sustainability has been the key driver of modern architecture on the african continent and most
african countries are now showcasing their design talents through their most admirable
green buildings welcome to tonicheki and in today's video we'll look at the top 10 most
environmentally sustainable architecture in africa before we get into the video remember
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number 10 ecomo homes france hawk south africa these homes have been designed on sustainable
design principles incorporating low maintenance materials they are built offsite in a factory
in south africa to minimize construction waste and then installed on site they can be arranged
in whatever layout the client desires the square modular units can be easily joined together in a
variety of arrangements to accommodate living play or sleeping spaces number nine learning resource
center catholic university of eastern africa kenya the project came into completion back in
2012 and it's an intricate building consisting of a modern conference hall a book shop an extensive
library and a cafeteria it was designed by an architecture named musa kimeu the conference
hall boost of an intricate cooling system where air gets in through the vents located at the
basement level passes over well-arranged bedrock where it cools further and then is released
into the auditorium through another set of vents this is the only bedrock cooling system in kenya
number eight sandbag houses freedom park cape town south africa
the sandbag system developed by a cape town company called ecobeam allows communities to
build their own homes using extremely cheap materials sandbag houses in freedom pak were
built for only six thousand dollars the sand comes from dunes located a few hundred meters from the
construction site and the bulk of the manual labor was carried out by women from the freedom park
community echo beam system replaces brick and mortar with sandbags it is said to be a strong
safe cheap way of delivering affordable housing number seven gando primary school burkina faso
this project was designed in 1999 it was the first building from the architecture francis diabeteokia
and it was completed while the architecture was still studying to achieve sustainability
the project was based on the principles of design for climatic comfort with low-cost construction
making the most of local materials and the local community and adapting technology from
the industrial world in a simple way it was also conceived as a standard model that could be copied
within the community and it would raise awareness of the merits of traditional materials number six
el mandara echo resort feyum egypt this resort was previously a series of rundown buildings and it
has now been renovated by a group of young people who saw its potential they advocated the use of
local sustainable building materials including mud bricks and palm fronds to provide shading for the
relentless desert sun it sits astrayed lake quran and pays deep respects to its natural surroundings
number five woodland spa and forum hominy hotel cradle of humankind south africa
this beautiful boutique hotel is located on the latamo estate in the cradle of humankind it plucks
inspiration from the world heritage site's rich evolutionary history the project features a green
roof in addition to concrete retaining and cavity walls which ensure a high thermal mass this keeps
the building warm during winter and cool during the summer it also reduces electricity needs by
almost 75 percent number four inner native home acra ghana jo osei adore was determined to build
a beautiful eco-friendly house for his family in ghana the house was built with material found
primarily in rural areas timba and adobe mud blocks with no air conditioning the house has
sliding slated wood screens and floor-to-ceiling jealousy windows for cross ventilation the house
is raised three feet off the ground to take advantage of the cooling underfloor breeze even
though the house is connected to the national grid for electricity solar panels have been installed
for backup and for heating water the house cost fifty thousand dollars number three leafy mutual
tower in namibia much of namibia is a desert and water is not easy to come by and what groundwater
does exist is often sailing and unfit for human consumption as a result the designers decided
to pump this into the building and use it for plumbing and landscaping thereby minimizing its
reliance on the municipal water supply finally speed control ventilation fans are programmed
to detect the level of carbon dioxide emissions such as in the basement during peak hours the
oscillation speed increases to clear out harmful toxins but slows down during less active periods
number two east gate center harare zimbabwe the east gate center gets its inspiration from
gigantic termite molds where they constantly open and close a series of heating vents throughout the
molds largely made of concrete the building has a ventilation system which operates in a similar way
outside air that is drawn in is either warmed or cooled by the building mask depending on which
is hotter the building's concrete or the air it is then vented into the building's floors and
offices before exiting the top via chimneys the complex also consists of two buildings
side by side that are separated by a space covered in glass and open to the local breezes
the east gate center uses less than 10 percent of the energy of a conventional building its size and
the number one spot for the most environmentally sustainable architecture in africa goes to number
one universidad agostino nato angola the outskirts of luanda play host to a unique contemporary
institution of higher learning the university of agostino nato innovative strategies were engaged
to promote natural ventilation and passive cooling in all buildings except for the library which is
located underground the existing landscape also played a huge part the trees were arranged in
a linear order to create a funnel through which prevailing winds blow from the southwest in the
opposite direction the dry savanna draws air through the campus by convection heat gains
were tackled by the building envelope which is made of breeze solids that reinforce the roof
overhangs in a playful spontaneous pattern thanks for watching please subscribe follow
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