'From the very start, the new British High
Commission in Kampala, Uganda, sets out a low-key theme. Located
in Kamokya, a pulsating suburban centre to the north-east of the
central business district, it announces itself only by brick planters
that hint at the red fired clay forms glimpsed through preserved
fig tree. The steeply sloping site is shaped like an arrow with
the short shaft abutting the street. The shaft is reserved for guest
parking and entry while the remaining space accommodates the building
and staff parking, leaving the arrow-apex free for landscaping.
'The High Commission reads like a group of three buildings, each
of which is composed of a concrete frame with a brick masonry envelope
and hollow-clay-block floors. The main building is composed of two
rectilinear masses separated by a courtyard and connected by an
elevated walkway. It runs counter to the direction of the steep
site contours to create a dramatic rise from two storeys at the
entrance side, through three storeys at courtyard level to four
storeys at the lowest end. The visa-consular building is connected
to the main building by another bridge and lies on an axis askew
to the courtyard's orthogonality.
'In this trio of buildings, fired clay is displayed in all its
red glory in the walls, the roofs and parts of the floor. The bricks
in the external wall are laid rough face out, contrasting with the
generous grey-framed glass windows. The brick is given a subtle
tripartite articulation, completed by the clay pot screens that
ventilate the roofs. The same subtlety is carried through in the
articulation of the window surrounds with special bricks and in
the repetitive vertical rolls mouldings that modulate the walls.
On the main building, this polished aesthetic is completed by the
monopitch clay-tile roofs that slope towards the courtyard. The
roof of the wider visa-consular building is also clay tile, but
double pitched with a clerestory vent.
'In each wing of the main building, rooms are arranged in a row
off a single-loaded corridor that faces the courtyard, allowing
for cross-ventilation. Each room is simple, with a wooden door off
the circulation spine, opposite which is a window to the world.
The walls and ceiling meet crisply without adornment and are plastered
plainly to receive cream water paint, whereas the floor is covered
grey carpet.
'As
a visa or consular services-seeking visitor, you go down a path bordering the dusty road
that marks the western site boundary. You then proceed along a covered walkway, shielded
from the main building to the left by a brick wall into a spacious hall - with a high ceiling and
exposed trusses - with a feeling halfway between a church and a
warehouse. Waiting areas are furnished with spartan wooden benches
and separated by a glass screen from the visa-consular open-plan
office space ahead, and the more private offices to the left and
right. The visa-consular building is adjoined to the western wing
of the main building by a bridge at courtyard level. In the late
morning, this bridge was a pleasant space, awash with light filtered
through the red-clay screens that define its sides.
'Overall, this is a simple design which achieves richness by a
series of surprises: the landscaped court; the resplendent bridge
and the pergola-covered terrace (which is an extension of the cafeteria
located a level below the courtyard).
'The approach to design and construction are laudable. The building
projects its Britishness while remaining responsive to the local
context. The timber was sourced locally and in a sustainable manner.
Brick, the building material of choice for a burgeoning Ugandan
vernacular, is used in new ways to experiment with dimensions, novel
applications (like the louvers) and appearance. Furthermore, by
choosing to expose the bricks, the project demanded a level of attention
to detail that runs counter to a growing tendency to bury mistakes
behind shiny finishes.
'By gracefully stating that this is not business as usual, the
High Commission has, in process and an aesthetic expression, contributed
to the illumination of architectural possibilities innate in Uganda
and also focused attention on some existing questions. The possibilities
being to use the courtyard to break up functions into small buildings,
as is the case in local tradition, and in the beautiful Ugandan
soil that can offer our rich palette of construction materials.
Also, by expressing brick so boldly, this building must have jogged
the minds of the public into considering the relative suitability
of veritable fired clay vis-à-vis applied finishes. In all
this, the most refreshing aspect
of the High Commission remains that it stands neither as a monument
to the British Empire nor to the architect but as a simple place
to work that is a product of the soil in which it exists.'
BUILDING THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION, KAMPALA
By Cullum and Nightingale
'The road in from Entebbe airport to Kampala is rich with trade
and small industry. When we first came to Uganda we were struck
by the variety of buildings lining this road and the types of activity
taking place along it. About halfway into the city there is a large
brickworks, itself surrounded by small kilns and stacks of hand-made
local bricks. Further in there is a row of coffin makers and a group
of metal workers, their wares propped up outside their workshops.
Many of the suburban buildings are built in brick, and much of that
brick is produced on site for the particular building. Roofs are
tin; screens are bamboo or wood; and windows are simple shutters
or claypots arranged for maximum ventilation.
'We were inspired by these local materials and the way in which
they are used. Kampala has numerous examples of '50s and '60s architecture
designed to suit the equatorial African climate. Windows have sunshades;
staircases are naturally ventilated; walls are tiled for coolness.
Many of the offices are airy and light and the climate is cool enough
that cross ventilation provides a good working environment. The
trend with more recent buildings, however, is for sealed and featureless
glass cladding with the consequent necessity for constant air conditioning
(this in a country where electricity is expensive and often cut
off for long periods).
'We visited the new American Embassy, relocated like the British
High Commission on the outskirts of the city centre, largely for
reasons of security. The walls and gates and guards around the embassy
were to be expected, but what seemed less understandable was the
totally enclosed and windowless interior.
'We were keen to learn from the best of local architecture and
to provide an environment where the building's uses would be in
touch with nature, views, natural light and, in short, with the
beauty of the host country. Wherever possible internal spaces are
capable of being largely naturally ventilated with big opening windows.
The main circulation spaces are semi-external, around an open and
shaded courtyard at the centre of the complex.We were inspired by
the landscape - the soil is a deep red and the plants are lush,
colourful and abundant. The new building is integrated with its
garden and the construction (random vertical ribbing in the courtyard
brickwork, banana-leaf shuttering to the concrete canopies) reinforces
this close relationship. We sought to make the most of local skills
and materials, the primary example being the use of brick and terracotta
for the exterior and parts of the interior of the new building.
We worked closely with the contractor through a process of experimentation
and prototypes (and a certain amount of trial and error) to develop
a range of clay products for walls, window surrounds, sunshading,
perforated screens, etc.
'The design and construction process had to be responsive and flexible
- not only to accommodate the changing client requirements to do
with security but also to allow the process of trial and experimentation
involved in developing local techniques. To a certain extent the
process still continues - it will take time for the landscaping
to provide the surroundings and shelter envisaged and minor adjustments
have had to be made to respond to issues of weathering and shading.
We hope that the result will be a building whose users enjoy working
in, and an environment which makes the most of its particular African
location and beautiful setting.'
WORKING DETAILS / KAMPALA
By Susan Dawson
WINDOWS WITH FIRED-CLAY SILLS, LINTELS, JAMBS AND LOUVRES
'The three-storey building has a cast in situ concrete frame with
a load-bearing outer leaf of locally made bricks, an inner leaf
of blockwork, and a steel roof structure.
'Bricks and clay products - tiles, ventilation grilles and decorative
pieces - are a vital part of the indigenous vernacular architecture
of Kampala. The local clay products have been developed and adopted
by the architect for roof tiles, grilles, loadbearing walls, sills,
lintels, jambs and shading louvers to windows.
'The bricks were made to special sizes, with a plinth of larger
120mm 'rusticated' bricks at the base and thinner 55mm bricks above.
'The window openings are lined with fired-clay surrounds, co-ordinate
to align with brick courses. Sills were cast as single fired-clay
units. Lintels and jambs/reveals were made up of two fired-clay
units to avoid warping when fired, and fixed on site to the cast-in-situ
concrete lintels and jambs.
'Each window is shaded with a series of horizontal fired-clay louvers
fixed to a projecting steel frame. The frame consists of a pair
of 100 x 50mm T-shaped arms, each supporting a vertical 100mm steel
flat, with a series of 40 x 20mm RHSs fixed between them to support
the louvres. The windows are reinforced with a steel frame to resist
blast damage.'
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