Nanyuki participatory plan, agricolture and local community.
The project is the response to two of the main societal challenges of Nanyuki, i.e. the efficient water management and the empowerment of groups in risk of social exclusion. It foresees the construction of a centre for training on sustainable agriculture and a new urban plan to collect and distribute water that includes the rehabilitation of the city riversides and the installation of dew and fog collecting nets. The centre and activities foreseen for it have been developed in cooperation with the Furaha Foundation and a network of NGOs working in the region to respond to local needs. It will integrate hydroponic crops, rooftop collection water and passive ventilation system. From societal perspective the centre will host a community radio to foster the integration of underserved groups.
The Furaha centre integrates landscape, environment, architecture and innovative technologies. The building construction is based on the innovative use of local materials and traditional construction techniques. It is enclosed within an external wall, typological archetype of the region, is designed to be energetically self-sustainable following bioclimatic and passive systems principles. It is developed 1,5m below the external surface level in order to optimise temperature conservation. Water provisioning in the building is based on rooftop collection and dew collection systems. Dominant warm wind coming from the desert (NE) flows into the perforated stone wall that encloses a series of internal courtyards and gardens getting colder and flowing out un the opposite side of the building.
