What goes into putting up a green building

Lumen Square is Kenya's 1st pre-certified LEED multi storey office building.

The journey to the adoption of green building approaches has been taking shape for a while. The few buildings that have taken this route show a trend that is being embraced by more developers and building professionals.

The latest is Lumen Square, a boutique six-storey Grade A office building in Parklands, Nairobi, opposite the MP Shah Hospital. It lays claim as Kenya’s first pre-certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) multi-storey office buildings. It is complete and currently selling.

LEED is a green building certification programme developed by the US Green Building Council that recognises best-in-class building strategies and practices.

Lumen Square is developed by Lumen Properties and designed by Atelier International Architects, an architectural firm specialising in sustainable architecture, and is based in Nairobi. Lumen Properties prides itself as an “innovative and green development company”.

“Going green does not mean higher construction cost. Actually, it is the opposite, especially in a city like Nairobi where the weather is favourable and does half of the work for us,” says Atelier International Architects’ Gundip Virdi.

He says that when people talk of cost, they are comparing with western countries (where the cost is much higher due to the extreme variations in weather). “Costs come in when you start talking mechanical items. If we design correctly and cleverly for the climate, we don’t need air conditioning, for example, nor do we need specialised building materials like glass curtain walling,” he says.

Lumen Square is designed to maximise natural light and natural ventilation. It has a large airy central atrium that facilitates these two features. The atrium roof controls lighting and glare down the atrium and facilitates natural ventilation through the chimney effect. There are temperature sensors at the atrium roof, which allow to either keep the ventilation at the top open or closed, depending on the outside temperature.

What benefits does getting a green certification confer? “Almost none here,” says Gundip, but clients get interested when they hear of the cost savings that come with a green building.

“After all is said and done, this building will use 50 per cent less energy compared to the average building in Nairobi, thus saving the owner a proportional amount in bills every month,” says Gundip.

What needs to be done to get more to adopt this approach? He says architects can play a role by pointing out the green options to clients. “We have to be very consistent with our messaging, educate people on the positive effects… It is innate in us to be in nature,” he says.

But what drove him down this path? “It is a passion. I like to do what I can,” he says. He says they hope Lumen Square will inspire and encourage local architects and developers to design and build buildings this way: “It’s a win-win situation. The use of glass curtain walling is not appropriate for Nairobi’s climate, especially if the facade faces east or west.”