That plan is your future, so why are you dealing with quacks?

One of the most important discoveries by mankind was the realisation that one’s physical health is directly related to one’s living conditions.

The caveman’s idea of a home, for instance, was a tightly walled structure with one central opening that allowed for little ventilation; but this was quickly changed as man became more civilised and informed.

Today, large windows have become the norm, as are ventilation ducts and other aeration techniques.

Almost everyone who is putting up a house now knows the importance of living in a clean and comfortable house, yet increasingly, Kenya’s private developers are using dubious means to design and build their homes.

Little wonder, then, that Nairobi’s suburbs are populated by buildings that let little air and sunlight in, and are forever dunk and damp.

This, unfortunately, boils down to the questionable way their house designs are acquired, and the fact that the general topography and environment of where the house will sit is never considered a crucial design factor.

Beyond aesthetic beauty

Misinformed developers have been duped into believing that a house design does not go beyond the aesthetic beauty of smooth pillars and conical rooftops; that design is all about the window size, number of rooms, colour scheme and such.

That is why, on any busy day, you will find hawkers on major Nairobi streets selling what they bill as the most popular house designs, and around them tens of people queuing to buy them.

This week I asked one of the vendors how much a design costs. “Sh1,000,” he replied. “Does the cost vary with the design?” I enquired further. “No.”

“So the design of a bungalow costs the same as that of a maisonette?” “Yes, they all go for Sh1,000. Whether big or small, maisonette or bungalow, 10-room or four-room...”

Unable to understand how that could be the case, and after reading various architectural reports on how building plans are central to the structural rigidity of houses, I sought the opinion of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK).

Waweru Gathecha, the chairman, laughed off the suggestion that one could get a modern house plan on the streets for Sh1,000. “What these people are selling are not home plans but uninformed diagrams,” he began.

“These diagrams are prepared by persons with no known qualifications. It is, therefore, unlikely that they will incorporate basic health and safety inputs as required by the laws of Kenya.”

Waweru confirmed that AAK does not license street home plan vendors, and that the said plans “have nil input” from competent professionals, and therefore, leave one with doubts whether the vendors understand what they sell.

“We work with architects with known competencies. For this reason, the AAK cannot vouch for the soundness of diagrams sold on the streets, or indeed any design or construction information prepared by persons with unknown qualifications or competencies. The public use them at their own risk,” he asserted.

Easily collapse

John Miswa, a building expert, explains that the “cheap plans” only portray the floor plan while leaving out the structural plan, which is the integral part of a houses’ stability.

Without a structural design, adds Miswa, a house can easily collapse. Therefore, before setting up a house, a developer should factor in the services of a structural engineer to determine vital elements such as the wind pressure and soil structure of the area where the building is to be set.

Like the chair, Miswa cites other reasons like negligence and ignorance on the part of the clients as contributing causes to the collapse of buildings. “Just like you cannot separate a home plan from the architect, you cannot put up a building without involving a structural engineer,” he says.

The rapid adoption of Internet and technology has also turned out to be a quicker and cheaper alternative for developers to source plans, the risks that come with using such plans being only afterthoughts in their minds.

Yes, just like the plans hawked on the streets, most downloaded plans do not incorporate the structural aspects of a building. While Miswa says it is okay to get ideas from the Internet, one should model the idea to make it one’s own by consulting a professional architect who will give the right advice.

Building regulations

In Kenya, local authorities, including city, municipal and town councils, are mandated with issuing building regulations, approving building plans and inspecting building sites.

Accredited inspectors from these organisations ensure that buildings meet the minimum standards of safety and health in their design and construction.

Among the things they consider before approval are the building’s site plan, floor plan, roof plan, the structure’s elevation and the door and window schedules.

The plan should be signed by an architect registered with the Architectural Association of Kenya before the inspectors issue a permit for it.

“Unfortunately,” says Miswa, “today home owners and developers deem using experts’ services an expensive affair, yet using fake plans has been proved to be more detrimental than hiring the services of an architect.

“People tend to bypass the roles of architects, who are trained to put ideas and dreams into perspective. Many people do not understand that at the end of the chase, they still need to go to an architect,” he adds.

Waweru, the AAK chair, attributes the common scenarios of collapsed buildings to poor designs — probably by incompetent persons, poor or scarcely supervised construction, or use of shoddy materials, as opposed to the recommendations of engineers.

“The AAK is a business membership organisation,” says Waweru,” and therefore our advocacy role in matters related to the built and natural environments includes offering advice to the public.”

According to the law, complete architectural services should not cost more than six per cent of the total cost of construction, while a structural engineer should charge up to four per cent of the total cost.

The men and women selling plans for Sh1,000 on the streets, therefore, do not have the slightest idea what the law says; theirs is just to make easy money on somebody else’s back.

“It is doubtful that they are known to the authorities; all they are after is making money at the expense of Kenyans’ safety. Those responsible for enforcing the laws of the land should arrest and prosecute them for endangering the lives of Kenyans,” says Waweru.

Rising costs of construction, coupled with steeper charges by professionals, have been blamed for this exodus from the traditional way of doing things.

And, while many architects and structural engineers today have no qualms negotiating down the payments with their clients, many developers still prefer to follow other avenues if they can lead them to the same destination.

Architect vs draughtsman

Private developers have been known to consult draughtsmen — people who prepare technical drawings and plans under the direction of an architect — for services at reduced costs, not knowing that the difference between an architect and a draughtsman is that the latter can only draw the floor plan for the client.

Draughtsmen are also not allowed by law to sign a plan and therefore, although a developer may choose to employ their services, the plans they come up with cannot be approved by local authorities.

While an architect charges up to six per cent of the total cost of construction, a draughtsman will charge one per cent only, but will only draw the plan and leave other professionals to do the rest while an architect is mandated to be present throughout the construction process.

An architect, together with the contractor, is in charge of seeing that a building is put up without any fault. While a draughtsman will only offer a partial service of scheme design.

Being sure that you have the right structural design of your house starts with the people you choose to draw the plans. And, remember, cheap will ultimately be expensive.