Architects in Kenya have challenged to create sustainable architecture is. It is impossible to create buildings that do not have provisions for good sustainability and expect to be a good sustainable architect. However being able to provide smart fittings to a project is one way of being responsive to the environment. Architects must be able to make a difference in the way we build through the way you specify what needs to go into buildings.
Means By Which Architects In Kenya Can Create Sustainable Architecture
A key consideration in the way we build has to do with the materials you select during the design phase. Materials need to be sustainable. This means one must select materials that sort the context, the location, as well as the budget that a client has. When you take these into mind it is vital that the architect must put everything in context. As a result materials that go into a building need to be suitable for the climate in which the building shall be constructed.
When dealing with temperate climates an architect needs to be aware that there is huge disparity between the conditions during different seasons. This means the building must be able to respond adequately to the climatic environment that is exerted during each season. Being able to do this means that the building technology used should be adaptable to each season.
Architects In Kenya and Internationally Should Strive For Sustainable Architecture
An adaptable building being designed by architects in Kenya usually has provisions that connect with the user’s requirements during different periods of the year. This means for example, when it is hot during summer, your building needs to provide cool interior environment. This will mitigate against the harsh heat that is experienced during summer. In such periods the building needs to cool down. In retrospect, during winter, temperatures are very low. The human needs at this time have to do with warming up the building. As such, one needs to be aware that the mean needs for the building at this point is to make it a warm such that it is within human comfort levels.
With this in mind one sees that at different times of the year, buildings being designed by architects in Kenya call for different things. A truly sustainable building is able to answer to these challenges naturally, without the need for human intervention. When the building is sustainable, it is able to freely respond to climatic conditions that are experienced in this way. Each responds by warming up when temperatures are low, and cooling down when the temperatures at high. It also ensures great human comfort levels such as that its interiors are comfortable to use at any given time.
Human comfort levels are measured by what is commonly known as the internal environmental quality level. The internal environmental quality comprises of factors that impact our senses such as light, heat, humidity, as well as air movements. When a building designed by architects in Kenya has got good internal environmental quality, it is basically well adapted to provide for these factors. This basically means that provisions with regard to light heat and air quality are within the norm required by the human body and suitable for our day-to-day activities.
Architects In Kenya and Internationally Should Strive For Sustainable Architecture
Within tropical climates, we often experience comfortable conditions throughout the year. Temperatures rarely get to levels that are considered dangerous for human existence. They may get chilly, or at times may get rather hot. However even with this, we are still able to operate without the need to provide ornate temperature provisions, Heating provisions, as one may find when designing a temperate climate building.
Nonetheless, it is important for the provisions made within a building to mitigate against the use of artificial means of ensuring good internal environmental quality. When the building is able to achieve this naturally, it can be considered to be very sustainable. Design of buildings by architects in Kenya should seek to achieve this.
For example when the building is able to control the amount of light entering into the space without having to deal with excess heat gain, it is important to have a better lit, a internal environment, which may be more pleasant to work it. What this means is that when the building was occupied, its users experience better conditions is resulting in better workplace with higher productivity.
The objective of sustainability within a building used to ensure that its provisions for internal environmental quality are within human comfort levels. This should be achieved with minimal requirement to supplement the natural way with which the environment operates. For example we are all aware that there are moves in a certain pattern, with hot air rising, and cool air falling. These can be harnessed to create a system of ventilating a building naturally. Using the stack effect for example, a building company well ventilated naturally.
The step-by-step additions that harness the natural way of doing things according to the laws of nature can be considered as a major part of achieving sustainability. When buildings do these steps naturally as part of their own make-up, they cost much less to run and save their developers a lot of money. The cost savings that one can realize can mean that the building is able to pay for itself within a very short period of time.
With these thoughts in mind, building designers are encouraged to think about the buildings that they design, with an active passion to achieve sustainability. In this manner includes sustainable buildings would be the hallmark of projects done by architects in Kenya.
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