African Design Magazine ADM #38 March 2018 | Page 29
GENOME RESEARCH CENTRE
that has some beautiful trees and plants
which will be accessible once the site is
landscaped.
Often buildings claim environmental
stewardship as a fact through the
incorporation of technology such as
occupancy sensors and low-voltage
lighting. However, the genome centre is
more than a mere nod to going green,
with a number of passive elements that
use the natural environment to maximise
energy efficiency and provide a reduced
carbon footprint. Electrical systems
and lighting are as efficient as possible
using LED and occupancy sensorts, and
provision is being made for all electrical
systems to run off a photovoltaic panel
array in phase 2 of the building plan.
The entire building will be oriented
towards the prevailing wind to provide
free cooling power. Another feature
that is making people sit up and take
note is the use of rammed earth walls.
Built using locally sourced materials and
local unskilled labour (trained during
the construction process), these 972
m2 walls are a modern derivative of an
ancient building technique.
Mohamed Bedri, from South African-
based rammed earth specialists AsaDuru,
says that the walls contain a mixture
of local earth and a waterproofing
admixture that makes them impervious
to the harsh Nigerian weather
conditions. There is approximately 70%
less embodied carbon in rammed earth
than one finds in other wall materials.
The walls have a further environmental
benefit in that they have a high thermal
mass which will effectively reduce the
energy requirements of the building,
by absorbing heat during the day and
releasing it at night.
Not only do the walls blend in seamlessly
with the environment, but they have
an exceptional load bearing capacity,
being able to carry up to three storeys
without reinforcement, in spite of the
fact that they only need to be 300 mm
thick rather than the 800 mm thickness
architects generally believe to be the
thickness of rammed earth walls.
The rammed earth walls for the ground
floor are scheduled for completion in
mid-April and the team will return to do
the walls on the second floor once the
floor slab has been poured. “This is the
largest rammed earth project of its kind
in Africa and AsaDuru is fast winning
favour with South African architects as
we can complete a rammed earth wall
in one seventh of the time required
by those using older rammed earth
techniques,” says Bedri.
Conclusion
In addition to becoming an iconic
example of what is possible in research
centre design in Africa, the Genome
Centre will form the precedent for the
development of the masterplan for
the new Redeemer University campus.
Moreover, this highly contextual building
will provide a blueprint for Nigerian
architecture and construction in the
future, leveraging the wealth of available
natural resources.
AFRICAN DESIGN MAGAZINE ©
29