Will new building code help industry's sustainability?

While the National Building Code, 2024 acknowledges the emergence of new, sustainable construction methods, some industry players are concerned that it falls short of promoting their adoption.

The green buildings debate necessitates the new code, which replaced the 1968 version that the industry found unsuitable in the age of improved technology and construction methods.

New firms seek to take on legacy construction companies that have dominated the sector and may not be inclined to change. This discourse advocates for environmentally friendly buildings in construction and maintenance, promoting designs that favour aspects such as water recycling and solar energy.

Certifications like EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) awarded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) seek to encourage the adoption of these new building materials and technologies.

The idea is to reduce the amount of water used and energy and reuse as much as possible to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.

However, the adoption of new building technologies in the country is still a challenge, with the industry still stuck to old ones despite the emergence of more affordable methods of building.

Why is this the case even with the new building code? Onsite ICF East Africa Regional Director Kennedy Munyendo says while the code incorporates the adoption of these technologies, it is different on the ground.

He says the system prefers masonry, especially government institutions.

“There is a disconnect between where the policy is and implementation,” explains Mr Munyendo.

“We would want that this [code] rolls down to government agencies. They need to understand that this is part of the building code that should be adopted. Some people do not understand that some of these technologies are already in our building code.”

Mr Munyendo’s firm deals with the manufacture of insulated concrete foam blocks, which are said to be lighter and can facilitate the construction of a bungalow in 21 days.

The firm also manufactures reinforcement bars using fibreglass, which reduces the cost of steel bars used by 20 to 30 per cent. Apart from such, other construction or building technologies available in the market include compressed earth blocks; precast - a construction method that uses prefabricated concrete slabs or blocks for walling or flooring as done by EcoConcrete known for the beam and block building technology; green roofs or walls to improve insulation and LED lights for energy efficiency.

At the 2024 PLANETech World, an annual climate conference held in Tel Aviv, Israel, the challenge of adopting new building technologies featured heavily, with experts preferring a carbon tax declaration to tilt the scale.

“Many masonry blocks require cement to be put in to be accepted as building materials. We need to change regulations,” Adital Ela, Founder and Chief Executive of Criaterra Innovations, a firm that creates eco-friendly construction materials, told participants.

“New materials need to be certified by regulations but they [regulations] vary a lot in different markets. This is a conservative market.”

One way of gaining entry into the market, according to Steve Ross, Onsite ICF chief executive and founder, is to work in the social and affordable housing space. This is by dealing directly with the customer or financiers who have the same customer at heart.

“We are an impact company. I believe it starts with the customer. Ultimately, the customer is the homeowner,” he says.  

“We have supplier and government partnerships, and they are all important but if you do not satisfy the customer, they are not going to come back.”

He says dealing with customers first allows them to build trust before scaling and later introducing other technologies.

While he notes that Kenya is fortunate not to have the kind of weather disasters that the Americas endure, he maintains that the technology still offers value.

“I think (the discourse on sustainability) will speed its adoption. It has a great value proposition in terms of speed, we can build a bungalow in 21 days. You need to be able to build a lot of houses fast and this technology provides for that,” adds Mr Ross.

The Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) notes in the Status of the Built Environment 2024 report how the lack of an up-to-date building code contributes significantly to substandard construction practices nationwide, posing safety, efficiency, and sustainability risks.

AAK says while the code acknowledges sustainable building design strategies in Clause 161, it leaves conforming to these strategies to the discretion of the building’s owner.

The clause states that an owner designing a building may conform to the sustainable design strategies derived from independent green building certification organisations.

“The code should explicitly recognise the significant impact of buildings on the climate and incorporate local green building standards to guide sustainability efforts,” reads the report.

It adds that the rapidly evolving landscape of construction technology and sustainability practices demands continuous updates to the National Building Code.