The Nairobi skyline is today well-endowed with magnificent skyscrapers and structures, most of them showing the creativity of our very own Kenyan architects who have drawn these buildings as individuals or while working as a team.
Most of the time when a building comes up, not much is said about the architect behind it, but with the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) awards, various architectural companies and individuals are today being feted for their creativity and finesse in drawing state-of-the-art structures comparable to buildings you would find anywhere in the western world.
BDLife looked at the Architects behind some of the most interesting commercial buildings that warrant acclaim for their design and creativity.
UAP Towers
The UAP Tower in Nairobi’s Upper Hill is currently the talk of town, as it stands majestically overlooking the city from its vantage point above the city.
Triad is an old architectural firm founded in 1963 By RIBA Bronze medallist Amyas Connel and The Professional Centre founder Graham Mc Cullough.
Currently, the practice is run by a board of directors comprising of Tim Vaulkhard, James Gitoho, Julius Kabwage and Charles Ndungu who provide hands-on direction to all the projects as well as a technical support team of over 20 professionals.
The company is the name behind big commercial and residential developments in the city like Longonot place, next to the Fairmont Norfolk hotel, the British Council offices in Upper Hill and the CCK offices on Waiyaki Way.
The Delta Corner twin towers
The Delta Corner twin towers at the Westlands roundabout hosts some of the country’s blue chip companies who look for space in high rise buildings that complement their status.
TMS Consulting Group is behind the two tower buildings of 20 and 21 floors that cost slightly over Sh1.5 billion.
Established in 1999 as a construction company, they later merged with other practices, engineering, quantity surveying and architecture to form a consulting group.
Their portfolio boasts of various projects mostly the Delta office blocks in Westlands and Riverside.
Among the names behind the firm are Silvester Mutharia, Nderitu Macharia, Pepela Mecca, Francis Ombur , Charles Nyabera , Newton Gitungu and Zachary Macharia.
The Mirage
Riayn Developers Group (RDL) is the firm behind the Mirage masterpiec. The twin buildings on Chiromo Road in Westlands with its sail shape.
This is a family-owned company in the construction industry with a keen interest in residential homes and office blocks. Some of the other developments are the upcoming Edge building on Parklands Road in Nairobi.
KCB Plaza
Standing at the foot of this 21-storey building and looking up will make your head spin a little due to its height of 325 feet.
Planning Systems Services architects has won numerous awards for their contribution to some of Nairobi’s commercial buildings among them the winner of best commercial building project – the KCB Plaza, in Upper Hill.
The architectural firm, whose directors are Jim Archer, Trevor Andrews, Surjit Singh Bansal, Mumo Musuva, Samuel Gitau and David Mugo, also works with several assistant directors and a technical team of graduate architects.
They are the firm behind the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club, Mombasa and Zanzibar Serenas and also have a hand in the English Pont Marina in Mombasa.
They also has a hand in the Braeburn Garden Estate School which won the Best Institutional Project as well as the Imperial Health sciences Building in Mlolongo. They are also behind the Rahimtulla Trust Building, Hilton, I&M Building and Lonhro House in the CBD.
Prism Tower
King’s Developers is a real estate development company that was founded as part of the Royal Group of Companies with developments in a number of projects in the retail, commercial, hospitality and residential projects.
One of the current projects is the 29-storey Prism Tower in Upper Hill. The ongoing project has already elicited a lot of talk with its elegant design. This is their first major project in the commercial buildings sector as they hope to bag such big projects in the market.
The West End Towers
Shamla Fernandes Architects are an architecture and interior design studio behind the West End Towers modern office development with 10 floors of office space in Westlands.
The firm has bagged projects for high end clients such as the Crown Plaza Hotel in Upper Hill and Elgon Place, International School of Kenya, Heri Heights as well as the newly re-done Yaya Centre Parking house.
