Lonrho House is one of the most impressive constructions of the city. Glittering in the sun its glass facade reflects the surrounding buildings. It is a prestigious iconic landmark building situated between Standard Street and Kaunda Street in Nairobi’s CBD.
79.9 m (262 ft)
Indeed, even the contractors, Laxmanbhai Construction, were the same ones who put up Lonrho House in record time and within budget. And so work began along Kenyatta Avenue/Muindi Mbingu Streets.
But did you know that the I&M building was erected in what went down as Nairobi’s deepest foundation for a building—four basements that could have swallowed the adjacent buildings?
That is not all.
The I&M Bank Tower was also not built on site. Its blocks were constructed off site and re-assembled where it now stands! It is also one of the few buildings that can have one whole side deconstructed and re-plugged.
Well, it so happens that the brains behind Lonrho House were the same ones that designed the 16-storey I&M building after its owners, the I&M Bank Group, approached Planning Systems Services and directed that the new skyscraper, that was opened in 2001, be a look-a-like to the symmetrical beauty of Lonrho House.