Where we lost the plot on sustainable architecture

Kenya's golden years in sustainable design ended in the 1980s. According to environmental design experts, Nairobi's best examples in green architecture were built between 1950 and 1980. This includes Parliament Buildings, the Attorney General's Chambers and several structures at the University of Nairobi.

Norwich Union House, once the tallest building in East and Central Africa was put up in the same period. Then we lost the plot. Why?

According to Architect Musau Kimeu, we were too eager to adopt Western styles that provided aesthetic beauty as opposed to a building's practical purpose. And rather than making progress, Musau says we are retrogressing by adding glass to some formerly well designed buildings "so that they can fit in with modern surroundings."

He adds that lack of proper policy from the government means that there is no framework that can be used by developers to construct efficient buildings.

"There is no pressure from the authorities in achieving meaningful green architecture. First, we must understand what green technology entails. Most government policies are silent on green architecture. Perhaps all new government buildings should be green and act as case studies where other developers can draw green building principles," says Kimeu.

To encourage developers erect green buildings, Musau suggests that the government provides incentives such as tax rebates for those who put up true green structures.

In addition, he says the banking sector ought to have a properly structured financing deal for such buildings. To benefit from such initiatives, however, architectural firms need to design efficient buildings rather than be wholly swayed by a developer's commercial interests.

"It is to the advantage of the developer that he erects efficient structures. However, many will come to the architect with a particular design in mind that they saw somewhere in the Western world but hardly meets the basic parameters of a green building in the tropics," says Musau.

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