Building on the Kenyan coast

Salt takes the small parts first

Fixings, hinges, latches and glazing hardware go before anything structural. A4 stainless throughout, including the ones nobody sees, sealed end grain before assembly, and a deeper drained cavity behind cladding.

Plant lives in a sealed, filtered enclosure so the condenser breathes filtered air rather than salt aerosol. An open chiller on this coast is a three-year item.

Coral rag and makuti

Coral rag walls and makuti thatch are the local vernacular and they suit a wellness deck perfectly: shade, ventilation and a material that does not care about salt. A plunge basin cut into coral rag looks like it grew there.

What makuti needs is proper detailing against wind uplift, and what coral rag needs is a waterproof substrate behind it in any wet room.

Humidity means the room will not dry

Humidistat-controlled extract, ducted out, on every enclosed room. Continuous vapour barrier on the warm side with sealed penetrations. Cabins on a ventilated void rather than flat on a deck.

And quarterly service including a corrosion inspection, because on this coast the failures start small and visible.

In short

• A4 stainless throughout, sealed end grain, deeper drained cavities
• Sealed and filtered plant enclosures — an open chiller lasts three years here
• Coral rag and makuti used properly, with uplift detailing and a waterproof substrate
• Humidistat extract and quarterly service with a corrosion inspection