The University Centre, Nairobi is AKU's first building that is certified with a green building standard: EDGE Advanced. Learn more below, and explore the many other sustainability features of this mini-campus.

EDGE Advanced certification

The University Centre is exemplary for its holistic approach to sustainability, where energy use reduction is an integral part of the building design, not something that is added on.

In early 2022, the building was awarded EDGE Advanced certification for its multiple sustainability features. EDGE Advanced requires that at least 40 percent energy is saved in the building operation in contrast to an average new construction in the respective area, and at least 20 percent savings in both water and embodied energy in materials. EDGE, Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, is the International Finance Corporation's innovation to mainstream green buildings and thus help fight climate change.

At the level of the AKDN, Green Building Guidelines and Policy have been formulated to integrate features into the planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of buildings throughout their lifetime, with the goal to reduce environmental impacts in each stage.

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Building porosity and ventilation

Most of the University Centre building, with its narrow floor plates and extensive windows, is designed to be naturally ventilated, reducing energy consumption from conventional HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems.

Being on a hill in the Parklands District, the breeze can move both through the courtyard and also through the building itself.

Much of the experience of being in the building is exterior and open-air, with verandas that serve as the primary corridors on each floor, and the atrium that connects the two towers both horizontally and vertically. This circulatory armature is completely open-air but covered so that people are protected from the sun and the rain.

Passive cooling and heating

Natural ventilation of the building is coupled with passive cooling, where the thermal mass of the building's structural concrete is exposed within many of the larger interior spaces. During the day, the heat from the room is absorbed by the concrete, and at night, when the temperature drops, if the windows are left open, the concrete will cool, allowing it to serve as a heat sink again the next day.

Windows

The near-continuous windows along the facades, which combined with a very narrow floor plate, provides excellent daylighting conditions, which can reduce reliance on electric lighting and the associated energy use. This also provides expansive views to the exterior, which has physiological and psychological benefits for the people using the space. And the windows allow the building to be porous and wind to move through, again reducing the need for air conditioning and energy.
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Building orientation

Nairobi has a very temperate climate, with warm days and cool nights, and being very close to the equator means very high sun angles from both the north and the south. Hence, the building was designed such that the long facades are generally oriented along an east-west axis. This allows for the verandas and deep overhangs at each floor to control solar heat gain, blocking the sun from interior spaces most of the daytime hours. Less solar heat gain means less need for air conditioning and less energy use.

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Solar hot water

The roof of the University Centre is fitted with solar hot water collectors, which naturally heat water from sunshine with a glycol based medium. In this way, water for handwashing and other uses in the UC is produced without the need for a boiler based on natural gas or fuel, thereby operating emissions, noise, and cost free.

Microforest

In collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation, and in celebration of World Environment Day 2024 with the theme of 'land restoration', students and staff of AKU and AKF planted this microforest – the first on any AKU campus. Microforests are dense and highly diverse forests on a very small scale, packed with multiple benefits for biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and celebration of nature. This microforest includes ornamental trees such as Hibiscus and Frangipani, other local species, and fruit trees including Pomegranate, Cherry, Guava, and Moringa.

Meru Oak Trees

Meru Oaks (scientific name: Vitex keniensis) have been classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Species. The species continues to be threatened by overharvesting for timber as well as habitat loss due to encroachment of agriculture. When the Karura Forest, which is a short distance away from the university, was saved from developers due to the activism of Wangari Maathai, the Meru Oak was the tree at the center of this new conservation effort. She would choose this symbol of strength and endurance for any tree planting ceremony.

The Meru Oak trees at AKU were acquired as saplings from Karura Forest Nursery, with the goal to carry forward the symbol of nature protection, as well as with the hope to create micro-habitats in this midst of the bustling city.​
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Cassia Tree

This tree (scientific name: Senna siamea) was transplanted from the Aga Khan University Hospital across the road. As the street life along Third Parklands Avenue is fairly chaotic, the tree creates an anchor for serenity in this welcoming plaza.​

Mini-campus

The University Centre stands as a model for sustainable high-rise development while providing a human-centric experience for students, faculty, and staff. The building is fundamentally urban and urbane while resisting the temptation to maximize real estate by simply going vertical with a singular building footprint.

Instead, the building is pulled apart, with a seven-storey North Tower that reaffirms the importance of the urban street wall along Third Parklands Avenue, and a 12-storey South Tower that bends away from the street to form a central courtyard, while also aligning to the most favourable solar exposure angles.

Building form, landscape architecture, and environmental sustainability come together in a holistic composition that establishes a mini-campus on the 0.75-hectare site.​

Vertical garden

The atrium, which is covered but otherwise open-air, has planters along the bridges on each floor, so the landscape begins to take on a vertical garden character at the heart of the building. While contributing to fresh air and air cycling as well as absorbing ubiquitous urban noise, plants are also known to support mental wellbeing and health.​

Outdoor spaces

The outdoor spaces of the University Centre – atrium, courtyard, terraces, amphitheatre, and verandas – take advantage of the lovely Nairobi climate and serve as an extension of the building's space programme. In other words, these spaces can be used to support campus life – individual and group studying as well as socializing – and this reduces pressure on the use of interior spaces, which need to be energised such as lighting and ventilation. All plants around these outdoor spaces are indigenous and chosen for their ornamental value and low-maintenance.

The incorporation of the garden green space, particularly at the site perimeter, serve as water capture zones that will ultimately feed into and support the local water tables. This is particularly important in this urban space due to the increase in high rise buildings, the dominance of impervious earth surfaces (parking, walking, etc.) resulting in reduced groundwater recharge opportunities.​

Re-use of water for landscaping

To make the best use of the existing resources, the UC Facilities team developed and implemented a plan for the reuse of the fountain water. Previously, each week 12,000 litres (6000 litres per pool) of water was released in the city stormwater drainage canals. Through the installation of an additional drainage pipe, the water is captured into the rainwater storage tank and then re-used for the landscape irrigation. This has resulted in saving 624,000 litres of water per year.