TRIAD Architects & Planners was founded in 1963, by Amyas Connell & Graham McCullough. They went on to play a major role in Kenya’s modern architectural heritage. Amyas had been part of a young group of modernist architects in the UK where he had set up his first practice in 1929 and then in 1933 formed the respected practice of Connell, Ward and Lucas. He then came to East Africa in 1946 where he designed the Kenyan Parliament in Nairobi, an icon of modern architecture and the Aga Khan Hospital for which he gained an RIBA Gold Medal. Graham was a founder member of the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) and in the 1970s designed with great innovation the first safari lodges that included the Ark, Keekorok and Samburu Lodges.
Timothy Vaulkhard first came to Kenya from the UK in 1969, as a volunteer with VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas). Soon after, he joined Braz Menezes as a young architect working on the planning of the Buru-Buru Estate. He joined TRIAD Nairobi in 1973, and quickly rose to become a lead associate architect, then Director in 1976. He played a significant role in TRIAD’s office administration as well as in many key projects spanning the breath of TRIAD’s work over 40 years in Kenya and the region. Timothy retired in 2013, but remains a consultant to the practice.
Daniel Mutiso, joined TRIAD straight out of architecture school, University of Nairobi, in 1976 on recruitment by David Bristow. He went on to become TRIAD’s first African partner and played a significant role in Triad’s growth by securing many projects for the firm during the push to Africanize the industry by the newly independent Kenya government. He was the prime contact and partner in charge for many key projects like Corner House and Times Tower, both significant buildings on Nairobi’s skyline. Daniel retired from the practice in the year 2000.
