Lifestyle Heights is a unique signature development for middle-upper middle class income earners by Sycum solutions. The project which is located in Ruiru at Tatu city is a gated community housing divided into 3 phases, each phase sitting on 10 acres of land. The development is based on three different typologies which include: a three bedroom family unit plus a detachable SQ which is 150 square metres, a standard two bedroom unit which is 100 square metres and a standard 3 bedroom unit without Dsq which is 130 square metres.
Phase 1 has 450 units, a combination of 162 two bedroom units and 18 three bedroom with SQ units and the rest are for the three bedroom units.
The layouts
The development has a well laid out master-plan, with landscaped gardens. Also included are lawn fountains & other water features meant to give the scheme a cooling effect in addition to enhancing the beauty of the entire scheme. It has a common commercial block with shared social amenities including convenient stores, restaurants, and management offices and meeting rooms. There is also a very well landscaped jogging track and pocket of spaces and playgrounds for kids. Moreover, there is also a skating rink above the commercial space which shall be opened occasionally for the kids; the layout and design for the skating rink is well articulated to consider safety standards.
The development salient features include; club-house, leisure pool, tennis and basketball court. These are carefully planned to allow maximum recreation and contact among the community
The entrance experience to the development will be quite phenomenon. 24 hour manned access and security controlled gate house which is designed to allow first class experience with a lovely encounter with bubbling water features and ponds.
According to Arch. Bob Oyugi, the project architect, the experience one will get from the development is not just about the planned utilities but also about the associated neighborhood concept. “Lifestyle Heights is designed to allow sharing of common utilities while maintaining aspects of privacy through unique concepts of circulation,” he adds.
The Interior design
The units will have spacious lounge and dining area with a balcony with flexible design allowing the kitchens to be either closed or American according to the clients liking. Panoramic lifts, laminate floor finish to living areas with ceramic tiles to bathrooms and other wet areas. All units will have fire detectors, alarms, extinguishers and proper signage. Single loaded corridor with 1.5 m wide staircase will ensure easy movement and access.
The planning and distribution of the different unit typologies is carefully done to capture aspects of cost in terms of investment versus return. This has resulted in probable balance between the 2 and 3 bedroomed units.
Driving and parking in the scheme
With regards to parking, the development is designed to allow easy access and reach to the different units. The three bedroom units have been allocated 2 parking slots and two bedroom units 1 parking slot. All the major drive-ways are two-way for ease of movement and convenience. The development has well-articulated circulation paths to ensure that one does not get lost within the scheme with clear markings and signage. Moreover, landscaping will be done along all the drives and walkways to give the development a natural and green setting.
Green design
Everyone is talking; sustainability. “We are looking at solar lighting and water heating, 2 number boreholes and underground water tanks that are able to serve the entire population in the scheme to LED lighting and other SMART technologies. We are also looking at harvesting rain water for landscaping,” he says. “Additionally, the orientation of the units takes into consideration the solar path, this ensures not much is invested in mitigating the solar heat gain/loss,” adds Mr. Oyugi.
Security
Security matters have also been well articulated in the design. The main entrance will have CCTV cameras that captures the entire streets. There will also be CCTV cameras within the common areas of individual blocks which will be monitored by a well-coordinated security team. In addition, there will also be controlled surveillance in the commercial and recreation areas which reduces the number of guards walking around.
Back-up power
The development will have two standby generators that are able to serve the common areas plus in case of power outages. The generators will be high tech with controlled emissions.
Arch. Oyugi reckons that, if all goes well they expect to have their first show house in November 2017 and eventually finish the entire scheme in the next two years.
He further recapitulates that, whether the developers chooses to develop more three or two bedroom units, the design is flexible and well-articulated to ensure that the buyer will always feel at home.
