'Traversing the hillside on the edge of Nairobi, the new British
High Commission is set discreetly apart from the intensity and
bustle of the sprawling Kenyan capital. Designed by London-based
architects Hugh Cullum and Richard Nightingale, the building
is divided into two wings flanking an open columned portico that
frames and overlooks the city. The view encompasses Amyas Connell's
Parliament Buildings (dating from 1952 with a later neo-Corbusian
phase added in 1963). Connell's crisp, tropical Modernism, which
attempted to crystallise the cultural complexity of East Africa
without recourse to pastiche, is a clear antecedent for Cullum
and Nightingale's new High Commission. The component wings are
set back from the road, creating a formal entrance courtyard
on the main Upper Hill Road frontage. To the rear of the compound
is a lush, steeply sloping garden, dominated by an imposing wild
fig tree (the fig tree or mugumo is sacred to the Kikuyu people).
Residential accommodation and a staff clubhouse are contained
in small pavilions within the garden. By exploiting the height
difference across the site, the integration of built form with
nature is skilfully accomplished.
'The portico is the building's organisational fulcrum.
On the south-east side are more political and formal spaces,
such as the High Commissioner's offices and a large reception
area. The reception hall connects with a staircase leading up
to a large glazed landing with views of Nairobi framed by the
abundant branches of the fig tree.
'On the north-west side of the portico are the overseas
commerical aid and development sections. These are simple cellular
offices arranged along a corridor punctuated periodically to
admit light and provide views over the garden. This part of the
building also contains an oval meeting room, sculpurally extruded
from the external wall plane, and an exhibition space next to
the portico. A further function of the High Commission is the
quotidian business of issuing visas. The consular section is
isolated in a low wing at the front of the building, topped by
a curved, oversailing roof. Clerestorey glazing creates the impression
of the roof hovering over the consular hall.
'Using local materials such as Kenyan stone emphasise the
scale aand solidity of the elevations, the building embodies
an appropriately modern institutional character. The dense grey
stone, which closely resembles granite, is volcanic in origin.
Drawing on an established tradition of local stonemasonry, the
stones are undercut to give a mortarless, fine joint, so that
the surface is enlivened by the slight uneveness of the hand
dressing and the colour variation of the individual stones.
'The thermal mass of th estone walls plays a key part in
the building's passive environmental control strategy. Although
Nairobi lies virtually on the Equator, its high altitude means
that its climate is less extreme than might be imagined. Wherever
possible, the building exploits passive environmental control
systems (also prompted in part by Nairobi's frequent power cuts).
The siting of the building is a response to solar orientation.
When the sun is low, it falls on the relatively small and blank
east and west ends of the block. Generally, the building is designed
to use natural cross-ventilation, with outdoor ventilation panels
to the offices and fully opening windows controlled by users.
The giant order of the fenestration gives rise to very deep reveals,
which powerfully articulate the elevations. These provide solar
shading and depth to allow additional metal baffles within the
window design. As a highly functional yet dignified expression
of national identity, Cullum and Nightingale's High Commission
continues a tradition of responsive tropical modernism.'
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