Nanyuki participatory plan, agriculture and local community
LafargeHolcim Awards 2016/17 I Nanyuki participatory plan, agriculture and local community.
Mariacristina Agnello, Maria Rosario Bruno, Maria Irene Lattarulo, Gianluca Gnisci, Inés Martín-Roldán & Massimiliano Cafagna.
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.
Leveraging the power of water in Nayuki as main pillar for progress and sustainability Following conversations with local NGOs and the analyses of climatic characteristics, it has been confirmed that efficient water management is the main challenge in Nanyuki. Considering this challenge the project will take advantage of Nanyukis strategic location, at the base of the UNESCO National Park of Mount Kenya. The goal is to increase awareness among society on their environmental resources and how to better exploit them following sustainable principles. The strategy is twofold: Multiple actions focused on collecting water nets on the riversides and collaborative orchards and a large scale project to be developed during the next 15 years, which consists in the riverside rehabilitation, the creation of a new channels system and the conversion of the Municipal Sewage in a wetland.
Empower Nanyuki's people: the Furaha centre means happiness in Swahili
The Furaha centre is designed as an incubator and social catalyst that will not only cater to a segment of the population but is alive in a transversal manner. It will involve local population in the centre construction by using traditional construction systems in combination with innovative ones. The goal is to restore the social conscience and local autonomy. The functions of the center are aimed at socioeconomic development while integrating groups in risk of social inclusion. It will include training sessions and workshops to allow citizens to acquire new farming, textile and entrepreneurship skills. The center will also host the Furaha radio, a tool that has demonstrated to be extremely effective in many African countries for informing and empowering people.
Sustainable architectural concepts applied to context and environmental conditions
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 optimize 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 on the opposite side of the building.
