The Kenyan Architect must look at the possibilities of ensuring that the available water resources are properly harnessed at all points within the built environment. The design must make use of available water resources from its planning level, but must also examine the use of water resources within the development itself. In so doing, the design consultant must scrutinize the installations of the facility within a development to note the usage policies and means by which water is being consumed on a site.

Achieving Water Sustainability At the Detail Level: Tips for the Kenyan Architect

smart wet fittings

It is important to note that the Kenyan Architect works in tandem with the services engineers in the process of creating a sustainable system relating to water consumption. The specification of water fittings and specialized installations call for an integrated building management system (BMS) that can be able to manage various services installations within a building. However even at a more basic level, there are fittings that can be selected that operate on standalone basis. These are able to operate without the need to integrate them within a major building system.

The Design Goal For the Kenyan Architect’s Project – Eliminate Waste!

One of the most basic aspects of water conservation within the built environment is the aspect of elimination of wastage, especially within public facilities. As human beings interact with their natural resources, there may be a tendency to use them with a careless attitude, and take them for granted. It is vital that the use of a building’s resources must be utilized with care, and water is one of the major resources that must be cared for in its usage.

Proper conservation of water calls for a process of ensuring regulation of its usage to avoid wastage. This does not call for rationing of water, rather it demands rationalizing the available water resources. The amount of water used in a building for a particular activity needs to be appropriate and fitting for that activity, with any excess being treated as wastage that must be controlled.

Technological Advances Open New Opportunities For Projects To Achieve Water Sustainability

As a result, intelligent fittings that provide sufficient water for a particular activity are most desirable if one is interested in achieving green architecture principles of water management. This means that for example, should you desire to wash your hands, the amount of water being dispersed by the tap onto your hands for washing should be just adequate for that function, and thereafter the water supply should cease. Should one flush the toilet, the amount of water that gets into the bowl should be enough to clean the bowl and drain it sufficiently, without allowing any excess water to flow and drain.

In so doing, the use of intelligent fittings regulates the amount of water in use within the building, and ensures that it is conserved greatly. Use of automatic taps and toilets that are controlled by sensors ensure that water does not keep flowing even after a user has stopped using it. This means that water is in use only when an individual is present at the tap or water outlet, and it is automatically controlled without human intervention.

Automated pump systems are useful in ensuring that there is constant supply of water within a building. This automation is of great value in ensuring that wastage does not occur during the process of pumping water into elevated water storage tanks. They can also be installed within boreholes and can be programmed to run at intervals depending on the water usage. A building project can be fitted with a Building Management System that can detect any deficiencies in the water system and initiate appropriate correcting mechanisms. In this way, human intervention can be minimized and any wastage that is attributable to it through human error can mitigated against.

Such automation avoids scenarios of water outlets being accidentally left open, leading to accidental losses of water. Even water based cooling systems that are regulated automatically are able to achieve much higher efficiency than those that do not have good provisions in this regard.

The Water Sustainability Challenge Must Be Achieved At Detail Level by The Kenyan Architect

Achieving water sustainability is a major feat for a project, and especially if the facility can achieve a very high level of utility of water resources without much bulk disposal of it through sewerage. One of the key things that a Kenyan architect must consider is the availability of this precious resource, then look at all means of ensuring that it is not wasted.

Successful provision of green fittings that support sustainability initiatives in the facility may be a bit difficult to achieve for a client at the outset of a project due to slightly higher cost inputs. Trends of the day however favor projects that actively incorporate these parameters, as they can be marketed at a higher degree of return based on their sustainability. Therefore, the Kenyan architect should encourage the client to maintain focus on the lifespan of the project and cost benefits that will be reaped in the long run.