BuildX Studio

06/07/2023

“When you come to a site as a lady, everyone is always looking at you.”

It was an honest and inspiring discussion at yesterday’s community of practice event to foster Dialogue, Inclusivity, Collaboration and Innovation for .

As a sector, we have a long way to go, but having like-minded people sharing their practical experiences and ideas feels like we are on the right track.

If you want to find out more about women in construction, current stats, approaches and recommendations, watch this great introductory video by our Head of Construction Esther Segero. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeIyYY4h2k

📸 1: chairs produced as per of Buildher carpentry and joinery training 📸2: Buildher tiling trainees 📸3&4: community of practice event

28/06/2023

Climate change and the built environment!

The built environment is responsible for almost 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We need to urgently and radically change the way that we build.

Do you want to find out more but are bored of reading reports?

Watch Alice Wachera, BuildX Studio’s Graduate Structural & Civil Engineer and Climate Champion, talk through the impact of the built environment on climate change and why urgent action by the sector is needed for course correction and how to go about it.

Follow the link to get more insights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuB2AWwSTUY&t=112s

20/06/2023

The Rewildings construction team is taking shape.

It was a busy day on Thursday when Jack Draper, the master carpenter that will lead the construction and upskill the team, carried out interviews with 20 Buildherbuildher graduates to understand their carpentry skills and level of interest in being part of the project team.

The practical interview entailed building a sawhorse to test their knowledge on joinery skills and effectiveness in following the drawings provided.

The Rewildings is going to be our first project of this scale to be built mostly out of .



Photos by Buildher

08/06/2023

Looking ahead!

The Zima Homes design team has been busy thinking about future Zima projects. The team, led by Project Architect Linda Matte, is putting together a standardisation document with guidelines to be observed during the design and construction stages of future Zima projects.

The standardisation is anchored on three key areas:

The Module / Unit Design: This looks at the design of different unit typologies and how the Zima Brand can be showcased in each project. Part of the brand identity within the unit design is the installation of large windows for natural lighting.

Block Massing: Like the Zima pilot, future Zima design will arrange blocks on site to create green courtyards to encourage community living among other benefits such as safety, security, ventilation for each block and views to landscaped nature and the surroundings.

Compound Layout: This looks at the general masterplan of each Zima site considering both vehicle and pedestrian circulation, parking and green spaces.

The standardisation guidelines are expected to make the replication of Zima Homes an efficient process as we work towards delivering 10,000 units by 2033.

05/06/2023

Did you know that our homes, localities and infrastructure cover less than 2% of the earth’s surface, yet our cities produce an estimated 70% of all global greenhouse gas emissions13 and consume almost half the resources extracted globally? (WGBC)

The World Green Building Council recently launched The Circular Built Environment Playbook. The report examines the circular economy in the built environment, recognising its essential role in tackling the global climate and biodiversity crises, regenerating resources and accelerating socio-economic development.

As the world marks , we join the WorldGBC in calling all actors across the built environment value chain to embrace the necessary actions to become circular-ready.

Learn more about the the guiding core principles of a circular economy for the built environment in the playbook here: https://lnkd.in/eA3C8Auz

World Green Building Council’s flagship ‘Circular Built Environment Playbook’ report, delivered by our global programme, calls for a circular economy and resource efficiency in the built environment.

30/05/2023

Project Update

The 3-bedroom show house for the Green Heart Village is taking shape! The showhouse is the first of 16-homes on the larger Green Heart of Kenya regenerative development project in .

The project is a demonstration of our approach. The design aims to establish an inspirational model of collective village living whilst respecting, learning from and regenerating the natural environment around it. The design complements the sustainable construction strategies that involve the use of locally sourced materials.

We look forward to the next phase of this project.

16/05/2023

Project Update!

We are approaching the timber pre-fabrication phase for the Rewildings Project, our first project of that scale to be built mostly of .

As we finalise technical design, we welcome Jack Draper, a master carpenter and teacher to our team. Jack will oversee the fabrication of all timber elements and upskill local carpenters, including between 10 to 20 Buildher graduates who will be part of the core team.

We are excited for this next phase of the project which has been made possible partly by Gatsby Africa, one of our partners in our initiative.

11/05/2023

Design for our mass timber multi-storey building is in full swing.

Special thank you to Anders Tväråna from White Arkitekter for his contribution to the XLT project through knowledge sharing and capacity building for our team. Anders has been working closely with the project team since the beginning of the year and has recently moved back to Sweden where he will continue to share his expertise to help us get the project to the next level.

Anders, the lead architect behind Magasin X, Sweden’s largest wooden office building said this about working with BuildX for the past four months: “It has been inspiring working with my talented colleagues at BuildX to pursue better, more sustainable building in Kenya. I brought my knowledge of modern wood architecture and offices, but I have also learnt a lot.”

“Real demonstration buildings are critical to prove feasibility and catalyse market demand which in turn will incentivise regional mass timber production. The XLT project will be a key demonstration project and we are therefore grateful to have worked with Anders. The knowledge transfer and capacity building has gotten us to this level. We look forward to the next phase of the project,” said Wekesa George, our Mass Timber lead.

10/05/2023

Congratulations to entire team at Autodesk Foundation for the launch of your FY 2023 Impact Report. We are honored to work in partnership with you on projects such as Zima Homes that exemplifies building sustainable affordable housing is doable.

You can read the Autodesk Impact report here: https://bit.ly/42oeptY

The report features an article by Autodesk on Zima Homes. You can read the article here: https://bit.ly/44KESmZ

Autodesk FY23 impact report outlines our progress against our sustainability goals and key ESG indicators from climate to diversity and inclusion.

09/05/2023

Women in construction at Zima Homes.

Zima Homes recently held a sexual harassment workshop run by our sister organisation, Buildher. The workshop aimed at sensitising the site workers on different forms of sexual harassment and gender based violence at work, how to define these forms of violence, prevention, protection and resolution measures.

For a sector where 92% of people have reported having experienced sexual harassment (2020 research by Women in Real Estate - WIRE KENYA - WIRE), we want to be at the forefront of driving change and creating a conducive environment for all staff, including on our sites by establishing policies and setting up mechanisms to prevent such incidences but also what to do if they occur.

04/05/2023

BuildX in the News!

How has sustainability in the built environment evolved over the years? What is the role of bio based materials such as timber in creating sustainable buildings of the future?

Our Mass Timber Lead, Wekesa George answered these questions in an article - Biophilic Designs: The answer to reduced carbon emissions? - published in today’s Daily Nation by Albert Mwanzighe. Grab a copy!

The conversation on how we can transform our carbon footprint continues in an opinion editorial: Forest to Frame, by our Co-Founder & CEO, James Mitchell in the recently published Miti Magazine - The Tree Farmers Magazine For Africa (December Issue - 56).