Strathmore’s green project breaks new ground in energy efficiency

The story of green business, green living, eco- friendly processes and biodegradable products has been given extensive Press in the past two decades or so since the first reports were made in the late 1980s that a huge gaping hole has been spotted on the ozone layer.

The layer protects humanity from dangerous Ultra Violet rays that many expect will eventually lead to the extinction of all living species.

Most recently, US President Barack Obama made an executive order that requires all future vehicles in his country to have a combined miles per gallon (MPG) of 60. 

Now that is quite an ambitious vision when you consider that many Sports Utility vehicles, SUVs, remain stuck at the lower 20s in MPG.

Still in America where a lot of green policies and innovations have been coming from in the past several years, the Obama administration identified the transformation of energy from conventional to clean as the magic way to pull the economy out of the latest global crisis.

While the effect of that on the economy remains debatable with the recent Occupy Wall Street protests going on, the American electricity supply is changing, with solar and wind plants replacing coal and gas power plants in Nevada, California and several other states. 

In Kenya, the movement to clean energy is gaining pace, with a recent conference on the sector concluding in Nairobi only a fortnight ago.

Interesting incentives have been structured with the Feed in Tariff policy guaranteeing investors in clean energy a much higher power purchase rate than conventional power over a 25- year-period.

The ban on plastic bags that was effected some years back was also an effort to rid our environment of non-biodegradable litter that somehow still pile up on the roadsides and in most residential areas.

But while most of the local green policies and innovations have followed the urge of necessity, Strathmore University has taken the green agenda in this country far ahead of its time. 

Three new buildings the university has constructed as part of its expansion programme since being awarded its charter in 2008 are green. The Management Science, Students’ Centre and Business School buildings are Africa’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified buildings.

The international-recognised certification is offered by the United States Green Business Council (USGBC) and only recognises projects which have conformed to set strict criteria from conception to completion.

Many new buildings across the world have already received the various levels of LEED certification, including such famous landmarks like the Washington University Busch Hall, the St Louis Zoo and the Mastercard GTO, amongst hundreds of others.

Exceptional features

According the Strathmore University Director of Advancement, the Department tasked with taking the university into the future, Mr Luis Borallo, the buildings boast a menu of exceptional features and qualities.

First, the were built on a reclaimed land—a key requirement of the LEED Assessment Committee. “All these buildings on Kiambu Road, in agriculturally productive areas would never qualify for a LEED certification which demands that buildings only be put up on otherwise unproductive locations,” says Mr Borallo. 

The buildings stand mostly on recycled materials whose production processes are tracked as a requirement of the certification.

Because of that, most of the materials used in the construction of the Strathmore buildings have been imported from China.

Another requirement is the specialised training on safety and efficient water and material use that is given to the construction personnel. “There is not one area of this building that was left to chance either at the site selection, materials sourcing, personnel selection, building, colour schemes or even the eventual consumption of space,” says Mr Borallo. 

But perhaps the most important aspect for a project being certified as green according to LEED’s high standards is environmental.

According to Mr Borallo’s assistant, Ms Lilian Munene, who has been detailed to the project from its initial design and fundraising stages, each of the buildings is structured in such a way as to absorb as much natural light as possible, as much open field air circulation as possible and limits use of mechanical requirements like lifts.

“ Electricity is not used for lighting here as the illumination is as good as in an open field.” 

“We have directed air currents in the building in a way that essentially ventilates the interiors without allowing too much external distractions like wind to interfere with indoor activities like learning, innovation and research,” says Ms Munene who adds that the main motivation besides conforming to the LEED certification is to create a fertile environment where brains can function at an optimum level aided by the freshness that comes with the green structural design.

While two of the buildings’ walls are all glass, there is also an intelligent partitioning to allow easy transmission of light even to the most interior sections. 

Some sections of the roof are made of glass which lets in a lot of light. The floors also have light transmitting sections which keep even the underground well lit without electricity.

The cooling of the building also keeps energy use at a minimum. Certain sections of the roof have been converted into gardens with grass growing on it. That keeps the temperature inside the buildings constant as the roof garden absorbs sharp climatic changes.

The other smart way is the use of fountains. “We are lucky in Kenya that we only have the hot weather to plan against,” says Ms Munene of the essentially cooling science that the buildings incorporate— from ventilation to roof gardens and fountains. 

The fountain is itself is a work of pure art.

Running all the way down from the fourth floor long a roughened service to create a breeze, the spectacle also has a freshening objective behind its inclusion.

“The water running down on the fountain will make these buildings highly oxygenated, not unlike the Karura forest.

Such kind of environment supports peak performance of both the body and the brains and that fits into the overall Strathmore vision of creating the best innovators so as to drive our continent into the future,” says Ms Munene. 

According to the project’s architects, Lexicon Designs, designing the building demanded great foresight for a couple of reasons.

A university should not only prepare brains for the future, it should itself be that future. “A university must by design be a peek into what the future should look like,” says Mr Felix Lati of Lexicon Designs who adds that flexibility is another key consideration as specific requirements can change with time.

Pressing needs

“In 2011, what is today a Students’ Centre may no longer be adequate or necessary and other needs may become more pressing.

The design is therefore reflective of the future in that way too.” 

The function of the buildings was a critical consideration, with study centres required to be as airy, well lit and as serene as possible.
“We had to consider the distance between the lecturer and the farthest student, for instance.

We had also to eliminate echoes while also keeping sounds balanced and audible,” says Mr Lati who also says the interior colours are well -considered.