Green Heart Village
 
Housing Development
Location: Kilifi, Kenya
Client: Green Heart of Kenya
Size: 2,638㎡ (Phase 1)
Budget: $658K (Ksh 74.7M)
Year: 2021-Present
Scope: Design, Build
Status: Ongoing
Partners: Engesberg Engineering Services & Contardo Consulting

Green Heart Village is a high-quality housing development located in a regenerative town and productive landscape development across 750 acres in Kilifi, on the Kenyan coast. 


The initial phase of our design work contains a total of 16 houses including 3-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom units on a 6.5 acre parcel of land.


The project aims to demonstrate how a scalable development can have a positive impact on natural ecosystems and local communities through the integration of people, planet, and profit. 


Our design incorporates sustainable design principles beyond current market standards: Material innovation, focusing on local materials such as coral and wood; respect of current natural conditions; and the establishment of collective village living. 


A core focus of our design is the reduction of concrete and steel through alternative materials: we use coral blocks for walls, timber structures for the columns, first floor slab, roof and timber decking and compacted coral dust for the ground floor slab. As a result, the embodied energy of materials used is almost 50% lower compared to traditional comparable houses. 


Our passive design strategies aim to maximise health and wellbeing of building users. For example, we have simulated the development with local winds to ensure adequate ventilation.