Breaking Ground

Notes from Week 1

Building 1 of 5 for the OAF Housing Project is progressing at a great pace. Our collaboration with local contractor David Milimo has fulfilled all of our expectations and then some; while proving to be a competent professional and solid individual, David, in addition to his right-hand-man Evans, has quickly become a close friend of ours here. His position amongst the builders of the area seems to be one of reverence, so our access to Bungoma's best brains and brawn in the construction field has been unfettered. This has ensured our relationship is one of trust and transparency. Dave and I are thrilled with our situation.

We broke ground on Friday, after the construction of a storage shed on site to house hardware, and by dusk on Saturday had completed most of the concrete foundation footing pours. Good planning and a very organized and reliable schedule of material deliveries, set-up by David, has allowed everything to run smoothly. We are pleased with the quality of work so far!

Site

Dave was able to e-mail a photo-stitch of the site today.  More images will be coming when they get a reliable internet connection. 

The Program

One Acre Fund is an organization that helps East African farmers grow their way out of hunger.  With hope to expand their operation from the current enrollment of 12,000 families to 33,000 families in the next two years, they are building a main headquarters campus in Bungoma, Kenya.  This campus will include a main building with administration, classrooms and support rooms, as well as housing for staff.  There will be five two bedroom houses with cooking and living amenities for in-country volunteers.

Climate:

Located directly on the equator, at an altitude of nearly 1400m, Bungoma experiences an average rainfall of 127mm per month with average temperatures falling near 22ºC.

Sun path diagram

Solar energy and surface meteorology

Variable	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII	VIII	IX	X	XI	XII
Insolation, kWh/m²/day	5.94	6.37	6.21	5.70	5.60	5.21	5.10	5.45	6.16	5.82	5.40	5.66
Clearness, 0 - 1	0.60	0.62	0.59	0.56	0.58	0.55	0.54	0.55	0.60	0.57	0.54	0.58
Temperature, °C	23.06	24.03	24.44	23.70	23.08	22.07	21.63	21.69	22.59	22.92	22.27	22.27
Wind speed, m/s	4.39	4.52	4.42	4.29	4.39	4.32	4.31	4.29	4.34	4.27	4.22	4.19
Precipitation, mm	54	80	124	230	241	143	118	145	136	144	135	68
Wet days, d	9.1	11.1	14.0	20.0	20.7	15.2	15.6	16.7	16.6	17.4	16.6	10.7

This data was obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center; New et al. 2002

Other Considerations:

As forced entry is not uncommon, each house must be secure.  Also, available and local building materials are a large driver in the design.  The site has some noise issues "...chiefly chickens and church bells", so we've done our best to reduce sound transmission through the outer walls.

The Design:

We moved toward a courtyard design fairly early in the concept phase. The courtyard makes sense for a number of reasons. It will function as outdoor space that has a somewhat controlled climate. It also helps control the site noise issues by adding a large daylight emitting space to the center of the home, allowing us to reduce window sizes on the exterior walls.

Never

The north façade, or south if the plan is reflected, acts as the public entrance for visitors to the house. From this entrance, views into the house are minimal, making it a more suitable public face. The low band of windows provide views out from the living area and will be operable for ventilation.

Eat

Soggy

This is the south façade, or north if the plan is reflected, showing the private entry into the house. The porch roof is designed to shed rain in two directions, keeping residents dry as they enter the house. A steel gate keeps the court secure.

Waffles

The west façade shows the public entrance door, bathroom windows with trellis/privacy screen and vents, and two large bedroom windows. This rendering considers the amount of rainfall Bungoma receives throughout the year.

A Bird's Eye View

The roof is constructed of corrugated metal sheets on wood beams and perlins. For simple construction, there is only one hip, and all roofs shed rain water away from the court.

Interior

Thanks to large windows facing the court, tall, slender windows facing out, and high vents, the interior living and kitchen space stay well lit and ventilated throughout the day. The open layout makes the house feel spacious. This rendering illustrates the structural core of the house, constructed of cement block. To save cost, the exterior walls are constructed of local brick.

Courtyard

This house is centered around an interior court into which, all rooms have a view. The court provides ventilation to the house as well as filtered light and a communal place to gather. A horizontal security trellis supports plants which provide shade. There is a bike storage area at the entrance to the court, and a central channel that carries rain water away from the building.

Construction

Construction for the One Acre Fund housing will commence in January of 2010. Upon arrival in Bungoma, construction managers Connor Dinnison and Dave Betts will assemble a local workforce and establish vendors for all building materials. They are set to build all five units over a 6-month period.