Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Project Statement

This project offered opportunities to learn and to provide the people of Nairobi with a better quality of life. Over time, we realized how important this project is to Nairobi, Kenya, and how much this site could mean to them. As partners, we came up with a vision that would help us supply as many opportunities to the people as we could. One of our main additions to the site is the idea of collecting rain-water and dispersing it back into the community. While collaborating with SIDAREC’s desire to better the lives of those people living in the settlements, we wanted to provide them with the opportunity to clean and hydrate themselves and hopefully improve their overall well-being. While analyzing the site, we noticed possible transition spaces between the street and the public park, just north of the site. By removing a wall that had previously separated the open park from the site, we created a large space that made room for the public and condensed the security of our site within a relocated boundary. We also paid close attention to the security of the site to keep it safe for all visitors.
We selected our materials based upon availability and ease of construction while still keeping within the parameters of security. Concrete masonry units provide the easiest form of construction while the steel beams, joists, and trusses help provide open floor plans and simple structure. The facades of the buildings are not structural, thus providing opportunity for the use of local stone and moveable walls.
Views and their integration with spaces became important to our design. We created views that allowed for visual access to the site and supplied the people with an organization of spaces that would provide them with a site that they could easily adapt and become comfortable in using.

Steve Herron
Sam Slaughter