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Summit Build & Design

Residential Karen, Nairobi

Karen Residence

A contemporary family home designed around natural light, functional living spaces, and a connection to its garden.

Concept project. This is a fictional example created to demonstrate how Summit Build & Design presents its work. It does not describe a completed building or a real client commission.

Contemporary two-storey house at dusk, with warm light glowing through large windows beneath a mature tree

Project overview

The Karen Residence is a concept for a family home on a generous, tree-lined plot. The brief called for a house that feels open and full of daylight, while staying private from the road and comfortable through Nairobi's warm afternoons and cool evenings.

The plan places shared living spaces along the garden edge, with bedrooms on the upper floor set back behind a filtering screen. Deep overhangs and cross-ventilation are used before any reliance on mechanical cooling.

Design objectives

  • Bring daylight deep into the main living spaces without overheating them
  • Create a direct, level connection between the living areas and the garden
  • Keep mature trees on the plot and work the house around them
  • Provide a layout that adapts as the family's needs change

Key considerations

  • Orientation, with the main glazing facing the garden and protected from low western sun
  • Existing trees and their root zones, which shaped the footprint
  • Rainwater management during the long rains, including roof drainage and permeable paving
  • Privacy from the access road and neighbouring plots

Gallery

Open-plan living room with full-height glazing, timber wall panelling and a low sofa
Living spaces open fully to the garden terrace.
Upper-floor facade with a perforated white screen above a timber-clad ground floor
A perforated screen filters western light on the upper floor.
Bright kitchen with a white stone island, timber cabinetry and pendant lights
The kitchen sits at the centre of the plan, between living room and garden.

Scope of work

  • Concept and developed design
  • Drawings for county planning submission
  • Substructure, frame and roof
  • Glazing, joinery and internal finishes
  • External works and landscaping coordination

Project approach

  1. 01

    Design from the site

    Early site visits mapped the trees, the slope and the path of the sun across the day. The footprint followed from those observations rather than from a standard plan.

  2. 02

    A simple structural rhythm

    A regular structural grid keeps the frame economical and allows large openings on the garden side without complicated transfer structures.

  3. 03

    Materials that age well

    Timber, render and local stone were chosen for durability and for how they weather over time, with details that shed water away from vulnerable junctions.

Materials and details

Locally quarried stone
Plinth walls and garden terraces
Hardwood cladding
Ground-floor walls, detailed with ventilated cavities
Perforated aluminium screen
Solar shading to upper-floor bedrooms
Polished concrete
Ground-floor living areas

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