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14 Trees, a joint venture between Holcim and CDC Group, announces Africa’s largest 3D-printed affordable housing project in Kenya – called Mvule Gardens.
Through the use of 3D Technology, the project will see 14 Trees deliver a The 3D-printed affordable housing project in Kilifi County, Kenya in partnership with the Green Heart of Kenya Development, in early 2022.
Building on 14 Trees’ world-first 3D-printed developments in Malawi, the Mvule Gardens housing complex will offer 1 bed, 2 bed and 3 bed units starting at Ksh2.46m in a low density gated community project close to Kilifi Town.
Colm Halley, General Manager 14 Trees Kenya: “We are excited to be building one of the world’s largest 3D-printed affordable housing projects in Kenya.
The Government of Kenya have made huge efforts to accelerate the development of Affordable Housing in Kenya. 14Trees is committed to using innovative technology to support this, with houses that have a lower carbon footprint than traditional methods.
The announcement of Mvule Gardens and the inauguration of the show house in Nairobi are an extremely exciting step to deliver beautiful affordable, eco-friendly homes in Kenya.”
Lachie Gordon Athi, Green Heart of Kenya Managing Director: “As East Africa’s first regenerative town, the Green Heart of Kenya is proud to be hosting this incredible project. “
He added, “Our vision is to show how development can have a positive impact on the environment and community around it. The reduction of embodied carbon and construction costs that construction 3D printing represents, as well as the environmentally conscious design of Mvule Gardens, is an important step towards realising the Green Heart of Kenya’s vision.”
Seddiq Hassani, the Managing Director of Bamburi Cement, which is also Holcim’s Kenya subsidiary: “As part of Bamburi’s commitment to supporting the Government of Kenya’s Big 4 Agenda on affordable housing, we are delighted to be supplying our innovative building materials for this truly ground-breaking project. The material to be used in Mvule Gardens is part of our soon to be launched Tector range of mortar products, reaffirming our commitment to offering the Kenyan market with the highest quality, most innovative and greenest building materials.”
The Mvule Gardens in Kilifi, Kenya, is one of the largest 3D-printed affordable housing projects in the world. It is part of the Green Heart of Kenya regenerative ecosystem, a model for inclusive and climate-resilient cities.
Its advanced sustainability profile won an IFC-EDGE Advanced sustainable design certification, which recognizes resource-efficient and zero-carbon buildings.
First project in Malawi
14Trees is dedicated to addressing Africa’s shortage of affordable housing with 3D printing and smart design while creating skilled local jobs. As proven in Malawi, the technique can reduce the environmental footprint of a house by more than 50% compared to conventional methods, while the walls can be built at record speed in just 12 hours compared to almost four days with conventional building techniques.
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MASS Design Group, an American and African-based architecture practice, designed the Mvule Gardens to advance affordable, sustainable and replicable housing units adapted to Kenya’s environment.
About two weeks ago 14 Trees was also nominated alongside their partner Climate Care as a finalist for the Edie Sustainability Leaders Awards, which is the world’s largest sustainable business awards scheme that champions bold and brilliant climate leadership.
The company was nominated under the Building/Infrastructure Project of the Year through the Sustainable Building in Malawi that was launched mid this year.
About 14Trees
14Trees is a joint venture between Holcim and CDC Group which is focused on building affordable houses, schools and social infrastructures in Africa.
It was set up with the aim to accelerate the production and commercialization of environmentally-friendly, affordable construction solutions in Africa.
14Trees benefits from the expertise of Holcim’s R&D centre, the world’s leading building materials research centre, to accelerate the use of environmentally friendly solutions such as Holcim earth brick Durabric© and 3D printing.
About Green Heart of Kenya
The Green Heart of Kenya is a regenerative town and productive agricultural landscape across 750 acres in Kilifi, on the coast of Kenya.
Their vision is to drive a positive impact on Kilifi’s natural ecosystems, community, and economy, and in doing so create a replicable model for inclusive and climate resilient cities of the future.
The Green Heart of Kenya is being developed as a mixed-use real estate asset and to provide land, utilities, and services to vision aligned tenants and developers. Green Heart of Kenya aims to support the creation of 50 sustainable businesses, 500 homes and 5,000 jobs by 2030.
