Endelevu Design Challenge – Call for Applications for design of a Lactation Centre at UoN

Dear Students,

Endelevu® Design Challenge is a long-term design competition developed by NIKO GREEN in association with the World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSCSD) and Kenyan Universities aimed at engaging students and unemployed graduates in exploring, demonstrating and disseminating circular economy and sustainability strategies for the built environment through a collaborative design-build process in order to meet real-life social needs and environmental challenges.

 The Challenge addresses the following needs:

 The need for better childcare programs to support mothers in school and at work:

Creating healthy and safe childcare environments to support the growth and needs of our young population and working/studying mothers is one of the greatest challenges facing the design industry today.

Globally, the World Bank estimates that 350 million children do not have access to child care services. A key barrier for the working poor to access child care services is a lack of provision in places where workers live and work.

Each year, about 1 million children are born in Kenya. Despite the growing demand for systems to care for children, so that their mothers and other family members can work and support their families, Kenya has a very weak childcare support system and COVID has stretched this system to a breaking point. 52% of working Kenyan women resume work within three months after birth contributing to a rapid decrease in breastfeeding rates – hence the need to create a conducive work environment for women to successfully combine work with breastfeeding.

Endelevu Design Challenge is looking for innovative design solutions for safe and climate-smart babycare facilities/creche catering for the needs of both students and staff.

 Spatial Requirements

Participants are encouraged to explore creative / innovative approaches to programmatic arrangement and distribution. The proposed design brief is for a new or renovated crèche with the following suggested design program:

Breastfeeding room

Mothers’ changing rooms

Convenient / tuck shop

Waste management area

Lockers or cabinets for storing children’s belongings

Kitchen

Indoor play area

Outdoor play area

Sleeping area

Babies’ sanitation facilities

Detailed spatial requirements for each site are to be informed by needs assessment reports that shall be shared with the registered teams.

Design Principles:

Submitted entries should integrate the following sustainable design principles:

Vernacular design features which are sensitive to the social context, bring a distinctive character to the development and create local pride.

Bio-climatic design strategies that take into consideration the local physical and environmental context e.g. use of passive systems for lighting, ventilation and temperature regulation.

Biophilic design features including use of natural materials and incorporation of greenspaces to enhance biodiversity.

Resilient design features promoting flexibility, adaptation and future-proofing for climate change, pandemics and changing user needs.

Universal design features that create barrier-free environments.

Net-zero carbon and circular design features:

§  Implement onsite renewables, energy storage and energy efficiency measures.

§  Integrate water saving appliances in the building design and explore opportunities for water recycling.

Use of reclaimed materials or materials with high recycled content.

Create training or guidance for owners/users to ensure they are operating the buildings as designed.

Consider how the buildings could be deconstructed so that the materials could be re-used.

Alterations and additions to the above program will be accepted, so long as the changes contribute towards the overall design goal of a safe and healthy babycare facility.

Submissions and Presentation

Submission timelines:

Submission of entries shall be made on a rolling basis over the period when the Challenge is live and participants will be allowed to update their entries before the final deadline.

The deadline for submissions is 7th January 2021.

Entries received after this deadline shall not be taken into consideration.

Submission requirements:

Accepted submissions may include:

Conceptual drawings, photo storyboards, images of crafted models, etc should be on a maximum of 4 sheets of A1 paper, portrait, PDF or JPEG formats.

§  Plans, Elevations and Sections in scale 1:100

§  Isometric View of Floor Plans showing furniture arrangement.

§  Basic plumbing & electrical layouts

§  3D images or motion pictures of both interior and exterior which illustrate the character of the project

A short written description of the project (600 words maximum in .doc/docx format on A4 paper), explaining the concept and how the design addressed the brief.

Basic schedule of doors, windows and finishes

Descriptive Cost estimates

A filled-in competition declaration form

Acceptable format:

In keeping with the sustainability principles of the Challenge, no hard-copies will be accepted.

Submissions shall be made via an online platform whose details shall be availed in the course of the Challenge after registration.

8) Judging and Awards

Winners to be determined by 14th January 2022.

NIKO GREEN shall inform the participants and the general public via appropriate media.

All entries submitted shall be exhibited in a format that is to be prescribed for public viewing.

 

The Jury:

The Jury shall consist of 3 eminent personalities in the built environment circle. Their profiles shall be communicated through relevant media in the course of the Challenge.

Awards:

First, second & third prizes will be awarded for each Nyonyesha Hub type, all at the discretion of the jury. A selected number of honourable mentions will be issued with gift vouchers.

A total of Kshs 1,000,000 will be distributed in the following manner to the winners of each category in section 4:

1st Prize – Kshs 50,000

2nd Prize – Kshs 30,000

3rd Prize – Kshs 20,000

Mentions – Kshs 5,000 gift voucher

In addition, the organizers will offer paid internships/attachments to participants through work-placement in the actual construction of the winning entries.

To register and receive more information on the Challenge, click here https://challenge.endelevu.africa.

Students from the Faculties of Engineering and the Built Environment are highly encouraged to register and submit their iInnovative design solutions for safe and climate-smart babycare facilities catering for the needs of both students and staff

The deadline for submissions is 7th January 2021.