Habitat Apartments high-rise tower is Nairobi’s first ‘vertical village’
 | Habitat Apartments high-rise tower is Nairobis first vertical village | 39.5 KB | Download |
 Preview | Construction progress at Habitat Apartments in Nairobi. | 282.14 KB | Download |
 Preview | Containing excavation and foundation costs was an important part of the design brief. | 257.53 KB | Download |
 Preview | Habitat Apartments by Ekco Investments is scheduled for completion by mid-2020. | 423.24 KB | Download |
 Preview | Habitat Apartments is a 24-storey, 160-unit mixed-use apartment tower in Kilimani, Nairobi. | 942.45 KB | Download |
 Preview | Habitat Apartments is touted as the first vertically-articulated building in Nairobi. | 1.11 MB | Download |
 Preview | The main raw material used at Habitat Apartments was Nairobi blue stone. | 2.46 MB | Download |
The design brief was for a tall building that maximised the development potential, while containing excavation and foundation costs. At first, the project was envisaged as a long-stay apartment-hotel. However, both the brief and the sales process evolved over time, explains Paragon Founding Director Henning Rasmuss, who attended the official site-handover ceremony on 8 November 2017.
Habitat Apartments “rethinks the concept of a vertical village” in a site that straddles the urban network of Nairobi’s Kilimani Central Business District. “The idea was to be as efficient as possible, and afford the city perhaps its first vertically-articulated building,” Paragon Architect Edwin Seda comments.
In this context, the smallest unit size, a studio apartment, explores the same level of spatial discipline as the largest penthouse at the very top. The building’s verticality was emphasised in the planning and massing through a series of linear signatures on the façade, with multiple occurrences on the lighting fins, façade openings, and an overall perforated concept to the building that fades as the building rises.
The design brief was developed by Paragon in conjunction with Design Source of Nairobi, a multidisciplinary firm of architects, interior designers, and project managers. Design Source provided local expertise, with joint design sessions to ground the scheme to fit the city’s reality.
Both the client and the project were introduced to Paragon by Design Source, its preferred architectural partner in Kenya. “We have a long working history, and share most of our Kenyan opportunities with Design Source. it is a two-way strategic working partnership,” Rasmuss elaborates.
While Ekco Investments is a new client, its profile is fairly common to Paragon’s business ventures in continental Africa. This powerful and influential local land-owning family has proven success in a number of business sectors, including property development.
“The project is very important in its visibility and location, and in terms of its height,” Rasmuss stresses. Not only is it the tallest building Paragon has overseen to construction phase to date, it also strengthens its position in the Kenyan market. Rasmuss adds that Paragon has already been in the construction phase of the 24 000 m2 Crystal Rivers Mall in Mavoko for over two years, for example.
Highlighting the challenges of working in Kenya, Rasmuss points to the quality of the structural engineers as the biggest hurdle. In this regard, Paragon now collaborates with Natacel, a proactive and dynamic local Kenyan practice.
The main raw material used, Nairobi blue stone, added an element of “cubic permeance” to the scheme. The brise-soleil articulation of the stone took a simple material and advanced it a step further in how traditional materials are used in the modern age. “This is especially important as an aspect of identity, and to reduce the carbon footprint,” Seda notes.
The brise-soleil articulates the podium and shapes the building, while at the same time shading the parking structure and allowing these spaces to ‘breathe’. The total green area – comprising planted sections vertically across the building – accounts for 30% of the site, including the landscaped street interface, the planted podium on the entertainment level, and the rooftop entertainment level gardens, which comprise 430 m2 of the 1 400 m2 site.
“This was important in ensuring a somewhat ‘giving back the green’ approach. Taking the planted screen into consideration, the ratio almost balances out at a 50/50 percentage of building coverage to site greening,” Seda reveals. Lighting was also a key element. The striped façade introduced a new multiple identity, with each floor transitioning seamlessly into the next.
The intimate balconies, tucked away from the streets as somewhat internal amenities, are really just nooks that spill out from the internal spaces, terminated only by the façade that stops short to stagger the planes vertically.
Rasmuss reveals that Paragon plans a staff exchange with Design Source in the near future. “We are already compatible in terms of software adoption and working methods. More importantly, we share values and ethics that are similar and very compatible.”
Ends
Connect with Paragon on Social Media to receive the company’s latest news
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ParagonGroupZA
Pinterest: https://za.pinterest.com/ParagonGroupZA
LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ParagonGroupLinkedIn
Notes to the Editor
To download hi-res images for this release, please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Paragon link to view the company’s press office.
About Paragon
Paragon, established in October 1997, is an internationally-active design business, based in Johannesburg. We deliver commercial architecture, masterplanning, interior design, and space planning to visionary clients in all property sectors, from retail to residential and education.
We are committed to global urban development. We are able and agile. Paragon is flexible and diverse in its approach to design. Each project is unique and not driven by style, but by lifestyle and a response to user needs. Elegant and efficient planning form the core of our designs. We understand the needs of our clients, and know how to generate ever new architectural forms in a competitive property market.
We are known for hands-on engagement with all opportunities present in the modern global building industry. The true measure of our skill is our ability to engage at all levels and with all players that make up the colourful world of construction and property development. Our buildings look forward. We embrace the future, because we will be a part of it – part of its problems and responsibilities, and part of its great freedoms and achievements.
Media Contact
Renay Tandy
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: (011) 867 7763
Fax: 086 512 3352
Cell: 082 562 5088
Email: renay [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.ngage.co.za
Browse the NGAGE Media Zone for more client press releases and photographs at http://media.ngage.co.za