The Global Studio meets with local partners in Nairobi

Ashley, Eric, Geoff, Stephanie and Matthew at Planning Systems Office in Nairobi




Geoff and Matthew discussing drainage issues with Gordon Schofield (Mechanical & Electrical Engineer) and Eric Kigada (Architect at Planning Systems)



Entrance to Planning Systems Office, Nairobi

Getting the Community Involved

On Saturday, Oct. 11th, we conducted a series of community workshop exercises to get the youth that use the SIDAREC community center involved in the design of their new center. The exercises were designed to allow us to better understand their priorities and sense of space. We called the exercises "Post-It Mapping," "Building with Program Blocks," and "Tech Trading."


"Post-It Mapping"


"Building with Program Blocks"

"Tech Trading"

Headed back to .....

The Global Studio team is planning a return trip on October 10-16th to Nairobi to continue working with SIDAREC and the local architect to move the Mukuru Community Resource Center forward into a more realistic and developed schematic design. After lots of reflection and work with SIDAREC and Architecture for Humanity, we hope to be able to announce our local architect partner very soon. Please stay tuned to hear more about that and our trip in October.

Back from East Africa

We had five really packed days and one day relaxing with giraffe in Nairobi. We interviewed about half dozen local architects and had about half dozen other meetings ranging from US officials that do AIDS related work at the USAID offices housed at the embassy to documentary filmmakers from Austin, TX at an Ethiopian restaurant. The local architects we met with were highly qualified and ran quite a range from a top 10 firm in Africa that had designed many of the skyscrapers in Nairobi to an American who has been working in East Africa for 15 years doing primarily charity type work to a young firm with 2 ½ years experience that also teaches at the University of Nairobi and collaborates with a Herzog and de Meuron studio from the Basel school of architecture, as well as with Harvard’s Graduate School of Design working in Kibera slum. We will be selecting the firm we will be working with by next week. It will truly be a tough choice, but at least we have three excellent options and feel confident that our design will be in good hands. We are scheduled to make a return trip in the middle of October to move the schematic design toward completion.


http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/sidarec is home to our project on the Open Architecture Network where we will be updating our design as it progresses. So stay tuned.

Around Nairobi

A view of Nairobi's skyline from above Uhuru Park. Nairobi was founded by the British in 1899 as a simple rail stop linking the Kenyan coast with Uganda. It grew quickly and became the capital of British East Africa in 1907.

Along the road into SIDAREC's Mukuru community center site. It is congested with people on foot and vendors pushed up against the side of the road. It is a highly active environment, even if it is dusty and rough with potholes and cobblestones.

A typical vendor's produce stand along the road to the Mukuru site.

Although a predominantly Christian nation, Kenya has a significant Muslim population due to its history of its coastal access by Arab traders. Much of Mukuru's new population are immigrants and refugees from Somalia.

Manual labor is ubiquitous in Nairobi, even on the busy streets occupied with vehicular traffic.

This bicyclist competes with crowded public transportation for a piece of the road. He is carrying a heavy load for delivery.

Colorful fabrics on the line to dry next to SIDAREC's Pumwani community center.

The door into someone's home next to the Pumwani community center.

SIDAREC's Pumwani Community Center Site

The preschoolers gather outside of the community center for a group photo. There are up to seventy 2-5 year old students who crowd into the 2 small classrooms at the community center to get a head start on learning, an opportunity not afforded to the majority of residents of the Pumwani community.

Ashley playing with plastic snap-blocks with a preschool girl in one of the 2 classrooms.

A young operator in the broadcast booth of SIDAREC's Ghetto FM radio station in Pumwani. Ghetto FM broadcasts to an area of nearly 600,000 people. It offers the youth of the community a voice to communicate their experiences, joys and struggles of gr owning up in the slums.
The radio tower at the Pumwani community center broadcasting Ghetto FM.

Kids at the community center.

A little boy peers suspiciously at us as we get out of our van to check out the Pumwani community center.

Young girls doing each other's hair on the steps of a house next to the community center.

SIDAREC's Mukuru Kwa Njenga Community Center Site

Young users of SIDAREC's Mukuru Community Center eager to meet the design team that will be transforming their existing center into an exciting hub in the middle of Nairobi's newest slum.

Vendors along the street in front of SIDAREC's site.

A view from across the street to the front of the site. The radio station tower will be just to the right of the umbrellas.


The existing site has a small, but largely underused, clinic at the rear of the property. It was staffed with a full-time doctor for two years, but due to a funding shortage, now there is only a social worker and a part-time nurse staffing this clinic.

A little boy looking suave at the corner of the clinic.

Ashley drawing the floor plan of the existing clinic. Our design concept proposed keeping the existing clinic rather than demolishing it and replacing it with a new building. It is the nicest and most permanent building on the current site. SIDAREC would like to add one additional room for a small family planning classroom.

Members of the community center playing real "football." This patch of hard packed earth is one the very few open spaces for children to play in the densely populated community of Mukuru.

Going head to head, or foot to foot as the case may be.

A large temporary, cum permanent, meeting hall made of corrugated "iron sheets," as the locals say. During the day is contains three preschool classes in the corners of the building, and serves as a meeting space for up to 200-250 community members during the evenings. As you might imagine, it gets extremely hot inside with the equatorial sun beating down on the metal roof.

A view of the site looking from the existing entry gate. The metal meeting hall is to the left and the existing temporary offices and bakery are on the right.

Temporary offices located along the existing high wall defining the north side of the site.

Giraffe Center in Nairobi

"The purpose of the Giraffe Centre is to create awareness and provide free environmental education aimed at sensitising Kenyan youth and the general population on the need to appreciate and conserve Kenya's biodiversity. We give local and international visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with, and feed the world's tallest animal, the Giraffe."

Ashley feeding a giraffe at The Giraffe Center just minutes outside of Nairobi.




Elaine Uang from Architecture for Humanity feeding a hungry, hungry giraffe.




Wow. That is a long tongue. Giraffe tongues are about 18" long.

Matthew feeding a gentle giraffe. A few minutes later he was head-butted by a frustrated giraffe that was being taunted by other visitors. Be nice to the animals.

Matthew and Ashley in Kenya.