I was privileged to attend School of Architecture and Built Environment at The University of Nottingham, UK through the prestigious Chevening Scholarship that is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Masters of Science in Renewable Energy and Architecture is a course that is tailored to empower professionals in built environment to make a profound positive change to climate change challenges currently experienced on the planet.
Since the building industry is responsible for over 40% of carbon emissions worldwide hence a significant contributor to climate change effects, the postgraduate course not only builds capacity on the environmental design principles of architecture but also develops in depth understanding on how renewable energy sources can be integrated on buildings design without appearing foreign. This is with a goal of making the building absolute sustainable.
The rigorous nature of the course in both research and coursework nurtures a deep comprehension and develops critical analysis on various phenomena that would facilitate provision of customized solutions tailored to specific projects. It also prepares one to launch PhD studies. It instills discipline to building professionals that a design is not complete until energy analysis has been carried out, a mantra we have adopted at Acrick Consultants Limited. It’s therefore valuable to professionals whose plans are to advance careers in both academia and built environment field.
I was privileged to be supervised by Dr. Mohamed Gadi, a distinguished scholar and authority on energy efficient and environmental responsible architecture. My thesis dissertation was on Influence of building design parameters and form on energy performance of earth-sheltered structures, the case of Helsinki in cold climate. The research investigated on design variables that can be architecturally manipulated to increase the frequency and longevity of comfortable zone and thermal experience of users in earth-sheltered structures.
As an architect, practicing in Kenya, through our firm Acrick Consultants Limited, we have made it a policy to offer environmental design component to all projects we handle at no fee. This is because of our passion and belief in environmental responsible and energy efficient architecture. We aim at making our projects to be what architecture ought to be by employing passive design strategies and concepts specifically tailored for the region.
It is the same passion that ignited the need to build capacity on future generations of architects in Kenya and beyond. This necessitated me to join academia, first at the School of Architecture at The University of Nairobi and currently at The Technical University of Kenya.
I am privileged to lecture on Building Thermal Design, Building Environmental Modeling, Architectural Studio and supervision of Bachelor of Architecture final year thesis project.
Lastly, I would like to appreciate being featured in the website. My time at Nottingham was very short though successful, having had to graduate with Distinction and making numerous friends from all over the world. This is a period I will long cherish with admiration having networked with not just building professionals’ candidates but the crème de la crème of current and future world leaders in all spheres of life.