BRITAM TOWER

Britam Tower is a commercial building in Nairobi owned by British-American Investments

Company (Britam). It features a unique prismatic shape, that starts as an equal four-sided
square footprint and ends with a two-sided roof with a 60 meters (197 ft)mast, containing
three helical wind turbines. It currently ranks as the tallest building in Kenya.
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Country Kenya
Construction started September 2013
Completed September 2017
Height 200.1 metres (656 ft)
Diameter 160 by 150 metres (520 ft
× 490 ft)
Floor count 31
Floor area 31,500 m2 (339,000 sq ft)
Architect(s) Chris Kroese, GAPP
Architects and Urban
Designers
Inspired by the iconic Mount Kenya Britam Tower is built
exceptionally to relate to its environment by respecting the
science of sustainability and energy efficiency. The tower has
innovative engineering and well-considered geometry that puts it
in the world sphere of marvelously crafted skyscrapers.
The prismatic geometry allows for a variety of floor plate sizes
and tenant requirements while providing panoramic views over
the surrounding city.
Each level is designed to maximize available floor space,
promoting collaboration and visuospatial exploration – highly
conducive to a healthy work environment.
Sustainability principles have been key with passive solutions
that include; renewable energy from wind turbines - HEX WIND
TURBINE
intelligent lighting controls
good solar control 
natural ventilation for office floors (and common areas) 
good daylighting 
borehole (for continuous uninterrupted water supply) 
water conservation measures rainwater harvesting and water
recycling 
shading allows office floors to be entirely naturally ventilated and
while other environmental solutions allow them to become more
self-sufficient and less reliant on local utilities.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
 Controlled access with vehicular and pedestrian entry points.
 security checks Sprinkler systems on all floors with a security-
integrated fire alarm system for easy evacuation
 Dedicated fireman lifts, fire doors, pressurized lobbies, and
emergency exits
 Engineered earthquake &impact resistance24-hour CCTV and
manned security services
 Britam Tower’s interior is brought to life by lavishly spacious,
cool & well-lit spaces
 The tower consists of several retail units at ground level, with
30 floors of office space as well as a service level.
 Commercial office space
 retail space(restaurants)retail space(shops)
  Each building level is designed to maximize
floor space.

FLOOR PLANS  Combined with high ceilings and floor-ceiling

glass, Britam Tower promotes visuospatial
exploration and great natural lighting that is
highly conducive to the work environment.
FOUNDATIONS
varying column sizes are placed on 110mm thick uniform-raft foundation
to structure
The load of the structure had to be distributed over a large area-
foundation area was covering 50%of the total ground area beneath the
structure the columns and walls were placed so closely that the individual
footings would overlap-stress on soil needed to be reduced-there was a
possibility of differential settlement in case individual footing was used-
soil strata were unpredictable and contain pockets of compressible soil.
The basement was to be constructed.
RC SLABS
Britam Tower has 3 types of floor slabs shown on the schedule below
BASEMENTS (parking)
Britam Tower has 3 levels of the basement which hosts services and a
parking
LIFT CORE AND LIFT
Britam Towers has 11 lifts including 4 high-speed lifts moving at
the speed of 6m/s ensuring shorter lift waiting time contributing to
its grade-A classification as an office space.
Britam Tower lift control system works by a card reader system
that sends commands to the elevator panel after getting card
details from the reader if the card is authorized for a
particular floor, it will activate the button of that floor there is a
button panel installed in every elevator
 The facade of the tower has 2 skins: one with high-
performance glass curtain walling and a second with
Terracotta baguettes.
The horizontal corners are made of glass exposed to
emphasize the verticality of the building and to create
a strong corner field.

This was specified to ensure that temperatures in the

building would be to acceptable standards.
The exterior is cladded in Terracotta baguettes
designed to sunshade the glass to meet the cooling
standards called for by the design.

All the glass is laminated safety glass recommended

for high-rise buildings.

Cleaning platforms have been provided on the facade

for maintenance purposes.
The glass is covered by ceramic baguettes that
prevent direct solar radiation.
The facade offers high and low openable windows for
good cross ventilation.
Together, these design features remove the need for
air conditioning.
SERVICES
Britam Tower has a core that holds all the services
including the washrooms. Ducts are positioned in
strategic points of the building, and they include:
electrical ducts, mechanical ducts, service ducts, and
plumping ducts

The cladding materials used are Nairobi stone on the

atrium, bamboo on the lift lobby and reception
areas.
The finishes materials used are mainly Porcelain tiles
which vary in size and are on the floors and walls.
 FEATURES
 The landscaping features at the building and the surroundings are both hardscape
and soft scape paving and planters
 The flower beds at the site have grass and plants such as palms.
 Natural ventilation is used extensively to cool the building, with high- and low-
level windows that can be opened to draw in the fresh air, allowing occupants to
regulate thermal comfort.
 water saving technology; infrared taps in every bathroom only flow when touched
hence saving more than 36000 cubic meters of water a year.
 presence sensors in bedrooms turn on lights automatically as people enter and off
as they leave.
 on-site, grey water recycling plant saves over 45% of water in the building
achieving international water efficiency best practices.
 the recycled water is used for flush toilets and water gardens.
Thank you