to remain as such for as long as the Purchaser continues to own the Property. The Secretary of the Management Company shall with in liaison with the Vendor’s Advocates procure the filing of the requisite Form 203A appointing the Purchaser as a director.

6.4 In the event the Purchaser shall be more than one person, then the Purchaser shall be entitled to nominate one of them to be appointed a director of the Management Company.

6.5 The Board shall at all times be comprised of the Purchaser and the other owners of the rooms in the Estate.

6.6. The Purchaser hereby undertakes and covenants that in the event that the Purchaser shall hereafter sell the Property, such sale shall always be subject to the Purchaser also transferring the Purchaser’s One (1) shares in the Management Company to the new purchaser of the Property.

7. REVERSIONARY INTEREST

7.1 The parties agree that the Vendor will transfer the reversion expectant upon and to the Land to the Management Company within Ninety (90) days of the last of the leases being registered to the respective Purchaser of rooms in the Estate.

7.2 The Vendor hereby covenants with the Purchaser that it shall do all things required and necessary to ensure the reversionary interest is transferred to the Management Company within the said period .

8. ENTIRE UNDERSTANDING

8.1 This Agreement embodies the entire understanding of the parties and there are no other arrangements between the parties relating to the subject matter of this Agreement.

8.2 No amendments or modification of this Agreement shall be valid or binding on ¬any party unless the same:
(a) is made in writing;
(b) refers expressly to this Agreement; and
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(c) is signed by the party concerned or its or his duly authorised representative.

8.3 Upon registration of the Lease if there shall be any inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of the Lease, the provisions of the Lease shall prevail.

9. EXECUTORY AGREEMENT

9.1 This Agreement is an executory agreement only and shall not operate nor be deemed to operate as a Lease of the Premises.

9.2 The Purchaser shall not be entitled to occupation or possession of the Premises until the entire Purchase Price has been paid.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

1. The Purchaser shall execute the Lease for the Property and shall pay all costs related to the completion of a valuation for the Property by the Government Chief Land Valuer and the Disbursements contained in the Schedule hereto within seven (7) days of the Vendor’s Advocates requiring the same and the Vendor’s Advocates shall thereafter arrange for the stamping and registration of the same at the Lands Office in accordance with the provisions herein.
2. The Purchaser shall bear the following costs:

a) Legal Fees for the preparation of the Lease;
b) Copying and binding charges;
c) Postage and incidentals;
d) VAT on legal fees @ 16% .
e) Stamp Duty on the Lease at the rate of 4%;
f) Registration Fees;
g) Purchaser’s Costs and/or Proportionate Share of the Costs for¬
i. Incorporation of the Management Company:
ii. Three(3) Months Deposit on Service Charge:
iii. Deposit for Water & Electricity:

3. Rents, rates, and outgoings shall be apportioned as between the parties from the date of execution of the Lease.

4. If for any cause whatsoever other than non-completion caused by the default of the Vendor the transaction shall not complete on the Completion Date:

4.1 The Vendor shall be entitled to serve a Notice in writing upon the Purchaser to complete this transaction within fourteen (14) days from the date upon which such notice is served on the Purchaser. If the Purchaser shall fail to complete this transaction before the expiry of the said notice then the Vendor shall be entitled at its sole discretion either:

(a) to extend the time for completion; or
(b) to rescind this Agreement upon giving seven (7) days notice in writing in that behalf to the Purchaser.

4.2 In the event the Vendor shall extend the time for payment the Purchaser shall pay the Vendor interest on any moneys due under this Agreement remaining unpaid at the rate specified herein computed from the date such payment is due until the date of payment in full both days inclusive. For the avoidance of doubt the Purchaser hereby agrees that such interest shall automatically start accruing immediately at the rate of 2% per month on any payment which is due and is not paid on the due date.

4.3 In the event the Vendor shall rescind this Agreement as aforesaid then the Deposit shall be forfeited by the Purchaser to the Vendor as agreed liquidated damages and the other payments (if any) paid by the Purchaser to the Vendor less a further amount for the fees of the Vendor’s Advocates which shall be payable by the Purchaser for such failed transaction shall be returned to the Purchaser without interest thereon and this Agreement shall then absolutely determine.

5. In the event that completion of the Property is delayed for any reason beyond the Completion Date, this Agreement shall continue in force until actual completion can take place and the Vendor shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered to the Purchaser as a result of such delay.

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6. The Purchaser hereby acknowledges that the documents relating to this transaction prepared by the Vendor’s Advocates are standard documents to be executed also by all Purchaser of the other Rooms and the Purchaser accept them as they are.
7. Time shall be deemed to be of the essence for all purposes of this Agreement.

8. Notwithstanding the sale of the Property and the transfer of the Shares in the Management Company and the registration of the Lease in favor of the Purchase this Agreement shall continue to remain in force until all the parties’ obligations have been performed and the transactions envisaged herein are fully completed.

9. If any term or condition of this agreement shall to any extent be found or held to be invalid or unenforceable, the parties shall negotiate in good faith to amend such term or condition of this agreement so as to be valid and enforceable.

10. If any term or condition of this Agreement shall to any extent be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected and each other term and condition shall be valid and enforceable to the fullest extend permitted by law

11. Risk for the Property shall pass to the Purchaser on the date of handover of the same to the Purchaser by the Vendor.

12. If any dispute, difference or questions shall arise whether during the continuance of this Agreement or upon or after its determination between the parties hereto touching or concerning this Agreement or as to any other matter in any way connected with or arising out of or in relation to the subject matter of this Agreement such dispute, difference or question whatsoever shall be referred to an arbitrator under the rules of the Arbitration Act 1995 of Kenya or any statutory modification or re-enactment for the time being in force, such arbitrator to be appointed by agreement of both parties and in the absence of agreement within fourteen (14) days of the notification of the dispute by either party to the other then on the application of anyone party by the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) and the decision of such arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties hereto.

13. This Agreement shall be governed by the Laws of Kenya.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto set their respective hands the day and year first hereinbefore written:

SEALED with the COMMON SEAL of )
A FOUR ARCHITECT LTD )
as Vendor )
in the presence of:

)
)
Director )
)
)
)
)
Director/Secretary )
)

I CERTIFY that I was present and saw the Directors of the Vendor affix the Common Seal to this Agreement.

ADVOCATE

SIGNED by )
)

Purchaser
)
in the presence of: )
)
)
)
Advocate )

I CERTIFY that I was present and saw ………………………………..duly sign this Agreement.

Name of Advocate: ______________________________

Address: _________________________________

Signature: _________________________________

Hotel Real Estate investment.
Sale price per room commencing at kes 1.2m.
See details here
http://www.a4architect.com/discuss/

 

SURVEY PLAN A4ARCHITECT

 

Hotel Real Estate investment.
Sale price per room commencing at kes 1.2m.

 

SURVEY PLAN A4ARCHITECT

 

Glass use in buildings has many uses. The obvious being allowing light into the building and enabling people to see in and out of a building while keeping elements of weather at bay.

Bullet proof glass.
Security.
Bullet proof glass enables buildings to be secure.
Bullet proof glass has 2 glass layers combined. One layer is soft while the other is hard. The softer glass prevents the glass from shattering.
One layer is made from polycarbonate material while the other is made from ordinary glass. These 2 layers are joint together through a process called lamination.
Bullet proof glass has a thickness varying from 19mm to 76mm.

The thicker the glass, the more resistant it is to more powerful guns.

There is also one way bullet proof glass that allows bullets to pass through the glass from one direction and stops bullets from penetrating through the glass from the other direction. These are used whereby the occupants of the room protected by the bullet proof glass might want to return back the fire.

Such glass is mainly used in cars and banking halls .

Toughened glass.

This is made when ordinary glass is put through a 650 degrees hot furnace for several minutes. It’s then rapidly cooled to a temperature of 20 degrees.
The heat causes the glass outer surfaces to expansion and the inner parts into tension.
This causes the glass to turn into small crumb like pieces when broken due to the residual tensile and compressive forces stored within the glass.
These stored forces also make the glass around 5 times as strong as ordinary glass.
Uses.
Its most commonly used in side and rear windows of cars.
Disadvantage.
Toughened glass can not be reworked once its taken through the process of toughening. No chiseling, grooving or cutting can occur since any incision tends to allow the massive energy stored inside the glass through the heating and cooling process to be released through breaking into thumbnail pieces.
Toughened glass has the same effect as dropping molten glass in a bucket of cold water. The molten glass forms into a tear drop shape called the Prince Rupert’s drop. The larger head end is usually very strong and can withstand strong blows while the tail end is very weak and any slight force causes the whole drop to shatter immediately due to the high energy stored within it.

Toughened glass currently costs around kes 8,000 per m2 in Kenya.

Laminated Glass.

This was invented in 1903 by French chemist Edouard Benedictus through an accident. A glass flask coated with plastic cellulose nitrate fell but did not break.
Benedictus then fabricated a glass plastic composite in order to reduce car accidents caused by broken glass.

To date, car windscreens use laminated glass for the safety reason.
Also, most shop fronts and areas where broken glass can come in contact with people usually have laminated glass due to its high safety level.When broken, it sticks together.

A typical laminated glass is usually 2.5mm glass, 0.38mm polycarbonate laminate in between, then a 2.5mm thick glass at the end, making a sandwich.

The polycarbonate sandwich in the middle can be replaced with decorative patterned cloth material or any other material to create interesting effects.

The sandwich material makes it hard to cut, hence the laminated glass sizes need to be exact when being used in architectural projects.

Laminated glass blocks UV rays and also is very effective in sound proofing, due to the sandwich material in between.

Window film on Glass.

This is a thin layer of film applied on one side of the glass surface.
Uses.
1. Helps prevent UV rays from the sun from entering the building.
2. Ensures privacy while bringing in light, through use of tinted film or obscured film.
3. Enhances aesthetics through use of patterned film.
4. Prevents glass from injuring people in case of breakage.
5. Prevents easy break ins from burglars.
6. Helps to control glare.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com

Current Real Estate investments in Kenya have return on investment within 14 to 18 years.

Lets look at curent available options around Nairobi.

Syokimau.

The average 2 bedroomed apartments for sale go for kes 4m.

These attract rents of kes 25,000 per month.
This gives a return on investment of 13.3 years.

Ngong road, Racecourse area.

The average 2 bedroomed apartments here sell for kes 6.5m.

These can attract a rent of kes 40,000 per moth.
This translates to a return on investment of 13.5 years.

In other words, if one spends their money on the average Nairobi property on sale, they will recover their money back after 13 years, from here is where they can start calculating the profit in rent.

A4architect investment solution.

A4architect.com has come up with real estate investment solutions that make possible for investors to return their investment within a maximum of 6 years.

After research on the most cost effective methods to invest in Real estate in Kenya, the solutions have led to conception of a Motel project along the Southern Bypass near Thogoto town.

30 room hotel.

The concept is simple. Its a 30 roomed hotel whereby each of the 30 rooms will be translated and represented by 1 share.
Investors will then buy 1 room which is equivalent to 1 share from a Limited Liability company registered under the Companies Act of Kenyan laws.

The 1 share can then be resold at a profit, or transferred to another owner in case of inheritance or can act as collateral in case of borrowing.

Appreciation in value.

This 1 share bought will immediately start appreciating in valuue with the current high property appreciation rates around Nairobi.
The investor will then immediately start increasing their wealth as the property value goes up.

Monthly income.

This 1 share that translates to 1 hotel room will then start to earn monthly income for the benefit of the investor.
Assuming minimum rate per night at kes 1,000, and a 60% occupancy rate per month, this 1 share will guarantee a monthly income of kes 18,000. This rate of kes 1,000 shillings is on the lower side considering other hotels in the neighbourhood charge as high as kes 7,000 per night for the same sized room.

Sale price.

The initial sale price per hotel room is set at kes 1.2m.
This translates to a return on investment of 5.5 years.

This is very impressive considering that the average return on investment for Nairobi property investors is between 13 to 18 years.
The 5.5 years return is calculated at the worst case scenario since after the 1st year, the occupancy rate will go up from the 60% envisaged, to nearly 100% and the rate per night will then increase from the kes 1,000 per night up to a possible kes 7,000 per neigh as charged by the current nearby hotels.

Investors .

Potential investors can join in to the conversation at our forum here to learn more
http://www.a4architect.com/discuss/
Investors can send email to info@a4architect.com on information on joining in.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com

Other countries that have had to upgrade their railway lines have come up with detailed research into the options available.

See research done in Spain

http://www.vialibre-ffe.com/pdf/Track_gauge_changeover.pdf

Australia dual gauge railway.

Switzerland rail

Wallangarra, Australia

Western Australia

The trans-continental passenger train Indian Pacific, which has run between Sydney and Perth since 1970, is seen on the dual gauge track (3’6″ and 4’8.5″ – 1067 mm and 1435 mm) between Kalgoorlie and Perth (655 km) in 1976, with the loco in the scheme of the then Westrail.

Other countries that have had to upgrade their railway lines have come up with detailed research into the options available.

See research done in Spain

http://www.vialibre-ffe.com/pdf/Track_gauge_changeover.pdf

Australia dual gauge railway.

Switzerland rail

Wallangarra, Australia

Western Australia

The trans-continental passenger train Indian Pacific, which has run between Sydney and Perth since 1970, is seen on the dual gauge track (3’6″ and 4’8.5″ – 1067 mm and 1435 mm) between Kalgoorlie and Perth (655 km) in 1976, with the loco in the scheme of the then Westrail.

Stabilised Soil Block House designs in Kenya.

They require larger roof overhangs to protect the walls from rain water. They require to be slightly raised from the ground to protect the wall from ground water and moistrure. The roof design needs to be in such a way that it prevents Bernoulli effect to lift the roof upwards during strong winds.

Advantages.

Where quarry stones are not available, they are a good substitute eg Northern Kenya.

Disdavantages.

They need close supervision to ensure structural strength high quality.

In areas where quarry stone is available, where stone costs around kes 60 per piece, then the soil blocks will not have any advantage because it also costs nearly the same as stone to produce.

Soil blocks are advantageous in areas where quarry stone costs around kes 100 and above per piece .

Storeyed house construction.

Quarry stone has an advantage since it can be used to support a storeyed house without using concrete columns.

Soil blocks are only used as an infill material that does not carry any weight so in storeyed houses, the load bearing structure has to be built using concrete columns, beams and slabs.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.
info@a4architect.com

Reasons for Building collapse in Kenya.

Reasons are whereby the developer does not ensure that the design team comprising architect, quantity surveyor, structural engineer and services engineer are involved in the supervision of the actual construction.

All the buildings that have collapsed in Kenya did not have architects and engineers involved in the supervision of the actual construction.

 

Other reasons could be that the Government, through the County Government planning departments that approve buildings, do not enforce the developers to have architects and engineers in the supervision of the building. The enforcement by the Planning department is mainly in the design part whereby the drawings need to be stamped and signed by the architects and engineers. This should also go a further step and ensure enforcement of involvement of architects and engineers during the actual construction.

Government institutions involved in buildings safety.

Ministry of Lands and Housing.
This Ministry licenses and regulates the Architects, Quantity Surveyors and Structural Engineers. This ministry also registers building contractors.

County Government Planning departments. These departments approve building construction works.

Research.

I have personally documented some buildings that have recently collapsed in Nairobi to find out why they collapse and what can be done to prevent this.
See the documentation here

http://www.a4architect.com/2011/09/18/why-buildings-collapse-in-kenya/

http://www.a4architect.com/2011/06/20/why-the-langata-southern-bypass-building-collapsed/

http://a4architect.wordpress.com/2012/06/14/why-the-mlolongo-building-collapsed/

http://www.a4architect.com/2012/02/06/why-the-mwikikasarani-building-collapsed-and-how-to-prevent-this/

Advice to potential tenants.

Potential tenants can counter check if the building design was done by registered engineers at the County Government planning department. This information is usually kept public at the planning departments.

Potential tenants can get the contacts of the engineers and architects and confirm from them if they participated in the day to day supervision of the building.

An assurance from the architects and engineers involved in the design is good enough for a potential tenant to feel safe.

 

 

Kenya Government can borrow from Australia and New Zealand , who are very strict on enforcement of building safety due to the numerous earthquakes in their locale.

Today there was an Earthquake in New Zealand whereby there were no casualties even though the earthquake was very strong, 6.3 on the Richter scale.

The most notable damage was a new sculpture erected to publicize the movie Hobbit, fell at a restaurant where luckily, no one got injured.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11189343

Kenya’s strongest earthquake hit the Subukia/Nakuru area over 70 years ago. This means that there can be a possibility of a severe earthquake within this region. Therefore, buildings safety should not be taken lightly by the County Government responsible with ensuring the safety of Kenyans.

 

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.

info@a4architect.com

Technological advancement in access control of buildings especially the hotel industry have enabled the use of mobile phones to open and close doors.

Once a guest checks in at the hotel reception , he is given a toll free number to call when near his hotel room.

Once he calls the number close to the hotel room door, the door lock is designed to respond to the sound emmited from the mobile phone and opens to grant the phone owner access into the room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yXd3wS3Acg

The hotel IT department will be able to keep changing the sounds used to open the door locks as the guests keep changing.

To prevent chances of burglers recording the phone sound then gaining unlawful entry, the phone sounds keep changing severally after a few minutes after being used to open the door. The sound is also securely encrypted.

This technology will also be explored upon for use at the proposed a4architect hotel along the Southern Bypass, Nairobi.

http://www.a4architect.com/discus/topic/joint-investment/page/4/

Francis Gichuhi Kamau, Architect.