Usually representing spirits, ancestors or the primordial couple, these figures were placed in shrines and treated with great respect. Through a wide range of style, scale, belief and function the couples depicted share a timeless, serene equality necessary to the continuity of their societies.

Australian High Commission / Planning Systems Services

Architects: Planning Systems Services
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Project Year: 1993
Photographer: Planning Systems Services

Quantity Surveyor: DG Jones

- 14 May 2015
- Kililo Mtamu
Embassies , Sustainability , Contemporary African Directory , Selected Works ,

Designed in 1987 for the Government of Australia, this building, on Riverside Drive, Nairobi exists entirely as a result of the efforts of Planning Systems Services and the Quantity Surveyors D G Jones.

Australian High Commission / Planning Systems Services

Knowing that the High Commission wished to move out of the City Centre, the two practices identified the Riverside Drive site, introduced the landowners to the High Commission, and negotiated the construction finance.

The major theme of the design features treated eucalyptus poles as external columns interspersed with large glass panels, overlooking the well treed site.

Eucalyptus, indigenous to Australia and imported into East Africa in the late 1890's for fuel wood, have grown magnificently in Kenya since then and have become a major part of the city landscape, being used throughout East Africa for power and telephone cable poles.

This project is very symbolic and has embedded meaning in its choice of materials. However its stands out independent of this symbolism and anyone will relate to it as a successful project both in its context and as a diplomatic solution. It has so much design value that it still stands out as one of the best design in its locality despite being relatively old.

Australian High Commission / Planning Systems Services

Its stark combination of natural materials and off the shelf materials is matched by few and it’s a timeliness reminder to designers that great solutions are not necessarily far-fetched but are rather informed combination of the available tech, materials and skills.

CLICK TO REVIEW LINKED STORY

Netherlands Embassy in Mozambique / Kaan Architecten
Man, security, diplomacy, dignity, respect, nationhood, the state, separation of powers, union and freedom...these are the words that impregnate the mind at the sight of the royal dutch embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. It is a clean fresh take at embassy design, only rivaled by the British embas...

- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-System-Clos...
- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-Systems-Mai...
- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-System-Main...
- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-Systems-Rea...
- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-Systems-Sid...
- © Australian-High-Commision-Plannning-System-Clos...

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

If you want your own avatar and keep track of your discussions with the community, sign up to archiDATUM >>

SELECTED WORKS

- Seth Mokitini Methodist Seminary / Boogertman + Partners
- 15 Jul 2015
Religious architecture has and will always be on of the closets way to deity, the tenets manifest themeselves in all aspects godly and th...
- Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine / MLB Architects
- 26 Feb 2018
The client for this project was SU's Facilities Management,with the end user being SU’s Faculty of Medicine. The brief called for two 450...
- The Mzamba Community Schools / Technical University of Munich
- 08 Sep 2016
The Mzamba Community Schools in Eastern Cape of South Africa are a community approach to sustainable and 'renewable architecture' by the ...

CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN DIRECTORY

- Lycée Schorge Secondary School / Kere Architecture
- 23 Aug 2017
Located in the third most populated city in Burkina Faso, the Lycée Schorge Secondary School not only sets a new standard for educational...
- The Midden Garden Pavilion / Metropolis Design
- 22 Nov 2017
The project forms part of a larger renovation to a freestanding villa located high up on the slopes of the Vlakkenberg. The clients requi...
- American International School Johannesburg Aquatics Center / Flansburgh Architects
- 06 May 2017
The American International School of Johannesburg is an independent school in South Africa serving students grades PreK-12. The school’s ...