The challenge for the Kenyan architect in conjunction with his design team is to make provision for water harvesting and control creatively and functionally. The design and installation of fittings must be done in a manner such as to ensure that they are adequate for harvesting water, while being part of a creative holistically designed environment. If these installations are simply provided for in an adhoc manner to respond to the functional requirement, they may end up being an eyesore to the completed built environment.

Designing For Water Harvesting & Utilization – Creative Integration By The Kenyan Architect.

water feature integration

It is commonplace to see buildings with flat roofs having black water tanks installed at the top which may not be a useful contributor to their building form. Rather than being a useful feature, they end up reducing the aesthetic appeal of the completed development and need to be shielded by screen walls and the like. However, if these installations are well thought out at the very beginning, they can be beautifully integrated into a building’s design.

It should be noted that these provisions are considered at macro scale as well as at the micro level. At the macro level, an architect or planner must consider the

Achieving Water Sustainability At Macro Planning Level: Tips For the Kenyan Architect

At a macro level, one would find that the provisions for water sustainability need to be provided for onsite at the planning level. For example location of reservoirs and water tanks must be related to existing and planned buildings in a manner as to ensure their harmonious functioning and aesthetics.  Creation of water treatment plants and lagoons must be located with consideration to usage locations, building proximity, wind movement, as well as site topography.

Water needs to be able to flow freely from its harvested location to its designated storage location, from where it will be circulated within the development. The choice of drainage basins must be made in a manner as to harness the site’s topography to enable for natural drainage flow of water. Water sumps may be used as collection points for the purpose of recycling storm water within and around the site.

Selection of water storage points must also be done in consideration of the waste collection and disposal patterns on a site to avoid mixing of the two. It would be undesirable that water being channeled to a storage point to mix with wastewater that is either untreatable or toxic. As such, proper physical separation of the zones where water harvesting and waste disposal shall be undertaken is desirable.

The preservation of wetlands is a major factor of design at this point. Designers must approach existing wetlands with an attitude to make use of an existing natural feature and enhance its natural appeal, rather than the attitude that it is a natural obstacle that needs to be removed. This is a major difference between one who designs the environment and one who simply ignores it. The relationships of buildings and the natural features around them are what causes a harmonious whole in the achievement of environmental sustainability. In so doing, the quality of a water feature and its channels, tributaries and source on site must be carefully maintained and enhanced.

For example one can design a nature trail with stabilized blocks or limited hard landscape along a river valley in a means to alleviate soil erosion along its banks, while creatively adding value to its environment. Designing an office, class room or residences oriented towards a lake can provide luxurious and therapeutic views and enhance a property’s value.

The waterproofing treatment of the water storage reservoir can take several dimensions depending on the level of investment that a developer is interested in using. Some sample design solutions for waterproofing a facility include:

• Simple compaction of hardcore and underground material, lined with layers of stone.
• Creation of a waterproof concrete base and floor of a dam.
• Lining of a reservoir’s sides with waterproof materials such as High Density Polyethylene Membranes (HDPM). An example is the TEFOND brand of waterproofing.

Combinations of these waterproofing systems is also possible such as to achieve a higher degree of success in waterproofing a facility.

The Kenyan Architect Must Provide For Bulk-Water Storage

As previously mentioned, the design attitude when designing for water provision should be to examine the possibilities of enhancing existing natural resources rather than automatically seeking to remove and replace them, especially regarding riparian resources.

Certain design schemes, especially large projects incorporating numerous buildings and covering wide spaces may be better suited to this kind of water storage provision, whereby water is stored in quantities that are too large to be put in a tank. The onus of the Kenyan Architect therefore is to design such a reservoir in a manner that it complements that external character of the entire designed project.