Lekki Beach House

with Studio Seilern Architects

The Lekki Beach House is a new build private residence located in Lekki Beach, Nigeria. The client set a very high sustainable agenda outlining the requirement for off grid utilities and sustainable construction using local materials and sustainable building techniques such as earth walls.

With the client’s aspiration for a low- energy building with an off grid power supply, the design for this project was to use environmental elements where possible. Electricity will be generated by an array of roof mounted photovoltaics sized to meet the building’s energy demand, which will also charge a bank of batteries, in order to provide power when the photovoltaics are not generating electricity (i.e. night time). There is also a standby generator to provide some resilience to the building.

The passive design features include a large roof overhang and solar control glazing with external louvres to reduce the solar gain into the internal spaces. While the building design allows for large window openings for cross flow ventilation an efficient air source heat pump system provides comfort cooling to the spaces. A mechanical ventilation energy recovery system provides fresh air which enables the windows and doors to be sealed at night to enhance security and reduce the ingress of mosquitos. The design also incorporates a rainwater and grey water harvesting recycling system to reduce potable water usage.