It’s time we developed a green building code

In 2009, the Government began reviewing the building code to conform to current construction standards. Launching the exercise, then Prime Minister Raila Odinga said it was meant to “identify and review impediments to the current building regulations, legal and institutional arrangements in the building and construction industry and to propose an institutional framework for achievement of a sustainable, well-planned, safe and healthy built environment.”

Six years down the line, the country still doesn’t have a new building code. Interestingly, the review said little about green technology that has become an integral part of construction in many parts of the world.

Sustainable

Universally, a building code is the tool that interacts with the planning law, and is one of the authorities’ resources that guarantees the right to sustainable cities, safeguarding a healthy and comfortable urban environment.

Green technology is become an integral part of construction. (PHOTO: FILE / STANDARD)

Among other things, it should provide valid solutions in line with the local climate, social needs and transformations, local cultural identity and cultural practices.

To bridge that gap, UN-Habitat has formulated some guidelines that it hopes will be integrated in new government policies on green technology. The Energy and Resource Efficiency in Building (EREB) guidelines are meant to offer orientation to professionals and policy-makers in tropical countries on the development of a comprehensive building code.

Included in the guidelines are measures that ensure a healthy urban and building environment, while promoting energy-saving potential in our buildings.

Some of the areas to be addressed by the EREB code include appropriate criteria for indoor environment quality, sustainable building design, building location and orientation, building configuration, solar protection, natural lighting and ventilation, passive solar heating and cooling. It also advocates for the use of sustainable building materials.

Landscaping experts are encouraged to use local trees and plants that are adaptable to the local climate.

Design

Energy-efficient landscape design, in the form of proper selection and placement of shade trees and creation of wind breaks, shall be implemented in all building endeavours.

New and existing buildings shall also employ water-wise garden techniques (xeriscaping) to reduce waste.

Construction of new buildings shall encourage the implementation of systems that reuse gray water for gardening, irrigation or other non-drinking purposes.

If the previous review of the current building code is anything to go by, only time will tell whether these guidelines from the global body will eventually get onto our statute books.