UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF THE BULT ENVIRONMENT Formatted: Left, Tab stops: 3.25", Centered + 5.51",
Left

RESEARCH PROJECT
(BQS 2017)
Not sure whether Greening is the best term to use???
Referencing still a problem.

TITLE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS AFFECTING THE USE

OF GREEN CONCRETE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRYTHE .
CASE STUDY, COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IN NAIROBI CBDPOSSIBLE
WAYS OF GREENING CONVENTIONAL BUILDINGS. Commented [u1]: Is this a word.

CASE STUDY: COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IN UPPER HILL AREA, Formatted: Left

NAIROBI COUNTY..
B66/1001/2014
WANJIRU CAROLINE WANGARI

1
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE POSSIBLE WAYS OF
GREENING CONVENTIONAL BUILDINGS.
CASE STUDY: COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS IN UPPER HILL
AREA, NAIROBI COUNTY.
INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of the study

A key global challenge of the twenty-first century is how to tackle climate change and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions (United Nations,2007). With buildings estimated to
account for approximately half of all annual energy and greenhouse gas emissions, one
potential solution is to ensure that the design, construction and maintenance of the built
environment is environmentally sustainable (Brown, Southworth & Stovall 2005)05;
Commission for Architecture and the built environment, 2007). Sustainable or green
buildings have a strong business case with a substantial body of work outlining the
economic, environmental and social benefits; an example is a recent survey of over 800
green building owners, developers, architects, engineers and consultants in Canada and the
USA who concluded that green was good for asset value. Green buildings are also
perceived to outperform conventional commercial buildings in terms of occupant well-being,
building value and return on investment (Davie, 2005).

In the last decade, there has been significant international interest and support from
governments, the construction and property development industry, private organizations and
the general public for fostering a sustainable and climate-friendly built environment through
building green, carbon-reducing buildings (Bisher, 2013).

Green building is a term used to describe a building that is more energy and resource
efficient, releases less pollution into the air, soil and water, and is healthier for occupants
than standard buildings. These are buildings which by an integrated and holistic approach to
location, siting, design, specification and use of energy and resources, seek to minimize their
environmental impact. Crucially, through the integration of innovative and efficient
technologies, sustainable design approaches and environmentally sensitive site planning
practices, the ecological footprint of new buildings is significantly reduced at a minimal
financial cost (Kozlowski, 2003; Lucuik, 2005).

Green building also involves more than just energy efficient design and construction of such
a building. It involves material or product selection, house size not building a bigger house
than is actually needed, place of building so that the use of automobiles can be minimized

2
and important natural resource protected, design and construction detailing to avoid moisture
problems (Sarah, 2012).

The history of green building dates ways back in the pre-20th century. The architects and
builders during those times understood the entire design building lifetime process of
buildings. They had passive design of solar systems, simple mechanical systems to heat,
cool and light. These designers also were sensitive to the site, used local materials in
building and meeting their needs of lifestyle. The Pueblo Indians for instance, built their
shelters from natural elements such as caves which operated using entirely natural means.
The barns lived in communities and had houses with natural ventilation. They also used
local materials, had daylighting, chimneys and permeable floors which facilitated drainage
and helped maintain clean interiors (Ferrier, 2010).

In the early 1900s, buildings were built in conjunction with railway lines. They were situated
around existing towns and cities. During this time, there was an increase in transport which
translated to increase in demand for building materials. Housing then was still very
affordable and had underground sewage pipes which were much healthier than what we have
today (Ferrier, 2010)..

In the 1930s through the 1960s, new technologies transformed the urban landscape. The use
of air conditioning, structural steel, reflective glass was on the rise. Reliance on non-
renewable energy increased tremendously. There was also regressive movement in
architecture in that design began to ignore climatic issues and their effect on the
environment. It became easier for designers to alter environments rather than adapting
designs to the changes in climate thus William McDonough said Most conventional
practitioners of modern design and construction find it easier to make buildings as if nature
and place did not exist. In Rangoon or Racine, their work is the same.

Around the time that the glass box style, high rise had become the icon of the American
city and others around the world (Circa 1970), a forward thinking group of architects,
environmentalists and ecologists were inspired by the growing environmental movement and
the higher fuel costs that were prevalent during the 1970s. The genesis of these two
scenarios ultimately resulted in the modern build green movement (White paper on
Sustainability, 2006).

When the green movement started, a need appeared to rate practices and products in order to
compare and contrast best practices (Bisher, 2013). These would lead toward sustainability
in construction through a series of principles aligned with the International Council for
Research and Innovation in Building and Constructions (CIBs) seven principles of
sustainable construction: reduce resource consumption; reuse resources; recycle use
recycled resources; protect nature; eliminate toxins; economics apply lifecycle costing;
and quality focus in creating high performance buildings (Kibert, 1994). The
implementation of these principles required a method for assessing the application with an

3
open mind to innovation and experimentation, as well as rating the process and final product
(Jawali and Fern`andez-Sol`is, 2008).

Kenya has not been left behind by the green movement. Steady growth and sustainable
development are key issuesd considered in the Kenya Vision 2030 and the constitution of
Kenya. The Constitution recognizes clean and healthy environment as a basic human right
and provides for sustainable exploitation, utilization, management and conservation of the
environment and natural resources. Vision 2030 on the other hand aims at achieving an
annual growth of 10 percent per annum and transforming Kenya into a globally competitive
and prosperous country with a high quality of life by 2030 (GESIP, 2015).

Through the Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP) of 2015, the
Kenyan government developed a green economy strategy to support development efforts
towards addressing key challenges such as poverty, unemployment, inequality,
environmental degradation, climate change and variability, infrastructure gaps and food
insecurity. Kenyas key policies and programs supportive of a green economy include
investments in renewable energy, promotion of resource-efficient and cleaner production,
enhanced resilience to economic and climatic shocks, pollution control and waste
management, environmental planning and governance and restoration of forest ecosystems.
Kenya has, therefore, taken several steps towards greening the economy and seeks to
consolidate, up-scale and embed green growth initiatives in national development.

Private investors have also taken steps into moving the country forward in terms of green
building. With developments such as the learning resource center of the Catholic University
of East Africa, Vienna Court, an office located along State House Crescent in Nairobi City.
These structures have all been recognized by the Green Africa Foundation (GAF), a local
non-governmental organization in Kenya, which has developed a Green Mark standard for
buildings and will provide guidelines in best practices for environmentally friendly designs.

Despite the evident efforts and the progress in achieving various social-economic
development targets, there still are challenges facing the Kenyan economy. The economys
growth rate is relatively slow since 2008 and the average growth rate remains far below the
10 percent target. This is due to the various shocks the economy suffered including
fluctuating global oil prices, slowdown in global growth and terrorism, insecurity and
unpredictable weather (GESIP, 2015).

The country however, despite the challenges encountered is committed to undertaking a

transition to a green economy. This evidenced by the outcomes of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) held in 2012. The outcome document of
the Rio+20 summit, The Future We Want. (UNCSD, 2012) highlighted transition to a green
economy as a means towards sustainable development.

2.0 Problem Statement

4
Currently, there is a green movement in the construction industry worldwide. Investors are
striving to obtain certifications which show they have addressed the environmental impact of
a building. Certification Kenya currently uses the Leadership in Energy and Environment
Design (LEED) and the Greene Star certification to evaluate buildings for environmental
friendliness. Web Limited is hailed for coming up with the idea of setting up the Kenya
Green Building Society (KGBS) in the late 2014 and creating Kenyas own environmental
standards system for property. KGBS, registered under the World Green Building Council,
adopted and customized the Green Star rating system to fit the Kenyan context (Wahinya,
2016).
Liu and Wang (2013) asserts that green building is now an inevitable trend of the
construction industry because of its propensity to furnish low power consumption, high
environmental protection and in harmony with nature among other advantages. McMullen
(2001) observes that many companies are pursuing sustainability because they are finding
business value in it. Miller et al (2008) after investigating over 2.4 million properties
determined that tenants are willing to pay higher base rents for greener buildings.
Inherent in green construction is the concept of sustainability in the sense that green
buildings need to be self-sufficient in terms of energy conservation, water use and
conservation, health and safety issues, ventilation and general and operations. It has been
reported that companies will innovate to greener processes (AndreaRICS, 201204) if
incentive are put in place. The incentives being provided in the construction industry range
from financial incentives such as higher rental rates or property tax rebates reputation in the
community.
According to GESIP (2015), there are several challenges to a green economy in Kenya. The
chief challenge is the enforcement of enacted laws and regulations. Currently existing green
standards are too few and little information on green technologies exists, causing difficulty
for many people to access and adopt them. The set-up cost for green technology is also high.
This simply means that more funds are needed in order to transition to green technologies.
In addition to this, building materials available in the market are still very harmful. Concrete,
for instance, is the most widely used building material today as a result of its strength and its
durability and it has a carbon footprint to match (Chemistry World, 2008). It is used in
homes, airports, skyscrapers, tunnels and pretty much every other type of construction you
can think of. Concrete is made through mixing cement, fine aggregates and course
aggregates in different proportions say (1:2:4) respectively and then mixing with water.
After coal-powered electricity, cement manufacture is the next biggest emitter of greenhouse
gases, accounting for approximately 5% of annual anthropogenic global CO2 production. In
2011, we used approximately 3.6 million tons of the concrete within the construction
industry the problem being that for every tone of cement produced, one tone of CO2 is
also produced. China currently use about half of the worlds supply of cement, and this
demand is expected to rise by an additional 700,000 tones over the next 5 years. If current
production techniques are used, an equivalent 700,000 tons of CO2 will enter the

5
atmosphere. This is just China though; hopefully in the next couple of years the worlds
economies will be able to put the current financial situation behind them, and begin a new
phase of growth. As a result, global demand for concrete is only going to rise, therefore we
really need to come up with a way to lessen the impact of the concrete industry on the
environment (The Greenage, 2017).
Little research has been done with regard to the alternative building materialspossible ways
that conserve the environmentconventional can be converted into green buildings and as and
as such the researcher sought to address the existing knowledge gap, with particular interest
in concrete. The researcher suggests that one of the ways of ensuring steady greening in
the construction industry and the economy as a whole would be to find ways of creating and
using concrete in ways that are less harmful to the environment greening these
conventional buildings, both residential and commercial, which make the largest part of the
total buildings in the country. It is said that the difference between a conventional building
and green building is marginal but the difference in performance is quite significant.and
possible attain certifications such LEED on the basis of using environmentally friendly
concrete. Most people associate green concrete with concrete that is colored with pigment.
However, it is also referred to as concrete which has not yet hardened. But in the context of
this topic, green concrete is taken to mean environmentally friendly concrete.
With the green movement steadily gaining novelty in Kenya, yet very few buildings are
boasting green status, serious questions on the steps taken to ensure steady transformation in
the construction industry. First and foremost, are there available green concrete in the
industry? Secondly, what criteria is used to determine whether a building is green on the
basis of the materials - concrete - used in construction? Are there laid down benchmarks in
thehe design and construction process material use for a building to qualify as being green?
Most importantly, are there ways through which existing conventional buildings could be
converted into green concrete is applicable in the construction of buildings?? Are these
methods viable? Will construction using green concreteverting conventional buildings help
the country in making progress towards green building? Based on these questions, there is a
need to look into ways of making green concrete and its usability in the construction of
buildings.examine the possible ways of converting conventional buildings into green
buildings.

Upper Hill area in Nairobis Central Business District has had an boom increase in the
number of buildings being constructed construction of commercial buildings oover the
years. Old buildings are being demolished as new ones are being constructed due to the
limited space in the area. The area being located in Nairobi County the capital city of Kenya,
most of the local companies have their headquarters here and multinationals equally have Commented [u2]: Such as???
their regional offices here. The County has had an increase in the number of construction
projects over the hence the need for investors to consider constructing green buildings,
property owners and managers greening existing conventional buildings and their
maintenance because they are beneficial in terms of performance, cost effectiveness in the

6
 long run and may get rewards such as carbon credit which improves their corporate image.
The researcher chose this area of study for this very reason.

1.2 Research Questions

1.2

1. What peculiarities make concrete green?

2. What is the extent of use of green concrete as a building materiaWhat are the
peculiarities that make a building Greenl in the construction of commercial buildings
within Nairobi CBD?
3. What are the benefits and challenges of using green concrete when compared to
conventional concrete?

What are the benefits and challenges of greening conventional buildings?

What recommendations can be made in relation to the findings of the study?1. Has
green building been adequately adopted in the construction of commercial buildings
within Nairobis Upper Hill area?
2. What are the various possible ways of converting conventional buildings within Upper
Hill, Nairobi, into green buildings?
4.
3. What are the benefits and challenges of greening conventional buildings?
4. What recommendations can be made in relation to the findings of the study?

1.3 Research Objectives

1. 1. To verify that green building To investigate the extent of use of green concrete in
the construction of commercial buildings within Nairobi CBD.
2. To establish the benefits and challenges of using green concrete over conventional
concrete through the available literature.
3. To make appropriate recommendations in relation to the findings of the study. Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt

has not been adequately adopted in the construction of commercial buildings

within Nairobis Upper Hill area.
2. To establish the various possible was of converting conventional buildings within Upper
Hill, Nairobi, into green buildings.

3. To identify the benefits and challenges of greening conventional buildings within Upper
Hill Nairobi.

7
 4. To make appropriate recommendations in relation to the findings of the study.

1.4 Research Hypothesis

The use of green concrete is currently being widely adopted in the construction of
commercial buildings within Nairobis CBD. This is due to wide knowledge on the harmful
impacts conventional concrete has on the environment by the stallholders. There are no
possible ways of converting conventional buildings within Nairobis Upper Hill area into
green buildings. Commented [u3]: Not Related to your topic
Commented [C4R3]:

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is hoped that this research will develop awareness amongst the stakellholders in the
construction industry in the construction design of commercial green buildings. More
importantly that the designers will put more consideration when advising on the type of
concrete to be used in a bid to protect the environment.
To the manufactures, that they will produce materials with the wellbeing of the people and
the environment in mind.property owners and managers will consider implementation of
strategies developed to enable greening of conventional buildings. This will in turn
enhance energy efficiency and other sustainability initiatives through green operations thus
cutting down operational costs and enhancing productivity.
The findings of the study may also be used by lobbyists of the green movements to push
for legislation for mandatory use of green concrete in the construction of
buildings.greening of conventional buildings.
In addition, the findings of the study will also be a springboard for stakeholders in the
construction industry to dive into the pool of sustainability literacy and awareness.
To the academicians and professionals in the construction industry, the research will help
them understand the need for sustainable professional practices that safeguard peoples lives
and their future.
1.5 Research Methodology
1.51 Data Collection:
To obtain data for the research, the researcher started by carrying out literature review so as
to be equipped with knowledge on green technology applied in buildings.
Primary data will be collected from the Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Site Agents and
manufacturers by administering questionnaires that were easy to use and administer. The
researcher will also interview the respondents orally to collect information which the
questionnaires may not effectively obtain and also to have various parties expound on the
subject matter.

8
The researcher will consider multi-storey commercial buildings in the Nairobi CBD area
which had been constructed between the year 2000 and 2016 and those that are under
construction. This will make it more convenient to the researcher to find building
consultants who were involved in the implementation of these buildings and to source
requisite information from them with regards to the objectives of the study.
The observational checklists will be used to record the names of various multi-storey
commercial buildings within the CBD, their location with regard to the streets and whether
the building is a conventional or a green building. This process was helpful in trying to build
up the population of the buildings which will also help to determine the appropriate
sampling method.
Primary data will be gathered with the main objective of finding out the factors that affect
the use of green concrete during the construction of commercial buildings within Nairobi
CBD. Secondary data will be collected and assessed through extensive literature review
from existing books, theses, journals, research projects and relevant websites.
1.5.2 Data Analysis:
Data analysis is the process of examining and summarizing data with the intent of extracting
useful information and developing conclusions. Data mining which is the process of sorting
out large amounts of data and picking out the relevant information will be done to obtain the
relevant categories of qualitative and quantitative data sets for the study.
1.5.3 Data Presentation:
The data having been analyzed will be presented in the form of tables and charts (bar charts
and pie charts) in order to facilitate the interpretation by the researcher as well as the
understandability of the reader.
Figure 1.1: Methodology Flow Chart1

Collection and compilation of data from primary and secondary sources Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 14 pt

Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 14 pt
Data analysis and presentation Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 14 pt
Formatted: Centered
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 14 pt
Formatted: Centered
Data interpretation Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 14 pt

Summary and findings

 Source: Cooper and Schindler (2003)

1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study:

The research will only consider multi-storey commercial buildings which were put up between
the year 2000 and 2016 in the Upper Hill area. This will make it convenient to the researcher to
find building consultants who were involved in the implementation of these buildings and to
source requisite information from them with regards to the objectives of the study. The research
focuses on this area due to the constraints of time and finances as well.
Some of the data such as drawings or specifications for the case studies may be held back by the
owners or facility managers of the commercial buildings due to security reasons.

1.7 Organization of the Study:

The study has been organized into five chapters as follows;

Chapter 1: It entails the general background of the study, the problem statement, the research
objectives, the research hypothesis, the significance of the study and the scope and limitations of
the study.
Chapter 2: It discusses the literature review with respect to the peculiarities that make a building
green.
Chapter 3: This is the research methodology section which gives the description of the study
area, the research design and methodology, sampling tools and techniques, data collction
techniques and procedures.

10
Chapter 4: It is the data presentation and analysis section. It gives an analysis of the
questionnaires from the Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Engineers and Property Managers. This
chapter critically evaluates the facts from the survey against the research objectives and
hypothesis. The presentation of the data is made in the form of graphs, tables, pie charts and
plates. The summary of the findings is given and the problems encountered in the field are also
mentioned.
Chapter 5: It gives the conclusions and the recommendations are made based on the results of
the findings. Suggested areas of further research are also mentioned.
The reference section and appendices follow immediately.

REFERENCES
Published Books
Davies, R. (2005). Green Value Green Buildings, Growing Assets. Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors, London
Kozlowski, D. (2003). Green Gains: Where Sustainable Design Stands Now. Building
Operating Management, Vol. 50 No.7, pp.26-32.
Wahinya, H. (2016). Green Building Certification Takes Root. People Daily,
Mediamax, September 09, 2016.

Journals
Abhinav. S. (2011). Green Concrete. Proceedings of a seminar on Green Concrete at Harcout
Butler Technological Institute, Department of Civil Engineering, Kanpur, February
22.
Jawali, R., Fernndez-Sols, J.L. (2008). A building sustainability rating index (BSRI) for
building construction. Proceedings of the 8th International Post Graduate Research
Conference, Prague, June 25-28.

11
Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP). (2015). Maanzoni 1 Draft,
Proceedings of a participatory and consultative process that stated in 2013
Involving the national government (key ministries), the 47 county governments,
Development partners, private sector and civil society organizations.
Kibert. C.J. (1994). Principles and model of sustainable construction.
Proceedings of the First International Conference on Sustainable Construction,
November 6-9, Tampa, FL, pp.1-9.
Marten Law Group. (2008). International, National and State Responses to Climate Change.
A White Paper Prepared for The Washington Realtors, 16 June.
Miller, N., Spivey, J., Florance, A. (2008). Does green pay off? Journal of Real Estate Portfolio
Management, Vol. 14 No.4, pp.385-99.
Andrea, C., Piet, E., Nils, K. (2012). Supply, Demand and the Value of Buildings. Proceedings
of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors(RICS), March 2012.

Rio +20. (2012). The Future We Want. Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (UNCSD), 20-22 June, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Internet sources
Brown, M., Southworth, F., Stovall, T. (2005). Towards a climate-friendly built environment.
Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, VA. Available
at: www.pewcenteronthestates.org (accessed 26 April 2017)
Ferrier Companies (2010). Green Building: Past, Present and Future. 22 February, available at
www.FerrierCustomHomes.com (accessed on 22 April 2017).
Lucuik, M. (2005). A business case for green building in Canada. Canadian Green Building
Council, available at; www.cagbc.org (accessed 24 April 2017).
United Nations (2007). Informal Thematic Debate: Climate Change as a Global Challenge.

12
 United Nations General Assembly 61st Session, 31 July-1 August, available at:
www.un.org/ga/president/61/follow-up/thematic-climate.shtml (accessed 24 Field Code Changed

April 2017).

Unpublished work
Bisher, F. (2013). Maintenance Management of Green Buildings in Nairobi County.

13