Coming soon: City on Rail

Imagine a city that no longer relies on motor vehicles to ferry citizens to work; a city where you park your car and board a train — not because your car broke down, but because the train is faster and more efficient. Imagine a Nairobi where trains use underground tunnels for the 15-minute ride from the city centre to the airport, a Nairobi that does not have kilometre-long traffic gridlocks.

Now stop imagining, for that Nairobi is right here with you. Yes, Nairobi will soon be a city on rail once The Kenya Railway Corporation completes constructing a mega railway station in Syokimau, and the transformation that project will bring to the entire length of Mombasa Road is already attracting investors the way the the new Thika Road did.

Dubbed the ‘Core System,’ the Syokimau station is among the flagship projects outlines in the Kenya Vision 2030 development project and is estimated to cost Sh16 billion. The 100 kilometre-long railway line is the first phase of three, connecting Nairobi to Ruiru, Embakasi Village, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Kikuyu.

The railway line will feature new diesel-electric trains with a capacity of 200,000 people per day and a maximum speed of 180 kilometres per hour, contrasting sharply with the current diesel engines that do up to 20 kilometres per hour.

Besides providing fast, reliable, safe, affordable and world class commuter rail services within the Nairobi Metropolitan region, the railway system is also expected to ease congestion on Mombasa Road because some of the traffic will be transferred to the system.

To accommodate the expected surge of motorists opting to go the rail way, the Syokimau Station will have a 1,200-slot parking yard. The current 50 functional train stations serve at least 35,000 commuters daily. Passenger and freight trains servicing the main railway line between Mombasa and Kisumu have a maximum speed of 50 kilometres per hour.

For this, most people would rather brace the traffic on the roads than be on the rail because they consider trains to be too slow. “With the high speed of the new trains, travelling time from the central business district to JKIA will significantly reduce from the current 90 minutes to 15 minutes,” the Managing Director of the Kenya Railways Corporation Nduva Muli said.

It is not just commuters who will benefit from the project. Businessmen too will reap from the completion of the project. This is because the station will have shops and restaurants where passengers can enjoy a cup of coffee as they wait for their ride. Other businesses and trading centres will also rise at the other stations in Kikuyu and Ruiru.

Businessmen have the opportunity to provide bus and shuttle services from the Syokimau terminus to JKIA in just five minutes. The shuttles will operate for a while before the link line connecting Syokimau to JKIA is completed. The 6.5 kilometre-long line will cross Mombasa Road through an underground tunnel at the cost of Sh3.2 billion — the most expensive part of the Core System.

“The Syokimau station will serve mostly residents of Syokimau, Mlolongo, Athi River, Kitengela and Kajiado who will have the option to complete the journey to the Central Business District in comfort by train after parking their cars or being dropped by public means,” Mr Muli said.

But KRC faces two major challenges to the completion of the project: encroachment along the Nairobi–Kibera-Makadara–Embakasi railway corridor and the menace that is matatus and buses blocking the entrance to Nairobi Railway Station.

Discussions are underway with the World Bank, Nairobi City Council and the Ministry of Local Government to come up with a speedy solution. This is the first time since independence that Kenya is building even one metre of rail. The current network was built by Indian slaves and the Imperial British East Africa Company in the 1895.

It began at the Kilindini Harbour along the coast and arrived in Nairobi in 1900. The KRC therefore seeks to not only build new lines but also rehabilitate the current stations. In 2008, the Government of Kenya launched the Vision 2030, a development blueprint aimed at transforming the country into a middle-income state.

The Vision is based on three pillars. The Economic Pillar seeks to improve the prosperity of Kenyans through an economic development programme with the aim of achieving a gross domestic product growth rate of 10 per cent yearly. The Social Pillar intends to build an equal and cohesive society in a clean environment, while the Political Pillar creates a democratic political system that is founded on issue-based politics that respect the rule of law as well as protect the rights of every Kenyan.

The Vision 2030 flagship projects are being implemented in five stages — of five years each — beginning in 2008. The stages are called ‘medium-term plans’ and are, therefore, the pace setters in rapid growth generations.

The 2008-2012 medium-term plan has over 20 flagship projects under various ministries, among them the Syokimau Railway and the Thika Road super-highway. The road is expected to be completed by June next year.

With the deadline for the 2008-2012 medium term plan fast approaching, ministries are in a last minute rush to beat it, implementing as many projects as they can. For that, the government has made significant progress. And the Kenya Railway Corporation refuses to be left behind.

Phase two of the railway project will include an additional 70 kilometres of rail, connecting Thika, Lukenya and Limuru, while the third phase will add 100 kilometres more extending to Ngong, Kiserian, Rongai and Kiambu.

When all three phases are completed by 2030, Nairobi will not just be the city in the sun, but also the city on the rail.

Source: Daily Nation

Death of Physical Planning and Beauty - Who are the Killers? by Aggrey Mutambo

[caption id="attachment_1599" align="alignnone" width="750" caption="A narrow walkway in Zimmerman"][/caption]

Nairobi’s Zimmerman housing estate appears beautiful and well-planned. Viewing it from Thika Road, you would see a series of competing structures, coming up by the day, as though aiming for the sun. You see no congestion, murk, or pollution. That is until you walk on its narrow, muddy streets. Buildings as high as six floors, but with no lifts, stand on what used to be a swamp.

Open sewers flow along the earth roads to empty their turbid content into nearby streams. Still, a construction boom is on and the shortage of land has made people to “rehabilitate” swamps to construct more and cash in on the demand for residential houses.

[caption id="attachment_1598" align="alignnone" width="750" caption="Image of Zimmerman courtesy of http://fivekennys.blogspot.com"][/caption]

Zimmerman is not considered a slum, but it is well on the way to becoming just that. In 2007, the then deputy mayor for Nairobi, Mr Ferdinand Waititu (now assistant minister for Water and Irrigation), told a forum on biodiversity in Brazil that Nairobi was grappling with the problem of parks, wetlands, and other public utility spaces being converted into unplanned or ill-planned housing with dire consequences.

Mr Waititu conceded that the city lacks “an elaborate master plan and its enforcement of laws is weak.” He was right, but nothing concrete has been done since.

Nairobi uses a rigid plan developed in 1948 by the colonialists when the population was no more than 100,000 people. In 1973, the Nairobi Urban Study Group suggested an improvement on the colonial document, suggesting strategies for physical planning and transport to reduce traffic jams and congestion.

However, due to corruption and influence peddling, it did not see the light of day. During a mayor’s summit last year, both the Local Government Ministry and the Nairobi City Council admitted, again, that zoning laws had been thrown to the dogs.

It was further claimed that the city lacks professionalism on the part of the planners. Among the housing estates most notorious for disobeying by-laws
are Kileleshwa, Umoja, Lavington, Kasarani, Roysambu, and Embakasi.

Broken sewers, insufficient water, traffic jams, and frequent fires have been the character of our major towns for some time now.

Often, poor planning is blamed whenever firefighters are unable to reaching burning or col-lapsed buildings. But is it really the only culprit, given that proper plans have been disregarded by the enforcing authorities?

Now, another threat is in the offing. The new Constitution creates 47 counties, with governments that will plan and manage local resources, including public land.

Given that all district headquarters are ill-planned and where proper plans were in place, have been ignored, it can only get worse. “Counties should not be operationalised without proper institutions put in place.

This will help avert the problems occasioned by ‘muddle through’ planning,” warns Mr Geoffrey Njoroge, the managing director of Eco Plan Kenya.

And Kenyans are paying heavily for shoddy planning and disregard for properly drawn up plans, where they exist. Just last month, a makeshift factory in Kariobangi went up in flames.

By the time firefighters arrived, at least three people had died. The toll eventually rose to 11. No department accepted blame even as questions arose on who could have authorised the conversion of a residential house into a jua kali factory.

There is the city’s planning department and inspectorate, the National Environmental Management Authority, and of course laws governing the management of factories and health. But who, ultimately, is responsible for the mess?

The Kenya Institute of Planners admits that it has failed in regulating its members. According to its chairman, Prof Johnstone Kiamba, politicians take advantage of this weakness to ensure that the institute’s suggestions are not implemented.

“Some professionals find it more tempting to go for short-term gains,” says Prof Kiamba. Under section 29 of the Physical Planning Act, local authorities have the powers to approve or reject any development proposals for physical structures within their areas of jurisdiction.

The Kenya Alliance of Residence Associations (KARA) adds that somebody in City Hall should have been arraigned in court to answer charges of negligence.

“In other countries, the city clerk should have been in court to explain what happened,” says Mr Stephen Mutoro, KARA chief executive officer.

Yet this is not the first time we have had such calamities. This year alone, the National Disaster Operation Centre reports that about 5,000 households have been consumed in 110 fires.

According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, most of the fires were in urban areas, especially Nairobi. In April, a fire gutted a huge chunk of Mukuru slums.

It was later realised (not for the first time) that the narrow and sometimes blocked roads in the area mean its interior cannot be reached by fire engines.

The G4S director, Mr Clive Lee, noted that the number of government officials dealing with fires or disasters often complicate rescue efforts.

“Access to these areas (slums) was pretty much limited and even after we could, there was no coordination on the part of the government,” he said.

The blame game could go on and on, but it still gets back to the issue of planning and the absence or presence of a civic culture.

According to Mr Mutoro, Kenya does not need new laws to curb this deficiency; it just needs a society that will obey what the available laws and genuine planners say.

“We don’t need a new piece of legislation, what we need is to remove politicians from planning departments,” he says. The city’s department of physical planning scores low, according to KARA.

And so do the planners themselves. “The informal sprawl in our town centres is not as a result of poor planning, it is as result of a combination of factors,” adds Mr Njoroge.

These include dirty politics and corruption. In Kenya, physical planners are regulated by the Kenya Institute of Planners. Formed in 1999, one of its objectives is “to promote transparency and the acceptance of accountability to the profession, clients, and the society for actions and quality of work.”

But KARA observes that this role might never be properly played if wealthy, corrupt, and powerful politicians continue to influence plans.

“Politicians are like quacks and the faster the institute rids itself of their influence, the better because this will make their self-regulation a reality.”

Although most of Kenya’s big towns already have their physical development plans, none of them has religiously followed them.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a US agency that tabulates historical facts about towns, shows that there is no urban centre in Kenya that was carefully planned from inception.

All started as ad hoc centres. Worse still, even those that drew up plans never follow them. “We need to come up with authorities to oversee how our county headquarters will be planned. In fact, planning should be the key issue to focus on before anything else,” says Prof Kiamba.

The new Constitution, under article 184, provides for the creation of laws that will guide the management of urban areas. It also provides for citizens’
participation in all the plans of an urban area management team.

But will the corrupt and the powerful allow this? Kenya’s urban organisation has often been at the mercy of political influence.

As Judith Innes and David Booher write in Public Participation in Planning: New Strategies for the 21st Century, the “people we often call planners are often agencies or a person — often an agency head or elected official rather than a trained planner, even though some professional planners operate in this mode.”

Hence Kenyan planners have become typical “fixers” for politicians

Source: Daily Nation

If Your's is a Sloppy Site, You Need to Know this Before you Build - Kenneth Oigo

Flash floods are with us again and, even though they present a big headache to urban dwellers, the greatest danger lies in rural, on-slope settlements.

[caption id="attachment_1595" align="alignnone" width="750" caption="Image of a house built on slope. Source: http://games-all.com/nature-wallpapers/small-house-on-slope.html"][/caption]

However, builders can avoid the risk of collapsing structures by building retaining walls, which are designed to resist the lateral pressure of soil when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil.

Retaining walls are built in order to hold back ground, which would otherwise move downwards.

Their purpose is to stabilise slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, for example terraces for agriculture, buildings, roads and railways, dams, flower boxes, and basement walls.

Due to the constant lateral pressure that the retained soil applies on the wall, coupled with the ever-dynamic surcharge and water pressures, retaining walls are always under assault by these forces and, if not properly constructed or designed, they may fail, putting the lives of anyone in the vicinity at risk.

Basement walls may collapse, burying people alive, or dams may fail, sweeping entire populations under a massive wave of sudden floods in river towns downstream.

The main types of retaining walls are:

Gravity walls: These are the most basic retaining walls available in the design range. They depend on the weight of their mass to resist pressure from behind and often have the slight setback of improving stability by leaning back into the retained soil. For short landscaping walls, they are often made from mortarless stone or segmental concrete units. Dry-stacked gravity walls are somewhat flexible and do not require a rigid footing.

Cantilevered walls: Cantilevered retaining walls are made from an internal stem of steel-reinforced, cast-in-place concrete or mortared masonry, often in the shape of an inverted. These walls cantilever loads like a beam to a large, structural footing, converting horizontal pressure from behind the wall to vertical pressure on the ground below. Sometimes cantilevered walls are buttressed on the front, or include a counter fort on the back, to improve their strength, resisting high loads. Buttresses are short wing walls at right angles to the main trend of the wall. These walls require rigid concrete footings below seasonal frost depth. This type of wall uses much less material than a traditional gravity wall.

Sheet piling: Sheet pile retaining walls are usually used in soft soils and tight spaces. They are made out of steel, vinyl, or wood planks which are driven into the ground. Tall sheet pile walls will need a tie-back anchor, placed in the soil a distance behind the face of the wall that is tied to it, usually by a cable or a rod. Anchors are placed behind the potential failure plane in the soil.

Anchored walls: An anchored retaining wall can be constructed in any of the aforementioned styles but also includes additional strength using cables or other stays anchored in the rock or soil behind it. Anchors, usually driven into the material with boring, are then expanded at the end of the cable, either by mechanical means or often by injecting pressurised concrete, which expands to form a bulb in the soil. Technically complex, this method is useful where high loads are expected, or where the wall itself has to be slender and would otherwise be too weak.

There are basically two major ways through which retaining walls fail. These are:

Slip cycle failure: This is when the entire soil mass behind and under the structure becomes saturated with water, making the wall to slide in a circular manner as it gives way to the push of the lateral pressures behind it.

Failure by overturning: The wall is forced to overturn when the lateral pressure is more than the counteracting forces. This mainly happens when surcharge forces are added. This may affect basement walls that are subjected to access surcharge forces from vehicles parked too close to the wall, hence exerting too much pressure.

For maximum safety, the following points must be considered when installing a retaining wall:

When choosing materials, select the type that is best suited for the desired result. Many long-lasting materials are available in the market.

The type of wall you choose should be determined by need. Decide if you need a mass concrete wall or a less expensive pre-cast wall.

Most retaining walls fail because of pressure against the wall caused by water or soil-moisture build up behind the wall. All walls should provide for the back-of-wall water to freely drain down and away from the wall.

This is accomplished with gravel backfill or manufactured drainage blankets and drain pipes. Structural walls require “weep” holes to allow water to drain from behind the wall.

A wall is only as good as its foundation and all retaining walls should be built on structurally sound, compacted foundation sub-base material.

Levelled and compacted earth or gravel fills are acceptable. The foundation material should extend at least one foot beyond the front and back of the base width of the wall.

When building dry-laid stone walls, place the largest, most stable stones at the bottom of the wall and be aware that the base width may need to be as wide as the wall is high.

Walls are more stable and structurally secure if they slope back into the retained slope.

Timber walls and other walls of solid horizontal materials usually have “T” anchors extending back into the slope of undisturbed earth.

This helps walls to resist pressures that force them forward or cause them to pivot on footing material.

A good rule of thumb is to provide at least one anchor per 16 square feet of exposed wall face.

Source: Daily Nation

A Great Architectural Marvel in Nyeri's Wilderness - Treetops

After covering the War Memorial church located in Nyeri, the Architecture Kenya team must have thought that was the last they would cover of the town located at the central highlands of Kenya. But that was not to be, another marvel came about, though located 17 kilometres from the town, it can still be said to be in Nyeri.



As the name suggests, Treetops Hotel was literally built into the tops of the trees of Aberdare National Park. The idea was to offer guests a very close view of local wildlife in complete safety. This concept was borrowed from an Indian tradition called Shikar, which was a form of hunting in colonial India, where hunting was done on a platform mounted on a tree in complete safety and comfort.

The hotel, initially run by Eric Walker, was operational in 1932 starting with a modest two roomed tree house to the fifty rooms it has today. The original structure was burned down by African guerrillas during the 1954 Mau Mau uprising, but the hotel was later rebuilt near the same waterhole where it was initially.



It rises straight out of the ground on stilts and has four decks and a roof top viewing platform. It has a rustic external feel, with matching interior decor. Large timber framed windows dot the internal spaces and a rooftop terrace provides a perfect location for viewing the wildlife below.

The Dangers of Buying a House Before it is Built

[caption id="attachment_1588" align="alignnone" width="750" caption="A model of a house.Image Source: Daily Nation"][/caption]

When Elizabeth Lwali decided to buy a house, she looked for a bargain and found one that she has never regretted. Located in Embakasi, Nairobi, Ms Lwali’s house is a three-bedroom apartment with an en suite master bedroom.

Unlike many people who go for a completed house, Ms Lwali, an investment officer with a Nairobi-based pan-African housing finance and development institution, bought hers even before the foundation was laid. She was asked to pay a 20 per cent deposit when the construction started in October 2007. The amount also acted as the booking fees. She cleared the balance when the project was completed last year.

As the project was nearing completion, she arranged for finances to settle the balance. Her husband and she raised over 50 per cent of the money from their own sources. Ms Lwali paid the balance (30 per cent) through an employer mortgage scheme. There is already a tenant in the house. For Ms Lwali, the wait was worth it.

“It is always cheaper to buy at the beginning. I bought my unit for Sh3.5 million, but those who are buying similar units in the same project are paying almost double, at Sh6.5 million. I have made capital gains while doing nothing, literally.”

The process she followed in acquiring the house is called a pre-sale or buying on paper or buying on the plan — or simply buying off-plan.

Strictly speaking, a pre-sale refers to anything (a house in this case) sold before completion — whether half-way, quarter-way, or 90 per cent complete. This arrangement has become common in Kenya since the rebound of the real estate sector in Kenya over eight years ago. Experts estimate that about 60 per cent of new housing projects in the country are sold under pre-sale arrangement.

People go for this kind of arrangement because they are looking for a bargain as pre-sale houses are substantially cheaper than similar ones by the time the construction is completed.

As a buyer, it also gives you some “breathing space” to arrange for the financing. Pre-sales come with sweeteners — buyers are even allowed to pay the deposit in instalments. During the construction period, you can move from one bank to another, seeking mortgage financing.

Or if you are a business person, you can stagger your payments to your comfort. Off-plan selling also enables developers not to pump in their own money, relying on deposit instead. All in all, it is a risk management tool for both the developer and the buyer.

And as Ms Lwali attests, pre-sales can be gratifying. “My experience was good. I was not required to put in any additional money. “There were no ugly experiences. I did not have to insure anything. All I had to do was to make the necessary extra payments — including stamp duty, legal fees, and three-month service charge deposit, — when required.”

However, despite success stories like Ms Lwali’s, property experts are warning that pre-sale arrangements are not 100 per cent safe for buyers. Although they have obvious advantages they transfer an “excessive” level of construction risks to the buyers, most of who are looking for bargains.

“Pre-sales are not safe for buyers, especially at this time when the cost of building materials is on the increase, sometimes to a level that makes it not practically feasible to deliver the project at the proposed deadline and price,” says Mr Wilberforce Oundo, a director with Roack Consult.

Mr Oundo has witnessed many cases where, towards the end of a project’s completion, the developer asks buyers to top up their payments to match the prevailing market prices, in total disregard of the pre-sale contract signed, which clearly states the price.

“It is not unusual for developers to change prices at the end of construction. I have seen cases where a developer goes back to those who had booked and asks them to top up and refunds the money of those who are unable to increase their payments.

“Sometimes the depositors are also asked to pay any penalties or costs incurred. There are quite a number of such cases that have happened towards the end of the project,” he says.

Whereas some developers are forced by circumstances like unexpected jumps in the cost of building materials to renege on pre-sale agreements, most do it out of greed.

This has been so, especially given the rapid rise in property prices in major cities like Nairobi. According to Mr Oundo, most developers would rather return the deposit for units booked earlier, then sell them at a higher price.

“The developer’s argument is very simple: ‘I am in business and I want make more money. So, if you can’t give me the money then I would rather break the contract and sell this property at a higher price’,” he says.

Developers forced to increase prices because of higher cost of construction materials find comfort in the law.

The Architectural Association of Kenya contracts allow the contractor to vary the contract terms if the prices of some specified and principal materials increase beyond 15 per cent.

The contractor is not obliged to seek approval to vary the contract. Kenya’s property experts are not the only ones urging buyers to exercise caution with pre-sales.

In its new book, Housing Finance Policy in Emerging Markets, the World Bank says pre-sales can be risky for the consumer.

“Problems occur when there is no construction lending but large advances paid by the consumers, and the developer fails to deliver the expected housing product — in terms of quality, time, and price — leaving households to take the whole risk and face dire legal straits in trying to recover their advances (deposits),” says the book.

According to the publication, consumers, especially those who earn low or moderate incomes, frequently commit all their savings to make a down payment. Should the project or developer fail, individual consumers rarely have the resources to pursue a case in court to recover their deposits, which is unlikely when the developer is bankrupt or has been left with insufficient assets.

“If the unit that is delivered does not meet promised standards, a consumer who pre-purchased it with a mortgage has little recourse except to default on the mortgage and pass the problem on to his or her lender,” it says, noting that this is the main cause of the few non-performing mortgage loans in China.

In particular, it notes, consumers are usually ill-equipped to judge progress or quality of construction of a large development project. “Several scandals of this nature have been made public,” says the report.

Another disadvantage of pre-sales is that they presume that one’s (financial) circumstances will remain the same or improve for the entire construction period.

Usually, one is given 14 or 30 days to complete the payment upon issuance of the certificate of occupation. But sometimes your circumstances have since changed and you may no longer qualify for a mortgage and are unable to get alternative funding.

Sometimes people lose jobs before completion of the construction. Mr Oundo says the most heart-rending case of a pre-sale gone sour was that of a friend who paid a 30 per cent deposit, then lost his job towards the end of the project last year.

“He was buying a Sh15 million house on Kiambu Road and signed the contract, confident that nothing would happen to his job,” he says.

Things were made worse by the fact that the sale contract was lopsided. It said that in the event of default, he had to pay interest on the outstanding balance.

He ended up losing the 30 per cent deposit (Sh5 million) and another Sh3 million in penalties, forfeitures, and interest.

The contract did not have a provision for varying the price, but it clearly stated that in the event of default, the purchaser would forfeit 20 per cent of the deposit paid as well as pay interest at the prevailing bank interest rates on a monthly basis in the event he was unable to complete the payment.

“The developer’s argument was, if he had not booked the property, someone else would have bought it.

“He was supposed to pay the remaining 70 per cent within 30 days after practical completion. Unfortunately, he lost his job about a month to the completion date,” says ms Oundo.

Lesson: Buyers need to ensure that the pre-sale contract they sign is foolproof and does not leave room for any changes/amendments instigated by the developer.

The recourse, Mr Oundo notes, lies in ensuring that the sale agreement is so tight that it has no provision for varying the price or refunding the deposit.

If that is included in the contract, he says, then the only recourse you have is to go to court and seek specific-performance — that the developer is obligated to deliver to you the product/property instead of giving you the money.

Source: Daily Nation

Designed to save Mother Earth - New UNEP HQs

Environmental conservation and the war against global warming are among the biggest responsibilities of governments today. Scientists have been working round the clock to design innovative ways to build eco-friendly cars, machines and, in the past few decades, buildings.

With statistics from the American Institute of Architects indicating that buildings account for an estimated 48 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, the United Nations and some governments and civil groups have been pushing for “green” features in the design of new buildings.

Unlike the concrete and glass boxes that need huge amounts of non-renewable resources to run, green buildings are designed to support rainwater harvesting, bicycle commuting, solar heating, natural ventilation, and many other environmentally friendly practices.

This, in turn, ensures that the structures emit fewer greenhouse gases, consume less energy, use less water, and offer their occupants healthier environments than those in typical buildings.

These innovations are meant to make urban development environmentally sustainable and user friendly. To walk the talk, the United Nations’ Nairobi office launched one of the most eco-friendly structures ever built in the Kenya, and probably Africa.

Housing the headquarters of both the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (Habitat), the new structure is designed to reflect the two organisations’ mission statement — sustainable urban development.

With 6,000 square metres of solar panels, natural ventilation systems, and many other green features, the building is expected to be energy sufficient in a year’s time.

“The building sector is the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, with one third of global energy use taking place in offices and homes,” explains Mr Achim Steiner, director-general of the United Nations Office at Nairobi.

“So the design and construction of new buildings — and the refitting of existing ones — represents one of the key, low cost ways of combatting climate change while reducing electricity bills and dependence on fossil fuels.”

The building is designed like a chimney, allowing warm air from the ground level to waft across the office areas before escaping through the sides of the vaulted roof. This guarantees cool temperatures in the offices without having to use air conditioners.

Besides the washrooms being served by harvested rain water and being fitted with water-saving taps and lavatories, waste water is treated in a state-of-the-art aeration facility nearby and then used to irrigate the interior compound landscaped with the country’s four ecosystems in mind — forest, savannah, desert, and coast.

Solar panels are expected to generate around 750,000 kilowatt hours a year and measures have been put in place to ensure that the complex attains energy neutrality — where all power used by the building and its occupants over the year is met by renewable sources.

“We are aiming to have the building energy neutral over the course of the year, not for it to be completely energy independent,” explains Mr Rob de Jong, one of the experts leading the efforts to maximise the energy sustainability of the building.

“There will be some days when the panels will produce more than we need and others where there may not be enough sun.”

One of the biggest electricity consumers in the office setup after lighting is the information technology department.

To take care of this, the designers incorporated an innovative data centre cooling system that uses air and water rather than electricity -driven fans. There is an electronic meter at the entrance reading the electricity generated and the carbon dioxide emissions.

The opening of the office complex, graced by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon coincided with the release of a report by the National Environmental Management Board that classified Kenya as one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.

Green architecture gained currency in the wake of the 1973 energy crisis when the concept moved from research and development to reality as governments sought ways of cutting costs and reliance on fossil fuels. But due to the high initial costs of alternative energy, the number of people venturing into this technology was few.

However, over the years research has yielded more innovative and relatively cheap photovoltaic cells, which has made it possible for more building projects to use solar energy.

While Europe and Asia have embraced green architecture, the concept is yet to be fully embraced in sub-Saharan Africa, unlike in South Africa.

The most important factor in achieving green architecture in urban areas is strict legislation and regulation. The South African government has already called for a consideration of minimum energy efficiency levels when setting up new structures.

However, South Africa is far ahead of other states in the continent since it has an institution in charge of green building issues and a fully-fledged grading system.

The Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) is in charge of green movements and has launched a rating system called the Green Star SA.

Among the major eco-friendly structures to be approved by GBCSA is the new Nedbank Phase II building in Sandton, Johannesburg, the 24 Richefond Circle in Umhlanga Rocks, and Villa Mall in Pretoria

While the green building concept is still in its infancy in Africa, Asia is set for an era of environmentally friendly construction boom in the commercial building sector, what with the many multinational companies striving to be named the most ecologically friendly and responsible organisations in Asia.

Besides the image value, many Asia-based companies are embracing green building due to substantial savings in terms of energy costs that these structures generate.

Asian countries experience warmer climates most of the year, which results in high electricity bills to run air conditioning, sometimes amounting to almost a third of the building’s total operating costs.

According to research conducted by CB Richard Ellis, a leading global property company, Asia accounts for almost 75 per cent of the total annual global office space construction.

This finding is underlined by the fact that the demand for architects, engineers, and design managers specialising in environmentally sustainable construction is on the rise in the continent.

The City Square Mall is Singapore’s first eco-friendly shopping complex. Completed in 2009, the 12-storey mall was awarded the country’s Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum Award for innovative “green” features like eco-restrooms designed to save water and electricity.

The $200 million (Sh16.8 billion) building was also hailed for using environmentally-friendly materials such as drywall partitions, a non-chemical anti-termite system, designated parking lots for hybrid cars, and sensors to monitor levels of indoor carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions.

Having invested five per cent of the building costs in installing the “green” features, the mall’s eco-friendly design is projected to cut energy usage by approximately 39 per cent, compared to designs using standard industry code.

Other benefits include saving an estimated 11 million kilowatts of electricity a year, reduction of 5,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually — which would have required 25,000 trees to absorb — and saving an estimated $48,000 (Sh4 million) per annum in other expenses.

The biggest green project under construction now is the Freedom Tower at the site where the World Trade Centre once stood.

Branded the “Green Giant” and expected to be complete by 2013, the building will not only be the tallest in the world at 1,776 feet, but will also feature green enhancement concepts never tried in an urban structure before.

“It is going to stand out as a beacon to the rest of the world in pushing the environmentally friendly agenda,” explains Mr Guy Battle, president of sustainability consulting firm Battle McCarthy, that worked with the architects on the structure’s design.

At 1,200 feet above the building’s rooftop observation decks will stand a series of wind turbines that will generate up to 2.6 million kilowatts of electricity annually, which is 20 per cent of the building’s anticipated energy needs.

Placing the “wind farm” above the New York skyline is not only meant to expose the turbines to gushing winds, it also aims to display the wind energy enhancement technology to the city’s public.

“The long-term goal is to create carbon-negative buildings,” said Mr Battle. “Buildings consume half of all the energy in the world, but they should be giving back energy instead of only taking it”.

Apart from companies and organisations, there are individuals whose quest for green architecture deserves a mention.

When Bill Clinton was elected the US President in 1992, he announced a plan to make the White House the “model for efficiency and waste reduction” across the nation and the world.

Dubbed the “Greening of the White House”, the project was hailed as a success since the presidential villa saves more than $300,000 (Sh24 million) annually in energy, water costs, and landscaping since 1996 by enhancing the use of renewable resources.

After the successful greening of the White House, other major buildings like The Pentagon and the US Department of Energy have been given a green makeover.

Britain’s richest man, Lakshmi Mittal, plans to build a £30 million (Sh3.7 billion) mansion in the outskirts of London that designers claim will have a “zero-carbon” footprint once it’s completed.

According to the Sunday Times, the “green house” will be self-sufficient in energy and harness outdoor temperatures to create natural air conditioning.

This, in effect, will not only make the house a zero-carbon emitter, it will also make the entire 340-acre estate that it will stand on carbon-negative.

There are also instances where entire cities have gone green by implementing policies that are geared towards the use of renewable resources in building and transport.

The Dutch capital Amsterdam is one of the cities that have been hailed as nature’s best friends. It is termed the “ultra modern energy-saving metropolis”.

Millions of Amsterdamers prefer bikes to cars and hundreds of homes have registered with an innovative domestic energy management project. All these efforts are projected to slash carbon dioxide emissions by an impressive 45 per cent by 2025.

Nairobi and other major Kenyan urban centres, all of which grapple with perennial power and water shortages and traffic jams, can learn a lot from these urban centres which have implemented revolutionary ways of coping with the vagaries of energy deficiency, pollution, and congestion.

The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) is also rushing to complete an eco-friendly building in Upper Hill that is bound to pioneer green architecture in the private sector.

The aptly coloured structure — the company’s corporate colour is green — is funded through the KCB Staff Pension Fund.

Source: Daily Nation

Kshs 2.7 billion in Variations for Thika Superhighway Construction Project

The escalating cost of fuel could increase the cost of completing the Nairobi-Thika highway.

This could result in further delay to completion of the Sh27 billion highway, which is scheduled for February next year.

Roads permanent secretary Michael Kamau said the government had a contingency plan to take care of such a predicament.

“If this project is delayed and the fuel prices continue behaving the way they are doing, then we have serious challenges on the amount of money we are going to pay on the variation on price,” the PS said while inspecting the construction progress.

He, however, said the project was nearly half-way done.

“After we changed the contractors, who were doing the re-routing of the water services, the progress level is at six per cent per month,” Mr Kamau said.

He said the contractors were working on the structural works — the underpasses and retaining walls — but had been set back by the current rains.

The PS urged the engineers to gear towards sectional completion of the road.

He noted that the Museum Hill interchange would be ready by July while the works at the Forest and Limuru roads junction were expected to be completed in August.

“We shall be using the flyovers and the traffic jam experienced there shall be eased,” he said, adding that street lights would be put up later.

The highway is expected to ease traffic congestion in the city. China Wu Yi Company, Sinohydro Corporation Ltd and Shengli Engineering Construction are building the highway.

Source: Daily Nation

Piece of Italy on Mt Kenya by Muchiri Gitonga

War, that bloody business by humanity gone mad, has a way of making the boom of guns, the smell and rivulets of blood, innocence ruined, and ambitions shattered unforgettable by its sheer gore.

War and its memories are also immortalised in brick and mortar to capture and make real what poignancy may evade memory. This would explain the Italian-built shrine in Nyeri and its tree-lined drive and well-tended lawns against the backdrop of the picturesque Nyeri Hill.

It also explains why we have numerous memorial this and that. It is not that those who put up such structures are extravagant. Theirs is a burning desire to keep certain memories, certain fires burning.

Five kilometres from Nyeri town, the Italian War Memorial Church off the Ihururu Road is the eternal home of the remains of 676 soldiers, mostly Italians, captured by British soldiers during the Second World War.

Vaults containing the remains of African soldiers, mostly from Somaliland, who could not be interred inside the church because of their faith, are housed in another structure outside the church. The Somalis had fought alongside the Italians.

On the vaults are engraved the names and dates of death of the soldiers. Lying in front of the two columns of rows of simple wooden pews and just before the altar is one marble-lined tomb. It is that of the Duke of Aosta, Prince Amedeo Savoia-Aosta, the leader of the soldiers.

Benito Mussolini, who lead Italy to the Second World War, had in 1937 made Prince Amedeo the commander-in-chief of all the forces in Italian East Africa.

Mass at the Italian War Memorial Church is held only once a year.

Scores of Italian families, friends, and government officials throng the beautiful brick-walled compound to pay homage to their country’s fallen soldiers.

For Italy, November 4 is set aside to remember the country’s soldiers who died for their motherland, explained former Italian ambassador to Kenya Pierandrea Magistrati.

Last year, Italians living in Kenya marked the day on November 6. A crowd of Italian families, government officials led by then ambassador Mr Magistrati, a few nuns of Italian origin, and a handful of local residents congregated in the church.

Italy’s and Kenya’s flags were hoisted at the entrance.

Green-white-red ribbons hang on the interior walls of the church. The marble tomb of Prince Amedeo left no doubt that this was an Italian state function.

The annual ritual brings together Italians resident in Kenya or other parts of Africa with their families.

Throughout the hour-long mass conducted in Italian by an African priest bathed in soft light from giant candles and windows, two armed soldiers in black and white uniform stand attention on each side of the altar.

The Italian Government and its nationals residing in Kenya funded the construction of the church back in 1952.

Ms Halina Pellin says her family has been coming here for the past 58 years to pay tribute to their father’s cousin, Pellin Armando.

According to Halina, Armando died on August 8, 1946 after he and her father were held captive by the British while fighting in Ethiopia.
Last year, Halina was accompanied by her mother Christina and brother Riccardo Pellin. With her father now dead, the family feels obligated to pay tribute to his cousin as he would have done if he was still alive.

“I never met him,” says Halina as she places her hand on the vault bearing the remains of the departed relative.

“When he died, he was a British prisoner of war alongside my late father. It’s very touching. It signified more for my father who was with him when he passed away.”

The Pellin family has been coming here since 1952.

“It has become our family tradition to attend the annual Mass. In fact, we started coming here long ago when this road was made. It makes us feel closer to our past,” says Riccardo.

Like many of his fellow soldiers, Armando had been captured by the British in Ethiopia and transported to Kenya as prisoners of war. Many of the captives, including Prince Amedeo, would later die of malaria and tuberculosis in the war camps.

One of the legacies of their captivity in Kenya is the Mai Mahiu Road on the scenic escarpment to the floor of the Rift Valley.

In recent years, some Italian families have been repatriating the remains of their relatives for burial in their country.

“It’s true that some families have requested that the remains of their relatives be brought back to Italy. It’s also right to have the remains there,” says Halina, who lives in Kenya.

According to Mr Magistrati, every government has a duty to remember its soldiers who die for the country. He said the Italian Ministry of Defence spends about 6,000 euros (about Sh723,000) in addition to private donations from soldiers’ relatives, to maintain this shrine.

“It’s a symbol of friendship between Italy and Kenya because we have many priests and nuns working around here,” said Mr Magistrati.

After its construction, all the known remains of Italian soldiers in various graveyards in East Africa were gathered and transported to be interred in this architectural masterpiece. This became possible with the help of a committee formed in 1955 for that purpose.

Those buried in the church died as they sought to fulfil the dreams of Italian political and military leaders in the first decades of the 20th century.

The reign of Prince Amedeo as the Governor-General of Ethiopia had been marked by development of infrastructure and high standards of living and general improved quality of life in the new Italian territory.

Under his command, Italian troops accomplished their greatest feat in the Second World War by defeating British troops in British Somaliland.  This victory was, however, short-lived as crucial supply lines for his forces were cut by the British.

Prince Amedeo died in Thika on March 3, 1942, after refusing an offer by the British to be held in England, where he would have been more comfortable until the end of the war.

Source: Daily Nation

Rise of the Gated Community - Eagle Plains Estate off Mombasa Road

[caption id="attachment_1470" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Image of Eagle Estate coutersy of The Standard"][/caption]

Hidden off Mombasa Road, about 50 metres behind Panari Hotel, lies Eagles Plain — a breathtaking residential housing estate. It is in close proximity to the city centre and industrial area in a mixed zone and on the way to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. According to the architect, Andrew Kimani of FNDA Architecture, the estate is erected on a 28-acre plot that holds 307 units.

The single-storied houses have four spacious bedrooms with three bathrooms and a master ensuite. They also have a lounge, dining area, fitted kitchen with a pantry and a detached servant’s quarter. The houses are being sold at Sh11 million up from the initial price of Sh6m. Those who want to rent will have to part with Sh50,000 or more every month.

Surrounding commercial centres like Capital Centre, Panari Sky Centre, Nakumatt Hyper, Nakumatt Embakasi and Metro-Stores along Nairobi-Mombasa Highway caters for major shopping. There is a small shop within the estate for fast moving commodities like milk and bread. Plans are in place to build a commercial centre within the estate.

Each house sits on a 24 by 10 metre space and has cabro worked driveways and a back and front yard. The gated estate has concrete block paving and well-lit landscaped pedestrian walkways. It also enjoys a 24-hour security, which is reinforced by a police post right outside the gate.

Accessing the estate, however, is a challenge and many residents are forced to use a small footpath from Mombasa Road via Nakumatt godown. When it rains it becomes impassable. The main entrance is either through Road C off Enterprise Road or Road C off Likoni Link Road just before Parkside Towers on Mombasa Road. The residents are waiting for the completion of Enterprise Road which begun in 2008 but has since stalled.

By Wangeci Kanyeki - Standard Media

English Point Marina Revisited

When hotelier Alnoor Kanji acquired a four-acre plot along Tudor creek near the Mombasa Showgrounds in 2007, he thought to himself: Why not put up some apartments and sell them off for a quick buck?

But that was before he took his time off one evening and sat there, studying the environment. “At the time we finalised the sale process, I hadn’t seriously thought of the type of investment we were going to put up.

“But after sitting there for a whole three hours, enjoying the luxury of the view, the tranquillity and the ambience, I knew I was sitting on not only a water-front property, but also a monument with huge potential,” he says.

“I went home, called my brother in London and told him we needed to change our game plan. My thinking was that, if we put up apartments and sold them, it would be a disservice to our tourist city.

“We had to come up with a facility that had a public component and boosted our tourism industry” says Kanji, who owns Pinewood Village Beach Resort in South coast.

Having lived in Vancouver, Canada — a town known for its water-front life — for over 10 years in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kanji was convinced that the best land use they would make of the property was a marina.

From that point on, they started the hunt for the best architects to draw up plans for an international five-star marina complex.

Because of the complex nature of the project, the duo opted for the services of Broadway Malyan, an architectural firm based in London.

And so in two years’ time, the English Point Marina — for that is what the two brothers decided to name their project — will change the sea-front near Fort Jesus, Mombasa.

Estimated to cost Sh4 billion, the extraordinary development will move Mombasa higher up on the world map, and transform the tourist town into a luxury boats facility and water sports destination.

The complex’s four four-storey blocks consisting of 96 three-bedroom apartments and eight five-bedroom penthouses is designed in such a manner that all rooms have a sea view.

The apartment blocks will also be built in an elevated position on the creek overlooking Mombasa Old Town and the 16th-Century Fort Jesus, two important tourist attractions in the region.

The complex will also house a 26-room hotel, a spa, a gym, a five-star international marina, a water sports centre, restaurants and an underground parking lot for about 200 vehicles.

Kanji says the developer will manage the marina, while investors will provide accommodation by renting out their apartments.

The project design indicates that the marina will also be connected to Mombasa Island to ease traffic congestion at the Nyali Bridge, and will also be accessible to the public.

This convenient link with Mombasa Island will enable people to shuttle between Nyali and the town within a very short period of time by just taking a boat from the site Island, where a jetty has existed for centuries.

Keen investors are already lining up to own a section of the marina. Just two months after the contractor broke the ground to lay the foundation for the four apartment blocks, over 20 investors have committed themselves to acquire some of the 96 lifestyle apartments.

With each apartment going for over Sh50 million and the penthouse in the upwards of Sh150 million, Kanji figured that it would be difficult to convince somebody to cough all that money, so he invested in a model apartment adjacent to the property.

The marina will be the first of its kind along the east coast of Africa, and will join two others along the entire eastern coastline, from Cape to Cairo — one in Egypt and the other in South Africa.

It will have a capacity to accommodate 88 boats, with all facilities to cater for the boats that will include service and an oil jetty which, according to tourism industry marketers, will position Kenya, known for its safaris and pristine beaches, as one of the most favourable destinations for high-end tourists.

Source: Daily Nation

The Nextgen Park

[caption id="attachment_1372" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="A perspective view of the Nextgen Park"][/caption]

This development project has already been approved by the City Council of Nairobi although the commencement date is not yet clear. As usual, the AK team has been unable to establish the entire team behind the project although credible leads indicate that Archigrid Systems are the lead consultants and project architects.

The information we are thus providing has been paraphrased from their brochure, which we must say, was lacking in terms of quality of presentation and imagery, save for the high quality paper used for the print and two images which were obviously downloaded from the internet, that of the theatre and gym. Click here to download the brochure in pdf. Discuss this development with regards to its scale, on whether Kenyans are ready for 'high rise' living and whether it is a plus or minus for the city of Nairobi.

[caption id="attachment_1371" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Site layout plan of the Nextgen development. The Southern Bypass does not actually border the site, it is one or two plots further down"][/caption]

That aside, the park has been defined as the height of sophistication and Nairobi's new landmark of luxury. The park promises to redefine Nairobi's style with its ideal location, and is said to be at the cutting edge of 21st - century metropolitan living - the glamour of five - star hotel but within the confines of home.

[caption id="attachment_1370" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The Nextgen commercial centre"][/caption]

The centre will have the following facilities for sale:-

• Ground floor supermarket


• Shopping mall of four floors to be served by escalators and lifts of various sizes.


• A dedicated floor with terrace open to sky - food court.


• Upper floors dedicated to office spaces.


• Offices at Medical plaza meant for doctor's.

[caption id="attachment_1369" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Typical apartment floor plans"][/caption]

Additional features include a joggers park, high speed lifts, borehole water supply, 50 seat private theatre, Spa, Secured basement parking, Two acres of landscaped gardens, Fully fitted kitchen with appliances, standby generator to lifts & common areas, ground floor 24 hour concierge reception with intercom service, pent houses with observation deck overlooking the National park and pent houses with own private steam / sauna and open air Jaccuzzi.

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Mombasa may not survive the current urbanization wave, but will still live on, in photos.

Mombasa’s rich historical past has now been immortalised for posterity in a photographic collection.

This comes as the wave of modernisation slowly creeps on this centuries-old town, threatening to transform it irreversibly.

A small island town dotted with coconut palms, kanzu-clad men whiling away time on narrow pavements, people serving coffee from traditional Arabian urns and sites and sounds that go back centuries are part of Mombasa’s history.

But this face has been slowly changing as high-rise buildings replace the low Swahili designs and large thoroughfares take the place of winding narrow roads that characterised the old transport network.

In the new look town, it is only the Mackinnon Market; the old port where dhows carrying dried fish still dock; Castle Royal; Fort Jesus and some areas that still give one an idea of the beautiful past.

Despite this, Kenyans and other students of history will for many years to come be able to walk through old Mombasa, thanks to the photographic collection on a souvenir calendar produced by the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and Friends of Fort Jesus (FFJ).

As the NMK marks 100 years of its existence, there is no better gift Kenyans can get than a glimpse of the past, a reminder of how far major towns like Mombasa have evolved to their present status.

Launched at Fort Jesus on Tuesday evening, the 2011 calendar contains historical photographs of old Mombasa, including those of the old port and the current Kilindini port.

The photos give an overview of what the old Mombasa used to be in terms of people and architectural designs.

One of the aims of the calendar is to celebrate the town’s rich history and capture the changes in the environment.

The Museums assistant director in charge of Coast region, Mr Athuman Hussein said: “There is a lot of education in the photographs.”

He was representing the NMK director, Dr Idle Farah.

The FFJ chairperson, Ms Marlene Reid, described the launch of the calendar as celebrating the past and preserving it for the future.

Ms Reid said the calendar is a product of the FFJ photographic collection that was started in 1981. She said the calendar also celebrates the spirit of cooperation between FFJ and the Fort Jesus Museum.

Ms Reid said she hoped they will make the photographic collection more valuable by having it professionally put on CDs for easy access and use.

Swahili furniture, pottery and other forms of art and craft are among the most sought products, yet research has shown that all these are being exploited by foreigners.

These, according to the acting director of the Research Institute of Swahili Studies of Eastern Africa, Mr Kassim Omar, are what will be the focus of the first furniture and furnishing exhibition to be held on the historic Mama Ngina Drive in Mombasa early next month.

The inaugural event, Mr Omar said, targets more than 30,000 people, among them artists and furniture owners.

It will highlight the role of creative industries as a vehicle of economic empowerment and a means of alleviating poverty within the communities in line with Vision 2030, he added.

The theme of the exhibition is “Economic Empowerment through Creative Cultural Industries” and is in line with NMK’s: “1910-2010: Celebrating a Century of Heritage Management”.

Already residents of Old Town will have an opportunity to showcase their rich Swahili cultural heritage at an evening bazaar supported by the French embassy and the Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association (MCTA).

The bazaar is taking the format of a successful one in Zanzibar called Forodhani and the Cape Town Waterfront in South Africa, which have become  major tourist attractions as they mirror the lifestyle of the olden days.

MCTA executive officer Millicent Odhiambo said the residents will be lining with their items along the roads from the Bank of India to Fort Jesus, showcasing the local Swahili culinary and dishes.

“This is a deliberate move to attract local and international guests to the Old Town and Fort Jesus by enhancing culture-based tourism.

“Through these exhibitions that will also include Swahili crafts, music and decorations, the residents, who have been taking a backseat in the development of tourism, will be part of the system,” she said.

Other efforts at preserving the rich cultural heritage of Mombasa include funding by the European Union through the Mombasa Old Town Conservation for restoration of dilapidated buildings in the Old Town of Mombasa and Lamu.

Source: Daily Nation

The Kshs 200Billion Tatu City in Ruiru

Tatu City is a mixed-use environment that will be home to 62 000 residents who will live, work and play within this community and it will host 23 000 visitors every single day.

Background

Nairobi, the largest multicultural city in Kenya, has a population of over three million people. It lies between Kampala and Mombasa, close to the Rift Valley. To the east are the Ngong hills, to the north Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro to the south-east. The Masai Mara and Amboselli game reserves are within easy reach.



Nairobi's airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, is the largest and busiest in East and Central Africa - with over 49 airlines servicing the Kenyan market. The Eastern Bypass highway, currently under construction, will link the airport to Tatu City.



But with the rapid growth of the recent decades Nairobi has suffered the effects of unconstrained urbanization. The city fathers are now faced with one of two challenges:

• Rebuild major parts of the city, with all the disruption this involves, or


• Create a new, modern urban node, as envisaged in the Nairobi Metro 2030 Plan, which encourages relocation of both commercial and residential developments outside of the CBD.

The above challenges are what led the team involved to come up with the idea of 'Tatu City'.

Tatu City is a nodal development – each node contains distinct facilities including open spaces and public environments interconnected by a public transport system as well as pedestrian walkways. The following are the key characteristics:-

• Low Density Residential Neighbourhoods


• Medium to High Density Residential Neighbourhoods


• Primary & Secondary Urban Nodes


• Central Business Spine


• Mixed Use Spine


• Suburban Business Nodes


• Tourism & Conference Facilities


• Light Industrial, Warehousing & Infrastructure

Tatu City promises to offer a first-world support infrastructure incorporating the following:

• Paved Roads & Walkways


• Potable Water Supply System


• First World Sanitation


• Solid Waste Disposal Systems


• Electricity Supply Systems

A total of ten development phases are envisaged - some of these could be developed simultaneously, as demand requires. The starting point of the entire development concept is the environment, with over 35% of the land set aside for natural green belts. A further 15% has been earmarked for world-class infrastructure development.



The primary focus will be Phase 1 A which comprises the development of the Primary Urban Node, the high density residential precinct directly north of the node as well as a portion of the Tourism and Conference Precinct to the south of the east-west arterial.



Phase 1 B, which lies to the west of Phase One A, comprises of the Techno Park as well as a Low Density Residential Neighbourhood.



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Austin-Smith : Lord Vision for Nairobi 2030

In January 2010, a UK-based firm, Austin-Smith:Lord,  together with its Kenyan partners Saad Yahya & Associates and engineering firm Mott Macdonald were shortlisted along with 5 others to develop a concept for the Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Spatial Plan. Consulting Engineering Services from India Ltd. were the eventual winners.

[caption id="attachment_1300" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="New ICT Park at Konza"][/caption]

There are 4 regions that compromise the Nairobi Metro Region area. The city area of Nairobi measures 684 sq kilometres alone, with the larger metro area covering 3,000sq. km. The land of Nairobi’s region falls from the edge of the Rift Valley in the west at an elevation of 2,300 metres, to 1,500 metres to the east of the city, with the centre of the city standing at 1,700 metres. Nairobi was a staging post for agrarian and pastoral tribes. In the early 1900’s the trading boundaries were stretched from Uganda through Nairobi to Mombasa on the coast. The UAE has invested in broadband for all. Digital trade has started.

[caption id="attachment_1302" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Greening the City: Nairobi River + Kibera"][/caption]

The total population of the Region increased from 1.36 million in 1979 to roughly 3 million in 1999, with an anticipated growth to 5 million by 2015. The last master plan made in 1970 has not been revised since and many of the issues unchecked, unplanned, unresolved some 40 years on.

[caption id="attachment_1303" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Sustainable Rural Communities"][/caption]

Consider Africa’s largest informal settlement of Kibera, that has established itself + grown to the west of Nairobi. It is now a locally run organism of houses, shops, schools, surgeries and small businesses. Previously an unhealthy environment, its residents have taken control. There are many such organisms that have grown like viruses across Nairobi attaching themselves to the city’s fringes. Some better, some worse. Can man’s viral instinct - work from the small scale up to the metro scale - contribute to future planning ideas and decision making?

[caption id="attachment_1304" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi Metro Plan 2030"][/caption]

Giraffes and other migrating animals in the national park stand in stark silhouette to the urban back drop of flyovers, traffic and buildings to the adjacent central Nairobi. People walk between home and work because they cannot afford ‘matatu’ taxi’s or buses. Wildlife in the park are stopped in their tracks seasonally because of man’s encroachment on their land. Nairobi was the green capital of Africa.

[caption id="attachment_1305" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi Metro Plan 2030 Topographic"][/caption]

We wish to re-green the city by opening, improving and cleaning up the city’s arteries. It’s roads, rail, rivers and water ways to allow free passage.

[caption id="attachment_1306" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

We propose small – medium and long distance radius ‘rings’ of infrastructure; systems of road, rail, sewage and clean-water supply and storage. We propose to link new and existing towns across the existing network of roads, river and rail lines, providing each town with it’s own political, economic, social and infrastructural identity.

[caption id="attachment_1307" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

Nairobi stands at a cross roads.  All Nairobi’s considerable energy, beauty and resource are in balance. Growth and change best happens from within. Any new scheme for the region has to use people and materials sustainably.

[caption id="attachment_1311" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1308" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1309" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1310" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1301" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nairobi 2030 Metropolitan Master Plan, Board"][/caption]

Source: Bustler