subject: GREENVILLE ESTATE, MOMBASA ROAD, NAIROBI. Superior design that lets you Rent out the space you are not using in your home [print this page] GREENVILLE ESTATE, MOMBASA ROAD, NAIROBI.
Superior design that lets you Rent out the space you are not using in your home.
Greenville estate at Syokimau off Mombasa road has been designed by the firm of A4architect, Kenya to cater for a dynamic household.
As time goes by, the family unit starts small, only requiring usage of 1 bedroom.
Later on, the need for an extra bed space arises once the family unit gets their first child. This also necessitates for a house help accommodation.
Greenville estate has been designed with this in mind and hence the initial unit which has one bedroom and one bed space on the Ground floor.
As time goes by, the financial ability of the occupants also increases. The family size also increases and hence a need for more space or more rental income.
The occupants can now afford to raise funds for construction of the first floor rooms into
[a] 2 No. Ensuite bedrooms
1 no. One bed roomed unit
[c] 2 No. Bedsitter units
It's the prerogative of the owner to choose how they want to use the upstairs spaces.
This design aids to improve the quality of living for the owner in that the owner can have extra space for more bedrooms and hence more utility derived from the house or the owner can choose to rent out the first floor for an additional rental income.
Architectural Design
Ground Floor
Living Room
The main entrance is strategically positioned in an indented groove to offer privacy to the entry area.
The Living room overlooks the landscaped front lawn.
The living room has an area designated for an extra bed-space if need arises for such. This area can easily change back to the living room when not in use as an extra bed space.
The space under the staircase comes in handy to provide the much needed extra storage space in the living room.
Kitchen.
The Kitchen has been designed to be elongated so that space is used to the maximum. The work area in the kitchen is all along one long side hence ease of use.
Extra storage space is provided in high shelving along the walls.
The Kitchen has a door leading to the rear garden.
Bedroom-Ground Floor
The Ground floor has a bedroom designed to maximize space utility.
The bedroom is elongated in the same rectangular shape as a bed.
This shape assists the bedroom to look and feel spacious as it provides a more functional working space for the occupants of the bedroom than a square shape.
First Floor
On the first floor the owner can choose to use this space as
[a] 2No. Ensuite bedrooms
rental units-1 bed roomed or 2No. Bedsitters
Access to the first floor has been designed in such a way that if need be, the door leading to the upstairs rooms can be independent from the Ground floor rooms such that if the units are rented out, the occupants of the first floor can live separately without interacting with the ground floor occupancy.
African Traditions
This is also important in an African set up since the sons of the owners can get their own independent living quarters u pstairs which offers privacy from the main house as per African traditional customs requirements after reaching the age of 18 years.
[a] 2 No. Ensuite bedrooms
When this space is in use as bedrooms the larger bedroom can be used as the Master bedroom. The bedroom contains a spacious bathroom and has a large functional working area.
This bedroom overlooks the front garden.
The other bedroom is slightly smaller and also has its own spacious bathroom.
Rental units
I bed roomed unit.
When the first floor is used as a one-bed roomed unit, the larger space becomes the living room and the bathroom in that space is replaced with a kitchen including kitchen sink.
The smaller room is then used as the bedroom.
2 No. Bedsitters.
When the first floor is used as 2 No. Bedsitters, the larger space will attract a slightly higher rent than the smaller one. The bathrooms in each room remain the same. An additional kitchen sink is added to make the kitchenette near the windows.
Conclusion.
The design in the Greenville estate units is superior in that if offers the owner several options to choose from on how to use the space provided.
This is important because life is dynamic as opposed to static and hence the housing unit should also follow suit to accommodate the owner's space needs as their family size changes.
Francis Gichuhi Kamau B.Arch. U.o.N M.A.A.K[A] Registered Architect
