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

Problems facing cities need new thinking, says UN-Habitat boss

In October last year Joan Clos, the 62-year-old, two-time mayor of Barcelona, Spain, became Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

[caption id="attachment_1561" align="alignnone" width="750" caption="UN-Habit boss Joan Clos tours Kibera slum - Source: Daily Nation"][/caption]

His predecessor, Dr Anna Tibaijuka of Tanzania, had long tried to impress on world leaders the need to reduce by half the number of people living in slums and squatter settlements by 2015, the target date for achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.

It is an ambitious vision because the population of African cities is projected to more than triple over the next 40 years, according to a UN-Habitat report – The State of African Cities 2010.

Those who flock to the continent’s cities in search of work and a better life will continue to swell the already bursting slum populations. And while Habitat’s vision is to create a better urban future for all, there is no doubt Dr Clos has his job cut out for him.

The way he sees it, he has already had an opportunity to become familiar with urban development as a city councillor in the 1980s, mayor in the 1990s and as head of Metropolis, an international network of cities that specifically opened his eyes to the broader global perspectives of urbanisation.

Today, as a UN under-secretary-general, he hopes to develop, together with his team, new strategies for sustainable urbanisation.

Nairobi, the city that hosts his office, is home to a little over three million people, according to the 2009 census, and is projected to receive a million more by the end of the decade.

More than half the world’s population already lives in cities — nearly quintupling the number in the 1950s, according to The Global Report on Human Settlements 2011.

But the the fact remains that come the end of the day, the majority of city workers would rather trek back to their informal settlements than remain in rural areas trying to eke out a living from agriculture.

The allure of the city remains its shiny skyscrapers, better infrastructure and hope for a better tomorrow – even though today, residents face issues of inadequate water and food supply and poor, sometimes inaccessible, healthcare.

So why not develop the rural areas and stem this heavy influx to the cities? According to Dr Clos, that may not be the right solution.

“There is no evidence that we can create a prosperous rural area. In any case, we have no resources to make rural areas as good as the cities,” he said. “The more we entertain the myth of rural richness, the more we delay in getting the solutions for the city.”

The key to sustainable urbanisation, he believes, is for leaders to develop a positive urban policy.

“We should begin with aligning our psychological state of mind in order to stop viewing the city as a liability. We must begin to see the city as an asset for growth and development before we act.”

Dr Clos knows many things about urbanisation and the kind of action that could make it sustainable, however ambitious.

During his tenure as Barcelona mayor from 1997 to 2006, he implemented the design and preparation of the Barcelona@22 Project aimed at renovating the city’s industrial and technological zones.

He spearheaded the additional renovation of some 250 hectares of land in one of the city’s most deprived areas to create social housing, hotels and offices. His bold move earned him a number of awards including, a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects for transforming the city.

And now the challenge he faces is to transform the world’s cities.

“My vision is to promote the rethinking of a city’s capability to be the engine of growth, prosperity and job creation,” he says.

Job creation, he says, is a priority issue for UN-Habitat. Through its youth fund, the agency provides grants of up to $25,000 (Sh2,075,000) every year, for new ideas and solutions for job creation, good governance, adequate shelter and secure tenure.

A graduate in medicine with qualifications and experience in public health administration, Dr Clos is not blind to the health, sanitation and security issues that compromise the benefits of rapid urbanisation.

As informal settlements become more and more congested, the reality of communicable diseases sets in. The fact that informal settlements in a good number of cities around the world make difficult quick access to public services is also worrying.

“Cities, not just in Kenya, have narrow inroads that may not allow for mobility or access by fire brigade vehicles, for example, should a need arise, and yet, there is a regulation prescribing the percentage of land allocated to streets,” he said.

With the continued global rapid rate of urbanisation, more competition over land and land-based resources like water are to be expected. The to-do list of Dr Clos and his team cannot but grow longer.

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

The Brief Is....... Provide Six Million Housing Units in Twenty Years

[caption id="attachment_1503" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Image of Nyayo Estate in Embakasi. Source: Business Daily Website"][/caption]

Kenya needs a new master plan to help deliver at least six million housing units over the next 20 years if the current housing shortage is to be overcome, architects have said.

According to Mr Steven Oundo, the chairman of the Architectural Association of Kenya, this means that about 300,000 units will need to be produced every year.

Currently, it is estimated that the country produces between 35,000 and 40,000 units a year against a demand of about 150,000 units in urban areas alone.

“This (our proposal) is a realistic target,” said Mr Oundo.

One way of encouraging such developments, he said, was for the government to provide tax incentives, including value added tax exemption on professional services for consultants involved in low-cost development projects worth at least Sh20 million.

The conclusion of the revisions to the building code will also promote the adoption of new technologies in building, considering that it is more performance- than material-specific, he added.

“The high construction cost has been compounded by high taxation of building materials. There are few locally manufactured materials used in Kenya. We are, therefore, exposed to such increases in costs of building materials, compounded by the weakening position of the Kenya shilling against the major world currencies,” he said.

The increasing cost of electricity, he added, also impacts negatively on the construction costs, particularly with regard to cement production where there is heavy consumption of electricity.

“We end up producing cement that is much more expensive than that produced in Egypt or India,” he said.

“We find ourselves in a situation where planning for amenities follows development instead of the actual construction being undertaken on serviced land. This has partly contributed to excessive speculation on land prices.”

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

Kenyan builders building capacity - Winsley Masese

The construction industry is one of the fastest growing in the country and with increased government spending the outlook can only get brighter.

With focus shifting to development of infrastructure in the devolved government, contractors are upbeat that this will increase their revenue streams and experience.

Treasury recently said it would seek Parliament’s approval for Sh3.4 billion in supplementary budget to finance setting up offices and assemblies for county officials.

“This presents us with a key source of income and opportunity to gain experience to serve clients better,” said Mr Dennis Busienei, a director of Mobek Works Company Ltd, based in Bomet.

Though lack of technology is cited as cause for losing out to foreign contractors, especially roads, Mr Timas Gasaya of Gasen Construction Company has a different view.

“Lack of equipment cannot be blamed for not securing a tender as witnessed before as there are equipment for hire.”

The difficult bit, Mr Gasaya points out, is when a contractor is required to finance 5 per cent of the project cost.

To help the sub-sector, the government has approved the formation of a National Construction Authority, through the National Construction Authority Bill, which aims to regulate the sector.

The Bill, to be tabled in Parliament soon, proposes setting up of a fund to support upcoming contractors. The National Construction Authority is expected to replace the National Housing Corporation.

[caption id="attachment_1475" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Many contractors are said to have weak technical capacity to undertake works of the scope that they are engaged leading to poor quality and unsafe buildings being constructed - Source: Daily Nation"][/caption]

Local contractors argue that they have lost out to foreign contractors as their countries support them financially.

“We do not get support from the government to buy equipment as foreign counterparts and this gives them a competitive advantage,” said Mr Busienei.

Besides, he adds, foreign contractors are given favourable terms as investors with their equipment attracting lower tax as opposed to Kenyan firms importing the same.

During a conference in Nairobi for contractors, Public Works Permanent Secretary Prof John Lonyangapuo said local contractors are notorious for delaying works.

“Those found with delaying projects, ballooning the costs beyond the variation provisions will have their tenders terminated,” he warned.

However, Mr Gasaya said the government must take a share of the blame.

“Every contractor is assigned a quantity surveyor to supervise the work and in case there is poor workmanship or failure to complete work within the stipulated project period, he or she should be held responsible,” he said.

Architectural Association of Kenya chairman Steven Oundo blames the government, consultants, developers and contractor.

“There is poor enforcement of existing building laws and regulations and weak technical capacity in local authorities, corruption and impunity, on the government’s side,” he says. Developers, he says, prefer to use unqualified persons over professionals.

Source: Daily Nation

Is the term 'Architecture' being misused?

Martin Tairo Maseghe says his profession of Architecture is being soiled by being figuratively associated with some negative things that have happened in the country in the past. “The continued use of the word ‘architect’ while referring to the mega swindles is annoying. Talk of ‘the Goldenberg architect’, ‘Anglo Leasing architect’, ‘maize scandal architect’ and others is common today. While the term may loosely mean someone who creates something, it should be made clear that our noble profession does not involve looting or carrying out other economic crimes.”

Source: Daily Nation - The Cutting Edge

Rise of ‘gated’ society in urban Kenyan estates by Mwaniki Wahome

[caption id="attachment_1423" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The site plan of Kihingo Village, a gated community coming up in the suburbs of Nairobi which will be featured soon in Architecture Kenya"][/caption]

During the colonial period, estates in Nairobi were clearly demarcated along racial lines - European, Asian and African. Access to the European quarters was restricted to African domestic workers. Then, discrimination was in vogue and defined such arrangements.

That was then. A new demarcation in housing estates is fast taking root in major towns albeit in a different way - through gated communities - mostly dictated by security and the need to cut costs by the home hunters.

While some see it as a development that elevates Nairobi to a status consistent with other cities, there are those who see it as failure by city authorities to provide basic needs to the public.

According to wikipedia, a gated setting is a residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles and automobiles and are often characterised by perimeter walls and fences.

And the unintended result in the increasing number of gated communities is isolation, with housing estates defining social-economic class. The stand-alone home owners are giving way to estates that seek to provide security in numbers. Some have membership code of conduct and share certain social amenities.

The phenomenon, that started in Nairobi is fast spreading to other towns in the country with Eldoret being the most recent to join the fray.

“The major driver of the gated community is security. Security has gone haywire in the country and the stand-alone house owners have borne the brunt,” says Mr Renigald Okumu, a real estate developer.

He said the sharing of facilities like electric fence, street lights, roads, sewer systems, swimming pools and the gym among others are some of the factors that are pushing potential home owners to opt for gated community environment.

However, Mr Kigara Kamweru, a lecturer in architecture and science at the University of Nairobi says the concept is not just confined to estates but is spread to commercial, institutional and even shopping malls.

“It is not just in housing but in broader perspective it includes even shopping malls. This is a sign of failure in city planning, where the public feel more secure by being in smaller more controlled communities. They (public) are reacting to the failure to provide security and public space,” he said.

“They are also concerned with maintaining certain standards in the estates, which is not offered by the authorities,” said Mr Kamweru.

He said marketing of the concept as lifestyle choice has made it appear desirable, but warned that it could in the long run result in social tensions.

“The city is a public place at best where even a stranger should feel at home. This process of privatising cities through appropriation will lead to tensions,” said Mr. Kamweru.

Mr Okumu, however, said estates like Buruburu and Umoja began in similar a way with controlled environment but things started changing after original owners sold and left houses to new owners not bound by the code of conduct.

“The concept is gathering momentum and we are likely to see more of these gated communities. Initially the gated communities had about 10 units but they are growing larger and larger,” said Mr Okumu.

Such estates like the Green Golf estate in Thika and the proposed Tatu City in Kiambu are expanded versions gated communities.

However during its launch, officials behind Tatu City, whose take-off is bogged down by legal battles argued that it would not be a gated community.

Under the arrangement, developers buy plots for which they are provided with architectural designs of the houses they should build, mostly targeting the upper and middle classes.

Gated communities elicit different reactions in the world, with reports that post-apertheid South Africa has seen the rise of such estates mostly driven by security needs.

In Argentina, the middle class which lives outside, regard those in gated estates as rich and flouting their wealth.

They refer to these estates as ‘countries’ or private neighbourhoods.

In Saudi Arabia, establishment of such estates increased as Europeans and Americans sought protection in the 1990s, when they increasingly became targets.

Some critics say gated communities give false sense of security, with limited access to other people giving a conducive environment to a criminal, while large numbers in open communities are able to detect and prevent crime.

Source: Daily Nation

Before you buy that house........

We have previously discussed why you need to hire an architect when building your house, no matter how small the project seems. But, suppose you decide to buy an already built house, what are the important things to do consider before committing your funds?

Before one buys a house, whether old, newly built or in the construction stage, there are very important things to do, check and consider.

For most people, this is the biggest investment they will ever make, so a pragmatic approach to the whole process, especially on issues regarding the structural integrity of the building, any defects and any potential problems, access, is important.

Also of immense importance is the value of the property, restrictions on the title, zoning of the land on which the house stands, and whether its construction was sanctioned by the local authority — in which case it should have an occupation certificate.

Get a professional valuation and survey of the location before making the decision to buy. And, once you have settled on the location, do not be bogged down by shopping around for the house those suits you.

Once satisfied that you have found your desired home, zero in on the house itself to establish its structural integrity and functionality.

Indeed, before you sign a sale and purchase agreement, make it conditional that you have to be furnished with a satisfactory house inspection certificate, handed a title search and given local authority details on the house.

Inspecting your potential home with a professional who understands buildings is most advised because certain defects are not easily detected.

Here’s a check list for consideration in regard to old houses.

1 - Structural integrity:

The structural integrity of a building is very important as this is a matter of life and death. Check out for cracks that extend from the foundation to the top of the building as these could be a pointer to differential settlement, which means some part of the building is sinking, thus shearing at the point of difference. Such structural defects are difficult to rectify as the problem stems right at the foundation. Check if the building has a ring beam. These are used to span openings such as doors and windows as well as to tie the building together structurally.

2 - Roof:

Check for any sagging, leakages and whether the timber trusses are infested with termites. Are the gutters functional. A highly neglected house will have gutters that are full of soil. Check out for broken ridges and tiles in cases where the roofing material is concrete or clay. If it is galvanised sheets, rust will indicate a due date for re-roofing.

3 - Plumbing:

Check whether water closets, wash hand basins, kitchen sinks and bath tubs are functioning properly — and without leakages and blockages. Is an overhead cold water storage installed? If it is, check out for leakages and the overflow pipe to ascertain that the ball valve, usually inside the tank, is working. The same, diligent inspection of electrical installations is also very important. A neglected building affects its overall integrity, as well as your safety when you move in.

4 - Finishes:

Check the floor. If is wood parquet, look out for signs of termite infestation. If infested, that means the building was not treated properly against termites, and that mean your doors, windows, wardrobes and cupboards will be food to the pests.

Source: Daily Nation

You are Never Entirely Safe from Lightning – Kenneth Oigo

[caption id="attachment_1279" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Image coutersy of Advanced Lighting Systems, http://advancedlightningsystems.com/"][/caption]

As we all learned during our physics lessons — at least those of us who paid attention — Benjamin Franklin discovered that a lightning bolt striking an elevated grounded rod follows a path of least resistance to earth.

This discovery, if we may call it thus, advanced fire safety considerably in those days — and still holds true today.

The installation of rods — also known as air terminals because they are termination points for bolts of lightning in the air — and a series of horizontal and vertical straps or wires connected to ground rods make up the classic definition of a Lightning Protection System (LPS).

An LPS can thus be defined as a path of least resistance for lightning as it travels from the point of interception to earth.

Lightning can at times be arbitrary, random and unpredictable, and has been known to strike buildings or targets on the ground that are up to four kilometres from the lightning cloud.

As a result of recent technological advancements in the construction industry, buildings nowadays are not made of simple wooden structures as was the case in the 18th century, when the first conductors were invented.

Most modern buildings are made up of structural steel, reinforced concrete, metal claddings, steel roof framework, cast iron waste pipes, copper gas pipes in walls, cable TV wiring, telephone wiring, electrical wiring, metal door and window frames, etc.

If lightning strikes an LPS on a structure, it is possible that the high voltage electricity may be transferred to the unintended conductors listed above, posing a huge danger to all people in their vicinity.

The magnetic effects of lightning may also affect these conductors, and his poses a huge danger to phone users during thunderstorms, those taking showers during thunderstorms, washing dishes at the kitchen sink, working with electrical appliances during thunderstorms, or leaning on metal doors or windows.

Therefore, despite the fact that buildings may be fitted with lightning arresters and a sophisticated LPS, it is important to refrain from these activities to minimise the risk posed to us.

The risk from indirect lightning strikes is considerably high and, as such, the LPS is of no merit during indirect lightning strikes.

Therefore, detailed attention should be paid to bonding, grounding, and surge protection of the building and its electrical accessories.

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Source: Daily Nation